Consumer Reports: Feng Shui Tips for Every Room in Your Home
I was just sourced for an article in Consumer Reports about feng shui. Here it is:
Feng Shui Tips for Every Room in Your Home
How to channel positive energy throughout your home and reinvigorate your life
By Perry Santanachote
It’s springtime, finally! For many people, that also means it’s time for spring cleaning. But if you haven’t already, consider also applying feng shui principles to your home. You don’t need to buy anything—all it requires is an intentional approach to your surroundings.
Feng shui (pronounced fung shway) is an ancient Chinese discipline that literally translates to “wind water” and focuses on how to optimize the flow of positive energy—known as qi (pronounced chee)—in your home. “It’s basically considering how energy flows through your house as water or air naturally would,” says Jessie Kim, a feng shui consultant in California. “You want your home to be a space where you can relax and retreat, and feng shui is all about creating that space to make you feel recharged and rejuvenated so you can tackle the world the next day.”
The theory of feng shui is that the layout of a home and the placement of objects can maximize energy flow and improve your health, prosperity, and luck. But it’s also about balance. Master Pun-Yin, a feng shui consultant in New York, says that in order to increase the flow of qi, the five elements—water, earth, fire, wood, and metal—need to be in balance with each other. Think of it like a yin-yang quality, but five ways.
- Water is tied to intuition, sensitivity, fluctuation, and the flow of emotions.
- Earth represents practicality, stability, conservatism, and responsibility.
- Fire is associated with action, passion, ambition, and courage.
- Wood symbolizes organization, growth, persistence, and creativity.
- Metal assists with confidence, creativity, materialism, and making friends.
“You might realize something is off if you’re lacking clarity, motivation, serenity, or success in life,” says Pun-Yin. A feng shui consultation can offer more personalized insights, she says, incorporating Chinese astrology and an individual’s inherent five-element profile, but a good starting point is to follow some general rules.
Make Feng Shui Work for You
Talismans, such as dragons, tortoises, and laughing Buddhas, are associated with the commercialization of feng shui and are not necessary. “Unless you get to the root of the energy imbalance within your mind and your space, no crystals or tacky trinkets can alter your destiny,” says Pun-Yin.
“Just because you read somewhere that a golden toad is a great thing to have for prosperity, don’t have one in your home if you don’t like frogs,” says Kim. “Feng shui has to work for your personality and your décor. Creating a good feng shui space doesn’t mean it has to look like a Chinese restaurant exploded in your house.”
The things in your home should mean something to you (they should spark joy) and represent where you want to be in your life—kind of like dressing for the job you want. Some things from your past are fine to display, but don’t let them take over your space. “Be intentional about what you put inside your home and relentless with getting rid of junk,” says Kim. “Looking forward to the future will keep you growing as a person.”
Create Energy Pathways
Think of energy going through your home like a wind current or water stream. Look for potential blockages and leakages. One major leakage would be a front door that lines up with the back door. “You don’t want energy coming in the front door and immediately draining into the backyard,” says Kim. “You want that energy to meander through the house and refuel people living in it before making its exit.” Room dividers, bookcases, and tall plants are all great ways to divide up a room and create clear energy pathways.
Also, open the windows at least once a day to let in fresh air. “Make sure you get good circulation going,” says Kim. “Air conditioners, fans, and air purifiers are fine, but fresh air is better. And don’t let these appliances overrun your space or get in the way. Make sure they’re not blowing directly at you when you’re sitting or sleeping, too. It weakens your energy.”
Feng Shui Tips for the Entryway
Make an Entrance
Level up your front door, especially if you live in a condo or apartment building where yours is one of many. Kim says to make your door stand out so it attracts good energy by hanging a wreath or setting out a fun door mat. If your homeowners association doesn’t allow any fun, at least wash your door, making it cleaner and shinier than your neighbors, and make sure the numbers are clearly marked. “If people and qi can’t find you, it’s like good opportunities passing you by,” says Kim.
Declutter
The front door is the energy portal to your home, says Kim. Proper entranceway feng shui will make it feel welcoming. Make sure the area is clean and clutter-free, as in no pile of shoes or packages.
Set the Tone
The first thing you see when you open the door sets the tone for the entire home, so have pleasing objects on the major meridian positions to welcome you home with warmth and comfort, says Pun-Yin. These positions include the wall facing the entry, the corner diagonal to the entry, and the end of the hallway.
