Looking for ways to bring good energy into your home? Check out these 2022 Feng Shui principles to level up your interior design.
According to its standard definition, Feng Shui is a Chinese geomantic practice in which a structure or site is chosen or configured to harmonize with the spiritual forces that inhabit it.
It has been a practice for more than 4,000 years now, not only in China but also worldwide, due to its principle of arranging houses, offices, or even business establishments concerning nature and flow of energy within a particular space.
There are a lot of Feng Shui concepts applied for specific purposes even up to this day. But due to its widespread use beyond the traditional Chinese Feng Shui practitioners, it has evolved.
The ones that we commonly incorporate today are modified into more straightforward concepts but still retain the primary purpose: to create harmony and balance and attract positive energy good luck. As we welcome Chinese New Year this 2022, here are the basic Feng Shui know-hows to refresh you.
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What are the basic Feng Shui Principles?
The main goal of Feng Shui is to direct positive energy or “Chi” within our space so that Chi will also flow well within us. In Feng Shui, these are the main principles: The Five Elements, The Energy Map or Bagua Map, Use of Color, and The Command Position. These principles correlate to create harmony and balance, thus achieving a good Feng Shui for your house.
The Five Elements
There are Five Elements in Feng Shui: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. These Feng Shui elements are placed in specified areas of a home to impose the good flow of Chi.
Wood
Wood is an element that sustains health, vitality, and growth and is an element of abundance. It is expressed in green or brown colors, and the main decorations for this element are healthy plants, green pillows or cushions, imagery of vegetation, and other similar objects.
Fire
Fire is an element of love, romance, and passion, representing joy and creativity. It is expressed in red, bright yellow, orange, pink, purple, and magenta colors. To add an element of fire, you may use bright yellow candles, yellow lampshades, or other similar bright objects. But be careful in placing too bright objects to avoid overpowering and maintain a balanced environment.
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Earth
Earth stands for stability and support, and it provides a sense of groundedness and peace. It is expressed in the colors of beige, sandy, or taupe shades, and decorations like pottery, images of landscapes, or objects in earth colors may be added as an earth element at home.
Metal
The metal element represents discipline, efficiency, and productivity, and it builds a sense of calmness, clarity, and lightness. Its primary colors are white and gray. Add a metal element to your home by adding metal frames or bowls, white pillows or rugs, or gray decorations.
Water
Lastly, considered one of the most powerful elements, water provides a sense of flow and renewal. It symbolizes abundance and is represented by the colors blue and black. To add the water element, you may use mirrors, fountains, images of water, and other similar objects.
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Now, where shall we place these feng shui home decorations respectively? Let’s refer to the energy map or Bagua Map.
The Bagua Map
The Bagua map is the energy map of Feng Shui imposed on the house’s floor plan. The word “Bagua” means eight areas corresponding to the eight directions.
Furthermore, each direction represents an aspect or circumstance in life and an element. And at the center is the Chi, which represents balance and vitality.
This map is helpful to know the area of your home you wish to work on concerning the aspect of life that you want to emphasize or improve.
The Bagua map is applied on the floor plan with the house’s front door considered as the north. These are the aspects of life, their direction in the house based on the Bagua Map, and their corresponding elements:
- Southeast – Wealth and Prosperity – Wood
- South – Fame, and Reputation – Fire
- Southwest – Partnership, and Marriage – Earth
- West – Children and Creativity – Metal
- Northwest – Helpful people and Travel – Metal
- North – Career and Life Journey – Water
- Northeast – Knowledge, and Wisdom – Earth
- East – Family, and Health – Wood
When incorporating the Bagua in your floor plan, focus only on one to three areas because this is already enough to strengthen or improve positive energy flow. For example, you want to focus on your family and health, then improve the eastern part of your home and furnish it with the wood element.
Feng Shui House Layout based on the Flying Star Chart
Whenever we welcome another year, there will always be some unfortunate events or misfortunes that we cannot avoid. But there are ways to counter them. The Flying Star chart is an example of Feng Shui practice that focuses on your home areas that need a cure or more energy.
The Bagua is arranged based on the year’s energy or the compass in this chart or map. It will then be imposed on the floor plan to have an idea of the dominant areas of the home and which part needs treatment.
