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Do you decorate feng shui, and why?

14 years ago

Reading Judy's topic on her DD fish aquarium not being good feng shui, I was wondering who here follows feng shui and why?

If you do, would you list specific things you do or don't do, and give me some general feng shui decorating tips?

Also, why do you believe in it, if that's not too personal of a question?

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Comments (17)

redbazel
14 years ago
Did you mean to put this on Conversations? I've done that before.......

Red
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
14 years ago
It's not that I follow Feng Shui, it's more that my natural tendencies seem to follow it. Time and time again I have looked up something I have done only to find that I did it right according to the principles of Feng Shui. I am talking about furniture placement, mirrors, bedroom and entrance/exit orientations, etc.

I think it is all about energy, and that energy is fluid and must be allowed to circulate properly for the best atmosphere within a home. Since my home decorating style is all about creating the correctly balanced atmosphere necessary to nurture and enrich my life, somehow it all works out.

I understand this is not what you asked for and that strict Feng Shui devotees will blanch at my thinking, but it works for me.
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Oh my goodness! I never expected such thoughtful and varied replies! But thank you, thank you, thank you, all of you. You have all given me much food for thought. I am in the only remaining rural section of the Garden State -- Northwest New Jersey -- directly across from Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania. Yes, there ARE woods in New Jersey and NO, most of us aren't anything like what you've seen on "Jersey Shore" or "Jersey Housewives." LOL Sorry if I sound unnecessarily defensive, but OMG -- perceptions have NJ have gotten so bad that half the time I lie and say I live in PA!!! ; ) Just to clarify: I was using the term Feng Shui tongue-in-cheek as I had read somewhere that red and yellow were recommended in kitchens designed under that paradigm. Also bought a book about it when we were searching for a new home. I found many of the ideas made sense, as in common sense -- like de-cluttering and making conscious decisions about placement of our objects. I did, however, stop reading after about the fifth chapter because it got too darn complicated, even superstitious. A funny side note: just recently my husband and I moved our bedroom furniture because I wanted to wake up in the morning to see the view outside (windows on south facing wall). I told him I had read that the head of the bed should be on the north wall for marital harmony and feet should be facing south. So basically I convinced him to help me move the furniture by promising he'd get lucky more often if he only helped me change the direction of the bed. Well, that effect was indeed achieved and an additional unforeseen benefit is that we got a better traffic pattern bc we don't have to navigate around the bed to get to the closet anymore. So while apparently I had that "rule" backwards -- it worked for us! LOL I am reminded of a line from Hamlet (I think): "Nothing is neither here nor there, but thinking makes it so." ; ) That said, thanks again for all of your feedback. There was not one person whose posting didn't warm heart. This is a GREAT forum and I'll post pics just as soon as I get one of those round tuits. Warm Regards -- Mamiam
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A chaotic and cluttered landscape of life creates difficulty in balancing, managing, and appreciating your journey through. for most people. There are some, though, that seem to actually thrive with chaos and clutter. They love to ride the top of that wave. Feng Shui probably originated in the primitive mind that realized that it was always good to have an exit, a way to go out the back. To be trapped with one's back to wall in the face of danger was a good way to get killed. We have an innate fear of being trapped, for good reason. It is a primitive and superstitious notion that has persisted in the East. I have a DIL from China and a friend from Taiwan. The way that they tell me Feng Shui is practiced in their culture is more like a superstitious ritual. For instance, when they get ready to lay to rest their dead, it is the tradition to hire a practitioner of Feng Shui to determine just where to do this. This is not unlike the tradition in our society to bury a body with the feet facing the East. It is my opinion that the manner in which it is perceived in our modern society is just as much superstition and nonsense. It is just another Eastern idea to sell to the Western public in a time when so many Americans are just overwhelmed with material possessions. We are awash in throw away, flash in the pan, overly valued, and useless consumer products. Is it any wonder that so many look for some magic way to arrange them or a way out the back door? I have said this before, and I am going to repeat it here. I believe that any entity that can transcend time and space as to be a bodiless and floating "spirit/force/shui" and cannot find it's way out of a room because the sofa is in the way or the window is in the "wrong" place is really one useless entity. But, of course I don't at all believe that entity exists any more than I believe in Santa Claus or that bunny. However, what I do know is that having a nice feel of flow in a living space is something that I find of great value. The lack of clutter and the ability to walk clear across the room without having to step around obstacles feels good, to me. I feel that it makes a difference to my life. I feel that it makes a difference in the way air flows. I feel that it makes a difference in the way sound flows. I feel that it makes a difference in my peacefulness. These are all things that I feel to be true, for me. There is no magic arrangement of the sofa. If it is where it makes my life complete and simple, then, it is the right place. If that changes, I will move it. I know that some of you are thinking that the "feel" that I speak of is what some would call the flow/spirit that is part of Feng Shui. I don't see it as originating from any other entity other than ME. That is all just plain old common sense, not magic arrangement of things as per some ancient superstition. It makes me feel good to have order and to not feel trapped in my space. Some people thrive in the opposite environment, a big ol' mess of clutter. Those people feel as if they are being held up and in place by the plethora of things that surround them. Without it, they feel vulnerable. I am the opposite. Instead of feeling as if I want to armor myself, I feel the need to have an escape out the back. So, to answer your question---I think that it is mostly nonsense and is just another "magic bullet" to sell to Americans, much the same as all of those diet books and bogus pop psychology self help books. Maybe if you were part of the culture where this idea has been embedded for a very long time and it has left remaining cultural residue, it might mean something to you. But, for us in todays modern America, it is just another feel good idea to sell to Americans. I used to work at a book store and I saw so many of these books come and go, just like the diet books. They all promise a magic bullet to our overly consuming and over whelming relationships to material possessions that so many are burdened by. Is it any wonder that we want to escape out the back door? Forget the magic of Feng Shui and just turn your attention to common sense. It requires no expert, no books, and the only criteria to judge it by is how good it makes you feel. If you are comfortable, much of life will flow more easily. Remember that you are the flow and the flow is YOU. You are in control, not some ancient superstition from the past.
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Oakley
Original Author
14 years ago
Red, I meant to put it here, since Feng Shui is a form of decorating. Not everyone goes to Conversations.

