Have you ever come home after a long day of work and upon entering your house, felt instantly better? There is just nothing that compares to that feeling of comfort.
But what if you don’t get that feeling when coming home? Perhaps there are things that cause an imbalance of that comfort energy in your house. It could be something as simple as clutter and disorganization, or it could be how your house is set up. There is a belief that this energy in your home can be changed and guided, a concept called Feng Shui.
What exactly is Feng Shui? Feng Shui, according to National Geographic, is “the ancient Chinese art of arranging buildings, objects, and space in an environment to achieve harmony and balance in a way that will bring peace and prosperity.” According to the National Geographic Feng Shui Resource Library, “Feng shui stems from the Taoist belief in chi or the life force that inhabits everything. Chi is made up of yin and yang elements. These are opposing but complementary forces that cannot be separated. Taoists believed that by balancing yin and yang elements, people could improve the flow of positive chi in their lives and keep the negative chi away. Feng shui is a method of balancing yin and yang and improving the flow of chi by arranging furniture, decorations, buildings, and even whole cities in a beneficial way.”
There are five principles of Feng Shui:
- Wood
- Fire
- Earth
- Metal
- Water
The correct placement of these five elements can help to promote health and well-being for everyone who inhabits the home.
The art of Feng Shui can be highly complicated, so much so that many people have hired Feng Shui gurus to ensure their home has the right energy balance. Here are some things one can do to arrange their home according to Feng Shui principles.
Declutter: All areas of your home must remain as clutter-free as possible, but one of the most critical areas is the entryway to the house. The entryway is the point at which energy comes into your home.
Remove electronics in the bedroom: TVs and other electronic devices should be tucked away in any sleeping areas when not in use. These items produce too much Yang energy, overpowering the Yin energy in the space. There should be an equal balance where you sleep.
Get Green: Add some life to your home with living plants when possible. Plants signify life and energy.
Add Metal: Metal is an excellent source of positivity, wealth, and power in Feng Shui. Add metal to rooms where you want more clarity and wealth, like a home office.
By working with these principles, choosing items that go into your home and décor can help with these goals. For example, when picking window treatments, make sure they work with the look and feel of a room. One example that can be followed using Feng Shui philosophy is what type of treatments you can use. The Precious Metal Blind collection from Hunter Douglas may be a good fit for a home office, and be the decorative way to “add metal” to your space.
So, if Feng Shui is a direction that you would like to explore to help with energy flow in your space, these choices can also appeal to the look and design feel as well.