Feng Shui Tips for the Kitchen
Safeguard the Stove
Kitchens are seen as the prosperity and health hub of the house. “You fuel yourself and your family in the kitchen, so you want to make sure your flame—in this case, the stove—is protected,” says Kim. “An open window or doorway next to a gas stove weakens the flame, and that’s less energy going into your food.” For the same reasons, you also want to keep your stove clean and in good condition.
Feature Fruit
Place a bowl of fruit in the middle of your kitchen island or dining table to attract prosperity and health energy to that space, says Kim.
Coordinate Your Cookware
Having cookware and small kitchen appliances in coordinated colors or textures tie together and ground the kitchen’s energy field, says Pun-Yin.
Feng Shui Tips for the Living Room
Rethink Your Seating Arrangement
Each room has a commanding position, which is essentially an anchor point that allows you to control the energy in the room. It’s always farthest from the door but not in line with it, so you should be able to see who’s coming without being able to see directly out the door. Your sofa and main chairs should be in this commanding position, says Kim. You want to avoid configuring seating that forces people to have their backs to the door.
Soften the Edges
Remove anything with sharp edges or shiny surfaces that instantly get fingerprints and smudges on them. “The idea is to make this room soft, comfortable, and welcoming to your family and guests,” says Kim. “Make it conducive for people to gather, not like a sterile museum.”
Clear off the Coffee Table
A clutter-free coffee table is ideal, but if that’s unavoidable, Pun-Yin says to at least include something that soothes your mood. Fresh flowers or a plant, for instance, might induce good relationships in your life. (Take note: Dried flowers and dead flowers will do quite the opposite. Fake flowers are better, but they’re still not emitting the same kind of energy that fresh blooms would.)
Feng Shui Tips for the Bedroom
Reposition the Bed
Avoid having your headboard under a window or on the same wall as the door. “You want to be in the commanding position, so make sure you can see the door without being directly in line with it,” says Kim.
Only Calm Energy Allowed
Bedrooms should only be for sleeping, resting, and reconnecting with your partner. Electronics, books, bills or paperwork, and plants—anything that produces active energy—should not be in the bedroom. (Plants become active at night to produce oxygen, so they’re considered active energy.)
Even for kids, make sure to create a space for them to recharge and rest so they can grow healthy. Kim says active items, like toys, stuffed animals, and video games should be in the living room or another playroom. If it has to be in their bedroom, put it in a cubby or a cabinet that they can close up and put away at night.
Be mindful of where you place mirrors in your bedrooms, too. Kim says to make sure your body’s not being reflected in the mirror while you’re sleeping because mirrors are constantly reflecting and moving, just like water. “When your body is reflected in the mirror, you’re basically next to a wave that it is constantly crashing into you,” she says.
Propagate Parity
“If you share a bedroom with a partner, create an even ground,” says Kim. “Make sure both bedside tables are the same size, and use the same light fixture. You want to create a balanced relationship of both of you helping each other out.”
Feng Shui Tips for the Bathroom
One-Way Traffic Only
“When you dump things in a bathroom, you don’t want anything to come back out—literally or figuratively,” says Kim. Keep bathrooms clean and keep your toilet lid closed. If it’s a bathroom that is not in use regularly, keep the sink drains closed. Some people put river rocks in the sink and shower to cover up the drain, but it’s still usable.
Clear the Air
Pun-Yin says to avoid stagnant and humid energy in the bathroom by using a dehumidifier. Alternatively, keep the door partially open.
Have Fun With It
“People tend to view the bathroom as the last thing to decorate, or they shut the door and try to hide it,” says Kim. “But it is there, so why not make it fun and exciting? Meaning, energetically colorful, bright, and sparkly. Make it a space that you and your guests enjoy as well. Make it part of your home.” Plants, paint, towels, and decorations are all fair game.
Feng Shui Tips for the Office
Be a Boss
Again, prioritize the room’s commanding position and place your desk there. “Try to avoid having your back to a window,” says Pun-Yin. “If you can’t, counteract the energy imbalance by placing a plant behind your chair or hanging a piece of jade from the back of your chair.” Jade is a stone that is believed to improve the balance of energy.
Keep an Eye on the Prize
Place objects that represent your past achievements behind you, preferably on a bookcase, and place something that motivates you in front of you, so you’re always looking toward the future.
If you need more specific and custom guidance to improve your space and your life, I’m available to help. Learn more on my website today and book a virtual consultation. Better feng shui can help you in profound ways on life’s journey.
I am a 3rd generation feng shui expert and have helped thousands of people add harmony and balance to their homes and offices without making it look like a Chinese restaurant exploded.
I can help you attract the life that you deserve with feng shui. Contact me today!