Cear, thanks for replying. Would you expand a bit on furniture placement and mirrors?

I remember something FS I heard years ago that the front and back door shouldn't be aligned with each other, and our's was at the time. Not anymore since we built on. Is that good? lol
palimpsest
14 years ago
Like Cearbhaill, there are FS priciples that I follow instinctively, or principles that I have violated and then wondered why I was somehow uncomfortable with the results.

Most of the elements I seem to be in line with involve furniture placement. I have never built a house, so I could not take even the principles that I think make sense to that conclusion.

I particularly do not like to have a bed where my head is on the same wall as the door. I like to be able to look up and see the door from a lying position. I also do not like to have the bed in a direct line between a door and a window that I open, at least not with the direct line going across where my head is. Apparently energies flow across the bed and disturb sleep, and honestly, when I *did have a bed in that position, I did not sleep well.

I also do not like to have major seating groups faced away from the main entry to the room. I think that is a vulnerable feeling. I don't think furniture has to be lined up facing the entry either, but I do not like sitting with the entry behind me.

I had a client where we were creating an inlaw apartment for the mother. While there was plenty of room in the bedroom for her sewing machines, we could not put them there because 'spirits' would work the machines at night and disturb sleep. She is Chinese so it is not FS, but something similar I guess. Really, this also makes sense in general, having work distractions in a bedroom is not a good thing.
emilynewhome
14 years ago
Since my daughter gave me several books on Feng Shui several years ago, I have become more aware of where to place and situate things accordingly.
Many of the principles make sense and give a feeling of comfort and security in a home.
I have bought a couple of small unobtrusive crystals to place where there is stagnant chi. (Better safe than sorry).
neetsiepie
14 years ago
I do not place mirrors above the bed or across from a door. I also try to keep the chi moving. I forgot about crystals, will have to put some in our MB since there is nowhere to put the bed except under or across from the window.

Luciky our house is situated well for chi, perhaps that is why when I walked in I knew it was the right one?

My LR is very chi balanced and it definitely the most relaxing space in our house. I figure it can't hurt to utilize feng sui in decorating.
vampiressrn
14 years ago
I do some Feng Shui, but also use the entry and exit from a room as direction, as well as the way the light comes in the room for setting up furniture. Some rooms are built so that you have to set your room up a particular way (such as niches for TV, etc.) and I usually do equal balance or use the power of three depending on the item.

I also have to have the beds so when raising up you can see the door. That is the same principal I use for my desk at work...I like it open and facing the door so people can approach easily and not to your back. I think a lot of it has to do with security too.

I have yet to place any crystals, wind chimes or table-top water fountains in my current home, but definitely need to do that as they always make me feel comfortable. Kind of like the color gray...just feels "right" for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Feng Shui
PRO
Lori A. Sawaya
14 years ago
I love crystals - course I can go pretty darn far with the woo-woo aspect of color in general, FS is no exception.

