A staggering 82% of Australians tend to select a feng shui house without being aware that they do. After an HSBC Australia’s research in 2019, it was revealed that only 6% of the population has a deep understanding of feng shui principles. Learning about this ancient art is helpful when you have plans to build a new home, redecorate, or renovate your current building design.
Let’s look into the basic feng shui principles, how in little ways, feng shui helps improve your home and block negative energy, why most of us like it, and how it solves the common design problems that affect our lives.
What is feng shui?
Feng shui is the ancient Chinese practice of using chi to create balance with the natural world in our interior spaces. Chi is the life force or the energy that flows through our bodies and our homes.
At its heart, it’s about shaping that energy as it moves in and around the house to maintain harmony between us and our environment; hence, a feng shui house.
Why embrace feng shui principles?
It's a common belief that the ancient Chinese spatial laws of feng shui are good for our health and financial wellbeing.
Sure, it can feel a bit esoteric, but if you open your mind to its principles, you’ll realise that it can help you create a cleaner, more comfortable home.
If you want to understand how it works and its benefits, it’s highly recommended to consult a feng shui expert. The experts will suggest the techniques that you can follow to improve the flow of energy in your home.
In the meantime, here are some home tips based on some basic feng shui principles that you can follow:
Feng shui for your home office or study nook:
It’s an excellent idea to put your desk on the spot facing a window with a view, but feng shui experts fear that this design might send your creative energy out the window.
Consider placing your desk in a spot and angle where you can see the doorway and most of the room. Your desk should be in a dominating position which will make you feel more secure and in charge of your space. Your table must be facing the door yet far from it. It will help you work or study effectively at home.
What if you have a stunning window view that you want to take advantage of?
Because of the pandemic in 2020, a lot of people started working remotely. If you’re one of them, you might as well apply these tips to incorporate into your feng shui house.
Position the desk with the window on one side, so you can still adore the view when you need a break. After all, you’re working at the comfort of your own home.
Things are different when the room is for relaxing, reading, or daydreaming. If this is the case, a desk facing a window is okay.
Learn more about home renovation projects and how you can recreate one in your home through our free project planning dashboard.
What are other factors you need to consider to improve your feng shui house?
Aside from the placement of your desk, you also must consider materials, shape, and colour.
Materials. You need to figure out what desk and chair you want to use and what to put on your desk. Just make sure it wouldn’t take up all the space so that it won’t interfere with the flow of your office.
Shape. Whatever shape you decide your desk to be has a meaning. You can have a rectangular, curved, or an L-shaped desk. Know what shape of desk works for you and for the job you do so you can reach your optimum potential.
Colour. Your job is what you do 25% of the week. It’s just right if you decide to incorporate feng shui into your work desk for it to give the right aura and energy. The best choice for your desk colour would be white which is a neutral colour. It’s clean and organised to look. It’s a colour that stands out from any colour paired to it.
Feng shui for your bedrooms:
Apart from placing your bed in a commanding position, know that headboards in feng shui mean having support throughout your life’s journey. Opt for headboards with soft edges and made of fabric like the one in the above photo.
Moreover, it’s best to know that picking the right colour scheme for your room is as important. Choose natural colours that boost sensuality, mood, and relaxation. Avoid metallic colours as they entice brainpower and may keep you restless.
In this bedroom design, off-white is consistent with the walls and other furniture in the room. Some muted shades are used like the coffee and peanut coloured blankets and bedsheets. Beige, off-white, and cream are your best colour picks for this bedroom. Notice the yellow and black pillowcases, too. If you think about it, yellow gives a sunny and happy colour while black represents stillness — same in feng shui. Also, yellow invites positive energy into a room.
On the other hand, the two bedside tables are kept on both sides of the bed. In feng shui, this shows how there must be balance between the couple.
Superdraft tip: Avoid peach as it attracts a partner to look for another outside the relationship.
General feng shui house principles for any room:
Include the five elements of nature in every room to achieve balance
A room with all five elements (water, wood, fire, earth and metal) will feel more comfortable and balanced.
Wood and metal are the most accessible elements to combine into a room’s interior decor. Finding and placing water, fire, and earth elements are the challenging parts. The good thing is, you don’t have to follow this step literally. You can display something that represents the elements in your space.
Glass and mirrors can embody water because they share characteristics like transparency and reflectivity.
Scented candles or a modern fire lamp can represent fire.
Ceramics and natural stones can represent the earth.
Clear the clutter for better health and positive energy
Clearing the mess is a simple and common-sense practice to make our homes healthier and more organised. We don’t know that this is also the simplest way to align your home with the principles of feng shui.
Clutter creeps up on us and takes over our spaces. It blocks our way when we’re looking for the stuff we need. It subconsciously reminds us of our unfinished tasks and drains our energy.
Clearing the clutter is good for our physical and mental health. You have to know that conducting regular decluttering work is recommended.
For the ones who want to take it to the next level:
Learn how the Bagua works
This is a Bagua map, an octagon, and each side corresponds to a crucial part of your life: wealth, fame, marriage, family, children, career, helpful people & travels, knowledge & self-cultivation.
The centre of the Bagua is your health and well-being.
With the help of a feng shui expert, you can learn how to read the Bagua map. Simply place the Bagua map over the floor plan of your home or a specific room so you can determine where the areas are in your own space.
Lastly, give the front of your house a makeover
The flow of energy from the outside and into your home is essential as well. We want to attract positive energy into our homes and block the negative energy from the streets.
If you live in a crowded or busy suburb and the street in front of your home is always noisy, plant trees or shrubs near the walkway/footpath.
Instead of a long straight line, your pathways should be gently curving to the front door.
Build a verandah, then partially conceal the front steps using heavy statues or large potted plants.
Install proper outdoor lighting, build more comprehensive steps to your front door, and make your house number visible.
You may want to consider the help of a building design professional and your feng shui expert to help you better understand your house plan and some changes you want to make.
Superdraft tip: Remember that even the littlest of things make a huge difference in achieving balance in your spaces.
Let Superdraft help
This article may have helped you understand basic feng shui and how it can help you make your home look better, and heal your home from a negative energy a. When you improve the internal environment, you also improve the health and life of the people living inside it. That’s why if you want to do a renovation of your home to a feng shui house, you can consult with the professionals at Superdraft.
If you want to pursue your feng shui house, here at Superdraft, we can connect you with the right professionals — Draftsman, Building Designer, for a seamless home renovation and design. Sign up to our free platform and get access to our project planning dashboard where we can assist you with your renovation project from start to finish.
Get a free quote and start planning with us today!