For the year 2022, the misfortune star is at the center. Being at the center is a crucial area, as it may affect the entirety of the house and even the residents. A protection amulet should be displayed to contradict this negative energy at the center, like the 5-element pagoda figure or the Heart Sutra Pillar. It is also advisable to wear protection amulets. The southwest of the house must also be paid attention to as it contains this year’s illness star so that one may carry an anti-illness charm as protection.
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How must a Feng Shui practitioner use color?
The use of colors is a fundamental principle of Feng Shui since they can quickly bring energy to a particular area in the Bagua area that you want to improve. Different colors bring different energies tied to a specific element and location in the Bagua map.
Therefore the use of color will predominantly depend on this. For example, you wanted to improve your wealth. Based on the Bagua Map, the wealth direction is at the southeast of your home, and the corresponding element is wood.
The colors green and brown represent wood, so you may place a plant at the southwest of your home to achieve a good Feng Shui for wealth.
The Commanding Positions
According to Feng Shui, it is diagonal to the door and farthest away from it. It is the optimal position in the room where you spend the most time, so this is where the energy flows the most.
It is suggested that you place the main furniture in this area or anything that represents a significant part or aspect of your life. If not possible, make sure that the door is visible from where you are lying down, sitting, or standing.
What are some good Feng Shui house design for 2022?
It is said that the house’s facing direction greatly affects the Feng Shui of the house. But if your main goal in practicing Feng Shui is to aid the flow of positive energy in your home, then having natural light and well-ventilation for your house is already enough as a start. The sun and wind’s energy can make a huge difference in your house Feng Shui.
Now that you have an idea of the basics of Feng Shui, you may now start to welcome Feng Shui in your room or your house.
Start with the basic principles
To achieve a good Feng Shui for your home, here is a simple step-by-step guide:
- Declutter. It’s time to get rid of the objects that you don’t need that much anymore. Decluttering can give you more space to move freely, and it may also aid the better flow of Chi in your area. The best place to start is your room or your kitchen.
- Choose one or two aspects of your life you would like to improve, and work on the area it corresponds to based on the Bagua. Don’t try to work on everything all at once. Instead, start on what you want to improve the most, and then the rest shall follow.
- Keep your layout or interior design simple. This is to maintain balance in your house layout. Avoid bulky furniture that would block the doorway of your house, which can affect the flow of positive energy.
- Keep an eye over objects that may affect the flow of positive energy or Chi. Some taboos in Feng Shui may cause conflict in maintaining balance in your home.
Avoid Feng Shui Taboos
- Dead or wilt plants – it shows restlessness and does not show positive energy
- Paintings of ferocious animals – it is said to bring bad luck
- Fake or dried flowers – symbolizes artificiality and bad energy
- Leaky faucets – represents a loss of fortune
Apply Feng Shui principles for specific parts of your home
Living space and living room
- It must be kept clean and airy. Objects must not block the path.
- Decorate it with round ornaments.
- Add green plants to increase the sense of relaxation.
- You may also add colorful pictures to make it more lively.
Kitchen layout and dining room
- Move the refrigerator and gas stove away from each other.
- Two elements will be conflicted if the faucet is near the gas stove (fire and water). Change the position of these two if possible.
- Do not place the kitchen opposite to the toilet, nor place it on the same wall as the toilet
Bedroom
- Leave out any objects that cause you a feeling of pressure or insecurity, like thick paintings and heavy wardrobes.
- If you have a mirror in your room, make sure that you don’t see yourself in them when you’re in your bed, as it may confuse your soul. If you cannot move them, cover them.
- Ensure the room is not located near the kitchen, as it may accumulate toxic gas when cooking, thus affecting a person’s sleep and health.
Feng Shui as a Life Guide
Having Feng Shui is useful as a guide when it comes to improving your home and your life. Some interior designers even welcome the idea to help them bring good energy into a home. Feng Shui focuses on life energy, especially your well-being.
Though the practice isn’t past of your belief, is not wrong to try and create a good home design plan that adds personality to your daily life. If it provides you comfort, balance, and harmony into your environment, then you’re doing it right. And you’re doing great.
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