Would love to understand FS more past the crystals and color part.
cattknap
14 years ago
No, I am not a Taoist.
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
14 years ago
Ditto. I really don't see how you can follow something without believing in what it really means.
natal
14 years ago
My guess is some people don't even realize it's based on religious beliefs.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
14 years ago
"Cear, thanks for replying. Would you expand a bit on furniture placement and mirrors? "

I do not know the proper terminology, so forgive me.
I just follow my instincts.
As far as furniture- I envision energy coming into my home through the front door. I don't want it to shoot right out the back door, so no wide open paths to the exit. But neither do I want it blocked by placing something huge in it's path- I want to gently direct it into all corners of my space. I don't like hard corners in the traffic/energy flow- I like gentle curves.
Here's a small example-
{{!gwi}}
This is the view from my front door- you can almost feel the energy rushing out that window, so the big comfy chair w/ottoman sits there to slow it down.

I like balance, which for me isn't necessarily symmetry.
If I have a stagnant area that feels lifeless, that is where I put a small mirror or sparkly object, but not directly across from a door or window because that bounces the energy right back out as soon as it comes in.
I like my beds far away from the bedroom door, facing it, and not in view as I approach the door.

I don't personally feel as if there is any great mystery about it.
For me it all boils down to following my gut- if something doesn't feel right it isn't, no matter how many Home and Garden magazines it has been featured in, or how many times I have been told it is "in". If I am in tune with myself and can slow my world down enough to stop and just feel an area I can usually be inspired to change something to a positive effect.
And I'm forever adjusting- I am not married to my areas. I change, my homes energy changes, and so I constantly tweak things.

I don't mean to sound as if I know what I am doing because I do not. Nor do I have the funds to design and furnish a showplace home. But I can choose items that I love and arrange them in a way that makes me happy when I walk into a room. If I can accomplish that I think I'm doing OK.

I just redid my master bedroom- MIL finally vacated it by going into a nursing home and my home is fully mine for the first time since I moved here. I painted, hung some draperies I had kept in a box since I bought them twelve years ago (because I loved them so much), played musical chairs with some family furniture pieces I was finally able to pry out of my mothers hands, and called it done.
It is the most mismatched group of furniture you have ever seen, and I love that room so much I can't stand it. I want to just go in there and sit all day- it makes my heart so happy I could cry. I think that is pretty good Feng Shui.

I also think I am a long winded son of a gun :)
vampiressrn
14 years ago
I'll throw a different swing on things here and no offense intended to anyone. It helps me to be agnostic...I don't look at many life or death philosophies with religion in mind so I am not worshiping any religion or icon when I use the various ideas or practices. Just my way of thinking and embracing diversity.

I look to the beauty and for me it is colors and pleasing style. I think crystals are beautiful and there are so many wonderful colors. Water has wonderful healing powers and the sound of a fountain or the wind blowing through a chime has a soothing effect. I don't follow all the juxtaposition of items in Feng Shui, but as previously mentioned, a lot of it is common sense in spacial awareness.

I have always been interested in ancient Egypt all of my life, so my bedroom is decorated in that style...probably crazy for some folks, but feels comfortable to me...now...where did I put that mummy!!!!
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
14 years ago
Just a little bit of correction and I also hope no one takes offense. Feng Shui IS a Chinese tradition and began from the scientific study of astronomy (not astrology or religion per se). It is not the same as Taoism because it is NOT a religion. The goal is for buildings, structures, etc. to be in balance with the natural world and as Cear,Vampiressrn and others have said, many of the principles can be used to create pleasing and relaxing environments within the home. Take a deep, cleansing breath, relax, and enjoy.
leafy02
14 years ago
My own focus, feng shui-wise, is mostly on keeping clear of clutter. Many years ago I lived in an awful, awful house full of extreme negative energy (and I am not a woo-woo person by any means--it was just that noticeably bad) and a friend gave me a book called something like "Space Clearing the Feng Shui Way." I tried to use the info in that book to improve that house, but eventually we had to just move out.

The part that stuck in my head (probably because it resonates with my own feelings) is not to store stuff under beds, and not to hang heavy things (shelves, big artwork) on the walls over beds or sofas, and to filter negative views with sheers.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
14 years ago
"It is not the same as Taoism because it is NOT a religion."

Just for the record I would like to add that our Westernized idea of Taoism is not really a religion anymore, itself.
It is all about living a pleasant life, without causing unnecessary drama. It's living in harmony with natural laws and finding bliss in the smallest most insignificant every day occurrences. It views right here, right now, right this very moment as the only thing worth focusing on.

Above all, it is about balance and coexistence of opposing forces- life/death, day/night, male/female, etc.
There is no dogma, only the desire to remain open minded and consider all things in harmony.

Most Westerners who have adopted Taoist ideas gravitate purely towards the philosophical views and are probably not even aware of any traditional polytheistic references.
So to me, not a religion. [/off topic]
:)
User
14 years ago
No, because I don't believe in it.

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