Feng Shui Your Home

Feng Shui is one of those terms that most have heard of but little really know about. It’s literal translation is ‘water wind’ & is based around the ancient Chinese art of harmonising people with their homes & surroundings.

According to this ancient art within interior design, there are invisible forces & energy that bind us to the earth & can influence our fortune as well as help our minds & can be as simple as which direction our bed faces or how our staircase flows with our front doors.

I’m a big believer in the law of attraction which is basically focusing on things which we wish to attract in our lives. If we focus on positives & think good thoughts then essentially our lives will be full of lovely things, whereas if we surround ourselves with negatives then bad things will happen. I’m all open to creating a balanced & relaxed atmosphere so thought I’d do a bit of research on feng shuiing your home to bring you this blog post & hopefully a few simple changes & a bit of a move around can help us all fall in love with our surroundings a little more plus mean less stress & worry.

Feng shui is based more on theory than fact, it all comes back to the belief that if the energy within your home is happy and healthy, you will inevitably be healthy and happy too.

1. Choose what you wish to attract – Feng Shui states that you should focus on one aspect of your life that you wish to improve on, for example, wealth/money, fame, love/marriage, creativity, career, spiritual growth & health. This may change over time depending on your circumstances so it’s all about attracting whats important to you.
2. Clear your clutter – you all know I’m a huge advocate of decluttering & live by William Morris’ famous quote ‘Have anything in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful’ but this also is a huge part of Feng Shui. ‘Things’ should not be weighing you down & less around you clears your mind.
3. It’s all about the yin & the yang – Yin is dim, dark, soft, quiet, and still whereas Yang is light, bright, open, busy, animated. Within homes it’s all about finding a healthy balance of both.
4. Let in light & air – these two elements are essential for good feng shui energy (called Chi) in your home. Open the windows, introduce plants which have natural filtration qualities & allow as much natural light as possible in. Mirrors will also help you with this as they bounce light around. Plus take careful consideration in to whether you go for heavy curtains or blinds.
5. Find your element – apparently, your birth element should be throughout your home for better well-being. These are wood, fire, water, metal & earth. Placing these around your home using the yin & yang philosophy will help with creativity & supposedly positively effect different areas of your life. If you’re a fire element then use candles & log burners in your home to relax & inspire.

1. Bed is where the magic happens – we spend a huge amount of time sleeping so the position of our bed is something that’s highlighted everywhere when you look at Feng Shui theories. Ideally, you want to be facing the door while not in line with the door while lying in bed. You can be diagonally across the room from your bedroom door & want to have the headboard against a back wall.
2. #ihavethisthingwithdoors – is not just a popular hashtag on insta for some front door love but it’s also so important within Feng Shui. The front door represents how Chi enters your home and life so they say to open it as often as you can to let in good energy & opportunities.
3. Arrange your furniture wisely – It is important to remember when arranging your furniture that chi can only flow where you can, so large or bulky furniture items that block sections of a room will create a negative space.

Heres some top tips for each room in your home –

Front door – I touched on this above. They say to keep your front door in good condition as it represents the wealth element & to attract fortune place plants around it. Having your staircase facing/right in front of your front door is said to be a no-go & some big believers have refused to even look at properties for sale for this very reason…it represents energy & wealth rushing down the stairs & out of your house.

Hallway/entrance way – this represents opportunities so make sure it’s kept clutter free so that the energy can circulate. Pop coats & shoes inside a closed cupboard so they don’t stagnate the energy.

Kitchen – The kitchen is a vital space as it represents nourishment & relationship harmony. They say not to put a sink & cooker opposite each other when designing this space as it can lead to arguments between couples due to a water & fire clash. The cooker should not be positioned under a window or directly opposite the kitchen door.

Living room – Don’t buy furniture that’s too big for the space or block any doors. To activate wealth energy place a lamp in the corner of the room.

Dining room – This space relates to the Earth element which in traditional Chinese medicine is linked with digestion. They suggest placing a mirror on the wall to reflect the dining table & fresh flowers on the table.

Bedroom – Bedrooms must be a light neutral colour & the bed must have a headboard positioned against a solid wall. Ban all technology from this space.

Bathroom – The bathroom must always be kept clean with the door closed & toilet lid down. This is because water represents wealth which can be shown as draining away. To avoid this, add some plants to soak in water which slows the flow of wealth draining away.

So many people swear by these ancient principles & this post just touches on the surface, who knows if it changes lives or if it’s all a load of cobblers but if it leads to a happy, healthy home then I’m all up for giving it a go.

Love,