Feeling blue? Nothing going your way? Try rearranging your sofa or pairing new artwork together. It may sound unlikely but moving personal items and furnishings in your home can help improve mood and clear the path to solving life's challenges.
Realtor Joy Van Gilder of Slifer Smith & Frampton is a long-time practitioner of Feng Shui both in her home and for her clients. She often rearranges her furnishings when a family member is struggling, ill or having a hard time. She knows from experience that re-directing the flow of Chi can dramatically improve quality of life.
The traditional practice of Feng Shui has roots in ancient China. The literal English translation of Feng Shui is ‘wind water,’ hinting at its connection to the natural world. Feng Shui was used to determine the site and orientation of structures to make them auspicious, or bringing good fortune. There were many practical reasons for auspicious placement. If a home’s entrance was oriented toward the winter winds, for example, storms might snow the door in, making it impossible for the inhabitants to leave.
Feng Shui is complex, but there are some simple ways to incorporate the principles into your home. Most fundamental is Chi, which literally translates to "air" in English, figuratively means "life force" or "energy flow." Feng Shui aims to maximize the positive circulation of Chi in the home.
Joy gives us her tips on how to welcome Chi into the home:
1 The entrance of the home is very important in Feng Shui as it is where you welcome friends, family, and visitors. When your home is inviting and brings joy to others, good Chi enters through the front door. A clean, clutter free stoop with plants and colorful pots near the front door creates a cheerful welcome. The sound of a gentle bell on the door attracts abundance and good fortune.
2 Once your guests enter your home, a statue, piece of art or plant can act as a greeter to welcome them, such as this gold light fixture with delicate glass birds. The orchid in the gold pot is a wonderful greeting to you and your guest because gold is a color of abundance and live plants represent personal growth and healthy life. Avoid dried or dead plants and flowers in your home as they are not auspicious. Art that is personal and pleasant extends the welcome to your home.
Cures are used to direct Chi when we can’t control specific architectural aspects of our house, as Joy describes.
3 As Chi enters the home it should meander slowly like a gently flowing river. Chi that runs in a straight line, such as down a narrow hallway, becomes a rushing body of water that doesn’t have time to touch all the living spaces with its positive energy. If your home has a long hallway, you can use decorative cures such as mirrors, crystals, water fountains, bells and chimes which encourage a gentler flow of Chi. The bell hanging at the corner of the white fireplace mantel is a cure for the sharp corner. Sharp edges are considered less desirable and should be softened when possible. Objects used as cures can also enhance spaces as seen in these two crystal hearts representing love and the earth’s beautiful creations.
Another Feng Shui concept is polarity, sometimes expressed as yin and yang, or two equal and opposite forces acting onto each other to create balance. Joy illustrates how Feng Shui uses the five earth elements in and around her home to create balance.
4 Good Feng Shui design encompasses all the earth elements; Water, Wood, Fire, Metal, and Earth. Incorporating these elements in your main living areas add interest, color, and vibrancy to your home design. Note how the coffee table arrangement contains all five elements. The earth element is represented in the white stone tabletop and the walnut tray is the wood element. The clear glass of the vase and the crystals in the heart dish, compliment the water element. Finally, a candle with a red tassel portrays the fire element and the gold trivet under the vase is metal.”
5 The earth elements can also be represented in alternative ways using color, shape, material, texture, movement, sound, scent, and Feng Shui symbols. This gold lamp is a great example. The base of the lamp shaped in a wave pattern depicts water, is made of metal, and the light bulb represents fire. Most lamps conjure the tall shape of a tree for wood and the shade is the color of sand, which belongs to the earth element.
6 The furniture of this living space is placed in a manner to encourage conversation and comfort. It also creates a flowing pattern for Chi to move in and around furnishings in a gentle manner without obstacle. Textures of fabric, rugs and furnishings also play a role in Feng Shui design. Silk is considered very auspicious as it is soft to the touch and luxurious. The rugs, furniture, fabric, and pillows throughout the room all contain natural fibers like cotton, silk, and wool. Feng Shui encourages the use of natural elements as representations of nature and its abundance.
Another feature of Feng Shui is the bagua, or energy map. Ideally, a home would be built with specific rooms designed to align with the nine sectors of the bagua. Qi/Health is in the center and connects the other eight aspects of life: Wealth, Recognition, Relationships, Family, Creativity, Knowledge, Career, and Helpful people.
In Western Culture, where a typical homeowner isn’t building a home from the ground up, and can’t move rooms to fit the bagua layout, Feng Shui again uses cures for less-than auspicious room placement. Colors, symbols and shapes associated with each bagua are added to a room to bring the desired qualities into that space. Joy illustrates how she designed with the bagua in mind.
7. My front door is in the career sector. Ideally, the front door should be in the Knowledge, Career or Helpful People section. It is good to enhance the entrance with the elements or qualities of the desired bagua section. The material and color of the glass and black front door represent the water element associated with the career section. The blue couch against the far wall is actually in the Knowledge section and blue is a color for the knowledge area. The bagua is also overlaid on each room based on the entrance or door to that room. The fireplace is in the fame and luck section of the bagua for the living room and represents the fire element. The black marble coffee table is in the career section of the living room and represents the water element.
Joy’s home is beautiful, full of thoughtfully curated items from her travels. It expresses her gentle disposition and welcomes visitors into a calm and uplifting space. Personalizing your space, to reflect life experiences and personality is an engaging and unique part of applying Feng Shui principles in your home.
A final tip from Joy.
8. The vibrant use of color associated with cures is a personal design choice, but if you prefer a more monochromatic pallet, use neutral-color representations of the elements to create balance and shapes, patterns, sounds, and fragrance to create interest and texture. Feng Shui brings positive energy into your home and designing with care & intention will bring both balance and good energy to your life.