Using Feng Shui to Your Advantage

While a lot of people have heard about Feng Shui, truly understanding it can be a challenge. Feng Shui literally translates to Wind Water, and it is an ancient Chinese concept of balancing elements and energies in a home. This balancing is done through the deliberate placing of furniture, and choosing colors and shapes that naturally reflect certain energetic qualities.

While it all seems a bit far fetched, many people attest that major positive changes can occur when they follow the advice of Feng Shui. Some people consult a Feng Shui expert before they even buy a home, and many interior designers and home stagers utilize Feng Shui philosophies. While certainly not everyone cares about a home's energy balance, it is an interesting concept, and one that can be fun to put into practice. Using Feng Shui might make your home more comfortable, and it may even make it more appealing to buyers when it comes time to sell.

Feng Shui can be very complex, involving an awful lot of aspects. Fortunately, many modern practitioners have filtered the art down to its essence, allowing the lay-person to practice some Feng Shui without being completely overwhelmed. Something that outlines Feng Shui is a simple way is the Bagua. The Bagua is like a map that helps you decorate or design your home.

Some simple concepts involve symbolism. Let's take love for example. Ideally, the master bedroom in a home would be in the love center, which, according to the Bagua map, is in the back right hand corner of a home. If you want to encourage relationships, decorate with pairs. For example, be sure to have two bedside tables, and two of each decorative object. Single candlesticks, statues or paintings of single people will encourage the owner to be single. If you are trying to find a partner, choose art that depicts happy couples, and decorate in colors like pink, red and white. Be sure not to let pink dominate in a girly way, as this discourages masculine energy. If you despise red tones and really don't want to decorate with them, adding just a touch of pink in a small but deliberate dose will help increase the love energy of the room.

The bedroom isn't the best place for plants, as their growing energy will disturb sleep. Plants are ideal in the wealth center, however, which is located in the back left hand corner of a home. If one wants renewed movement in their career center, adding water gets the energy flowing. Circular shapes and watery colors also add this energy if an actual water feature is impossible.

In Feng Shui, bathrooms, laundry facilities and even kitchen sinks are places where energy can literally go down the drain. If these are in the financial center of a home, the household may have trouble saving money. Similarly, if you can see the bathroom from your bed, you may wake up with depleted energy. Keeping bathroom doors shut, or at least toilet lids shut can help to balance this. If possible, rearrange furniture to avoid this energy drain.

There is so much to Feng Shui, I couldn't possibly explain it all in a short article. But keeping it in mind when designing and decorating a home is fun at the least, and life enhancing at best. You just might get offers to purchase your home from other Feng Shui believers!