At its core, Feng Shui is a practice that embraces the idea that our homes mirror our inner lives. By directing the energy of our home, we can influence our internal energy. While Feng Shui can seem abstract and complicated, understanding these Feng Shui basic principles can inform different interior design ideas and serve as a practical guide to home décor.
Eliminate Clutter
One of the most important aspects of Feng Shui is a clutter-free foundation. While it’s important to have meaningful items in your home to achieve Feng Shui, there needs to be a clutter-free system of organization. Depending on what room you’re designing, you can utilize bookshelves, coffee tables, dressers, and china cabinets to help organize your belongings in an aesthetically pleasing way. You’ll want to choose an array of shapes and materials that make good use of your specific space.
Focus on Flow
In traditional Feng Shui, you always want to accommodate the notion of Chi, or Universal Energy. Practically speaking, this means making sure that people can easily pass through your room without running into anything or getting “stuck.” Traditionally speaking, this means avoiding long, straight lines, and opting instead for curved lines whenever possible. Additionally, you’ll want to avoid main doors directly in line with the back door, a mirror facing the main door, or stairs facing the main door. You’ll also want to make sure that the furniture in public spaces is arranged in a way that facilitates conversation and relaxation.
Let Light In
Ample natural light is one of the main Feng Shui principles. Even if you’re designing a space with few windows, you can still find ways to utilize the natural light and add additional layers of light with table lamps, floor lamps, and overhead lighting. Smartly-placed mirrors are a great way to amplify natural lighting in your home to better achieve Feng Shui. You’ll also want to choose lamps that light outward, rather than pointing straight down to avoid targeted lighting all in one spot.
While Feng Shui can be quite complicated for the beginner, utilizing some of these more basic principles of Feng Shui can help you transform your space. When you start the planning process, be sure to use our complimentary furniture placement tool to try out different furniture arrangements before making any decisions. In fact, you can even take advantage of complimentary interior design services from our team of home design experts.
