by Shaynna Blaze-Vaughan - Blankcanvas interiors www.blankcanvasint.com
Feng Shui can be a complex practice that if uninformed can leave you more stressed and confused than relaxed about how to create a peaceful and harmonious environment.
Feng Shui has many things to bear in mind when applying the principals to your home, office or life. Areas of consideration are the flow and energy within the house i.e. positive and negative, wealth, health, relationships, colour, shapes and objects and then there are the elements such as wind, fire, earth and water. If you have an interest in this area it is best to take small steps first.
The basic principals of Feng Shui are about creating an environment that enriches, nourishes and enhances your life, which is also the direct aim that Interior Designers also adhere to. You don’t have to make a complete design change of your home to introduce these elements into your life but by making a few simple changes; this can be enough to create enough stimulation to feel an instant change.
Where to start?
Clutter -
Having clutter in your home is enough to create instant negative energy every time you walk in the room. If your space is cluttered it cannot only be visually cluttered but cause ‘emotional’ clutter. This can create sleepless moments and wasted energy on worrying about a situation that can eventuate exhaustion and a feeling of being constantly drained.
Give yourself some small projects to start with (so you don’t feel overwhelmed) and build on this each week. MaryAnne Bennie from in8 recommends setting a timer to eight minutes and see how much you can clear up in that space of time. Concentrate on one area at a time and you will be amazed how much you can do if you make it a race against the clock.
Colour –
Match the colour to the situation. There is enough on the psychology of colour to fill a library on the benefits of colour, which we will touch on in a later article, and this is just as prevalent in Feng Shui.
How to choose your colour can be as simple as the mood you are trying to reflect.
Red – incites passion, power, motivation and power
Green – reflects harmony, nature, growth and prosperity
Blue – is known for imagination, the ocean, serenity and calm
White - for its purity, innocence and its crisp qualities
Energy and Flow –
Can be as simple as the ‘blocks’ put in front of you. Bold feature walls or contrasting couches, such as a black leather couch on top of an off-white carpet in a large open plan living room might be vibrant and energising in a large open plan room or warehouse setting but move that into a small, single room and this becomes confronting and blocks your energy and thoughts.
You can eliminate this by placing a darker rug under the couch so there isn’t such a severe contrast to the carpet and change the red wall to a more restful white like the carpet, to maintain a feeling of softness and give an illusion of flowing space.
Having the back of the couch facing you when you walk into the room is also a block of energy. You can solve this two ways by changing the seating arrangement so a couch or chair faces as you enter the room, which will create a feeling of being invited to the area or, put a small hall table or large ornament at the back of the couch facing you as you enter and this will create a point of interest as well as not feeling as though you are being blocked into the room.
Light –
By introducing as much natural light into your environment during the day adds to the quality of the mood with in your home as well as cutting costs of wasting energy of using artificial lights.
Opening your home with vast windows and inviting the outdoors in also creates calm and harmony and puts a beautiful place to rest to the eye without putting too much emphasis on the interiors. Of course if the focus is on the outside during the day you must balance this at nightime when the curtains are drawn.
Relationships –
Many theories of Feng Shui are directed towards relationships. They come in the form of your family relationships, personal relationships, and a connection with your immediate environment and of course your relationship with yourself and your own happiness.
Romance - By enhancing your environment is the quickest way of welcoming romance and love towards you. By not only concentrating on the bedroom for love and passion but by putting small influences around the house increases the warmth and direct energy with in the house.
A bouquet of pink and red roses at the entrance creates a welcoming softness into the home from the harsh effects of day’s stresses. If you are trying to evoke a certain mood beyond the colours of the room, entice the senses (see article Decorating For Your Senses) with silky fabrics, soft music, fragrances in either fresh flowers or scented candles and excite your tastebuds with your favourite wine or sensual foods like chocolates and strawberries or oysters.
To get a true reading of your home and how Feng Shui can enhance your life it is best to get an individual reading from a professional Feng Shui master as everybody’s house and lives give true indication of what your needs will be.
Your instincts -
In the end you must feel comfortable and at ease with your surroundings. Keep an open mind when trying certain principals of both Feng Shui and Interior Design and if they don’t feel right move onto another till it sits well with you.
Websites of interest
www.fengshuiseminars.com
www.fengshuimaster.com.au
Books of interest
Feng Shui your life by Jayme Barrett
related articles:
WINTER LIVING TIPS
DESIGN FOR THE DESIGNERS
UPDATES FOR YOUR BATHROOM
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