Whether it’s to make a fresh start for the new year or you’re feeling like your home or office could benefit from an energy shift, harmonising your physical environment through Feng Shui could be the answer to greater harmony and peace in your interiors. If you’re open-minded, this Chinese philosophical system has practical, easily applicable tips that could help you improve energy flow to harmonise your home, work, and life – by changing your physical space.
Start with a declutter
Decluttering in Feng Shui involves eliminating everything you do not love from your home or your office, along with things you don’t need or haven’t used for a long time. Decluttering can lighten the load and create positive energy in the home or office.
Make your entrance welcoming
Your front entrance is one of the three most important areas in your house, since it’s where chi (energy) enters your house or property. Make sure the area both outside and inside the front door is as appealing as possible, and keep the space clean and tidy. Add a wind chime just outside your front door to bring forth good energy. Replace old doormats and decorate the hallway inside with a piece of art, furniture, or other aesthetic element to make the space welcoming and pleasing.
If you’re used to entering your home through the garage door, change it up and use your front doorat least once a week but ideally every day, as this allows the chi to get into your property. Dress up your front pathway with colourful flowers and attractive plants.
Repair squeaks
If your front door squeaks when it’s opened or closed, it’s time to give it a good grease or change up old, rusting hinges. According to Feng Shui, the squeaking or whining that you hear can affect your mood and well-being. By repairing the squeak, you’ll create a more positive energy whenever the door is used. Oil or repair other squeaks, but start with the front door as it’s the most important door.
Decorate upper kitchen cabinets
The kitchen is another one of the three most important areas in the home, according to Feng Shui, because it’s where you cook up health, wealth, and abundance for the household. One tip for bringing positive energy into the kitchen is to add pot plants to kitchen upper cabinets, where they aren’t built up to the ceiling. This is because this space tends to attract dust and stagnant energy. Adding greenery, lighting, and attractive objects or ornaments can counter any negative energy and bring good chi to your kitchen.
Align your bed the right way
The bedroom is a very important area of the house and so is your bed. Feng Shui suggests that your bed should be positioned in such a way as to give you a good view of the entryway to the bedroom. Your headboard should be set against a wall and the foot of the bed should not be in line with the door but ideally diagonally across the room from it.
Televisions in bedrooms
Ideally your TVs will be elsewhere in your house, but if you do have a TV in your bedroom, Feng Shui says it’s fine to keep it there, as long as you cover it with a beautiful piece of fabric when it’s not being used. This is because the TV’s energy can interfere with the calming energy of the bedroom, a space designed for sleep and rest.
Fix and repair
Feng Shui suggests that little problems around the house such as stuck drawers, clogged plumbing, and broken or damaged handles reflect ‘brokenness’, and should be repaired as soon as possible.
Natural light and air
Fresh, quality light and air are vital to good chi in the home. Let as much natural light and air into your home by opening up windows and using air-purifying plants.
Remove ‘poison arrows’
‘Poison arrows’ in Feng Shui are sharp angles in your environment such as sharp corners, or furniture and items with sharp angles pointed at you. If you have certain tables, chairs, or cabinets with sharp angles pointing right where you work and sleep, either remove them or soften their impact. For example, you can use table runners and other textile elements to soften a hard edge on a table. You can also utilise pot plants to add good chi to your office. Another option is to add patterns and shapes through art, tapestries, and other objects to detract away from the sharp angles in furniture.
Maintain clean windows
If your windows are dirty and dusty, clear away the dust and grime. In Feng Shui, the window represents your eyes on the world, so having dirty windows can impair your ability to see and experience all that the world has to offer.
Feng Shui for a brighter, lighter energy
Whether you’re looking for a way to declutter your home or seeking ways to energise your work or home spaces, Feng Shui offers practical and accessible tips that just about anyone can make use of. As you realign your work or home spaces and bring in more light, greenery, and aesthetic elements, you might just find that you encourage positive energy to flow into your living and working spaces.
