Fengshui is the practice of arranging your environment to create the best flow of energy, or ‘qi’ (气), in your surroundings. When done well, it is believed to create positive energies to benefit one’s well being.
In this two-part article, Raymond Kua, an experienced interior designer with professional fengshui mastery from The Design Practice shares some general fengshui tips to create a harmonious home environment, and how fengshui and beautiful home design can go hand-in-hand.
Applying fengshui on furnishing
Mirrors:
Take note of mirror placement in bedroom; it should be located behind your bed.
Opt for single mirror pane instead of multiple panes in bedroom as the latter may disturb the energy flow for a good night's sleep.
Portraits and collectibles
- Avoid portraits and sculptures of fierce-looking animals, skulls and weapons as they create 'sha qi' (煞气). If you choose to display weapons, ensure that these are encased.
Colours
- Colours play a minor role in fengshui, but it is best to avoid strong colours such as bright red.
Lightings
- Lighting setup play an important role in fengshui solutions; avoid the 2,3,5,7-bulbs configuration as they are not auspicious numbers. Instead, go for the auspicious configuration – 1,4,6,8 and 9.
Applying fengshui on your home layout
As determined by 'yang zhai' (阳宅), the three most important aspects to look out for are the direction of the main entrance, the kitchen stove and the bed headboard placement in the bedroom.
1. Main Hall
- Avoid putting a divider or partition in front of the main entrance so that the ‘qi’ will flow in.
- Keep the foyer clean and free from mess.
2. Kitchen
- The kitchen stove is the most important consideration as the burning flames govern the wealth of the household.
- Establish an auspicious position and direction to place your stove through a fengshui master.
- Avoid two separate fire stoves at home as it may indirectly encourage a third party into a relationship. However, electric stoves are fine.
3. Bedroom
- Beds should not face the toilet entryway, mirrors, or be placed under beams and aircon units.
- In fact, the most ideal location to place your bed is in the corner diagonally opposite your room entrance.
- Hanging pendant lights above your bed is not recommended as it deflects the ‘qi’.
To help you visualise better, here's an example of how Raymond applied fengshui on this 5-room flat.
Note: Image courtesy from The Design Practice. Floor plans are not drawn to scale, and reproduction of this drawing is forbidden whether in part/whole, or modified.
What he did: The main entrance was tilted slightly to face an auspicious direction. The degree of tilt corresponds specifically to the 8-characters of main breadwinner. However, as a result, 'Bedroom 2' turned malevolent. To minimize the negative energy, he converted the bedroom into a dining area and directed the malevolent energies into a walk-in wardrobe in the master bedroom.
Then, following the principle of 'yang zhai' (阳宅), the stove and the master bedroom headboard have been aligned in the most auspicious position and direction. A wealth pot was placed in the wealth position in the living room and 6-rod metal wind chimes were hung around the house to negate negative energy.
Improve your fengshui at home with these quick tips
Not everyone can carry out a major renovation to improve the fengshui. Here are five general tips you can apply at home.
- To negate sickly energy, try putting ‘an ren shui’ (安忍水) beside your bed. Simply fill half a glass jar with coarse sea salt, place six copper coins in a circular arrangement, then add water and fill up to 75% of the jar’s content.
Image Source
If you are unable to ascertain the source of negative energy, set up this arrangement near the window with the 5 elements: Metal (金), Wood (木), Water (水), Fire (火), Earth (土). They can be represented by a musical box for 'Metal', a small plant for 'Wood', a triangular red object for 'Fire', and a rock for 'Earth', and water. Lay them in a circular array and this should help dispel a significant amount of negative energy.
Hang a set of 6 rod metal wind chimes specifically helps to negates malevolent 'sha qi' (煞气) from construction projects which disturbs the earth energy.
If you are moving furniture or doing a minor renovation to improve the fengshui, be sure to pick an auspicious date and time that do not conflict with the homeowner's birth characters.
- On a lighter note, avoid fights or quarrels at home. Smiles and laughter ALWAYS usher in wealth and prosperity.
While these tips are useful in general, there are many other factors that influence the flow of energies in fengshui. If you wish to integrate fengshui and interior design into your new home, contact The Design Practice through the Qanvast app.
Stay tuned for the second instalment next week on how to tap on fengshui to choose an ideal home for a more harmonious living.
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