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Decorate Your Bathroom Using Feng Shui

By Candace Czarny

For some people their bathroom is just the room where they get ready for the day, eliminate waste, and store their hygiene products. Still others like to transform their bathroom into a personal spa. While no one likes to talk about it, the bathroom is a vital, necessary part of all homes. For those who practice, or want to practice, Feng Shui in their homes, this room absolutely can’t be ignored. Certain decorating strategies are necessary to ensure that this room is in accord with the ancient Chinese philosophy. While bathrooms weren’t part of the original Feng Shui tradition, since it was created before indoor plumbing, you can still arrange your bathroom to complete the benefits involved in Feng Shui. Feng Shui and bathroom design will further provide a calm, soothing home for all of the occupants.

The good news is that in Feng Shui and bathroom usage, the bathroom is closely related to the element of water. Let’s face it; the majority of purposes in the bath are connected to water in one way or another. Water represents cash flow and prosperity in addition to the career aspect of life and prosperity. Ensuring that this room is designed in the Feng Shui tradition can help improve those areas of your life tremendously.

On the other hand, it can’t be ignored that the bathroom is also used for elimination. Whether it is through the toilet or down the shower drain, this room is used for getting rid of toxins. Luckily when the proper Feng Shui and bathroom practices are followed, you can reduce the effects of negative chi, while increasing the helpful water element.

The first thing that needs to be done to Feng Shui friendly your bathroom is to give the room a thorough cleaning. Products sitting on the sink or the back of the toilet need to find a proper home if they are essential to your hygiene. If not, it’s time to get rid of the unnecessary items. Clutter is counterproductive to a good chi flow, and especially in the bathroom it is vital to keep this space debris free. Don’t forget to include under the sink and any linen closets in this process. They count too, and leaving them unorganized is not going to help you in combining good Feng Shui and bathroom d

Feng Shui For The Outdoors

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By Karissa Claire Dupree

People landscape and decorate even the outdoor area of their residence for various reasons and purposes. Among the cogent reasons and strong forces that drive the homeowner to improve and landscape the yard is to make the idle area functional and useful. In doing so, certain specific outdoor design concepts and styles are implemented and applied in order to give the backyard its best and elegant look. This endeavor to give the outdoor space such amazing and gorgeous look is performed not only for the purpose of beauty and functionality, but also and most importantly for fortune and good luck. Although there are some non-believers of good luck and fortune coming from the harmony of nature and surrounding, one can always give it try since beside there is nothing to lose but has something to gain should it prove itself to be effective in attracting good vibes and fortunes to one’s life. This is not magic. This is called feng shui.

Doing feng shui for outdoor landscaping and decorations follow certain similar rules as those applied in interior design and decorating. Some of these rules provide that certain areas of your garden or outdoor landscape exude positive energy, good luck, and fortune to every particular aspect of your life. Hence, it is believed by feng shui experts that the southernmost corner of the outdoor space or garden attracts recognition and fame. The southwestern side governs the strong matrimonial bond and its prospects and marital happiness while the westernmost corner gives abundant offspring and fertility. Helpful people and mentors are governed by the northwestern part of the area while the northernmost corner of the garden governs those professionals who are very much concerned with their careers. Family relationships and the well-being of every family member such as their health is found on the easternmost corner of the garden while the southeast should be as green and lush as possible to effectively attract wealth and prosperity. This circular arrangement of plants, objects, and furnishings outdoor is patterned to the feng shui bagua that is believed since the ancient times to have brought great things to those who believe and apply such principles.

From the foregoing discussions, it is apparent that the placing and locations of every object, decoration, plants, and colors as part of the outdoor landscaping and decorating must be in perfect harmony with each other as well as with the wind, water, fire, and earth elements of feng shui. These elements must necessary be complete at the area since each of them feeds the other thus giving way to the perfection of the promise of feng shui, such as, good fortune, strong spirit, happy and prosperous life, both for the person and the family. Although these things remain to be a belief for some, one cannot deny the fact that their popularity and following have reached all corners of the world. Simply put, feng shui would not gain such worldwide popularity if it were not for its remarkable success and truthfulness as regards the effects of harmony of all the elements that attract positive luck and good fortune.

About the Author: Karissa Claire Dupree is a design specialist and enjoys writing about any type of home d

How to Decorate Using Feng Shui

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By Alycia Hartzell

These words in Chinese translate to ‘wind-water’. Feng shui or wind-water is a system of placement believed to use the laws of both heaven and earth to help improve life by receiving positive energy flow. Feng shui aka wind-water was widely used to orient buildings, spiritually significant structures like tombs, as well as dwellings. The goal of feng shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. or “perfect spot”.

Presently, and mostly in US – western practices, we use feng shui as formula in which we design our interior spaces. Meaning, the placement of our furnishings in a space is based on what will create the best energy flow for the room. Why would one want to create this? Well is it not obvious? Even if you do not welcome eastern or Asian traditions, isn’t peaceful energy flow in your home or office space better than negative energy flow?

Here are some ideas on how to feng shui your home or office:

1 – Begin with clearing out the clutter. Remove or dispose of any unnecessary objects that are taking up space. If you have things out that you are not needing to access on a daily basis, put them in a different place. It is a good idea to start with your storage units; closets, cabinets, shelving – dispose all things you do not need and then organize these areas, creating room for things you do actually need. The idea is that a room should be a room – even if we are talking about a kitchen or office, all things should have a place and there should be minimal visible clutter upon entering the room or space.

2 – Good air quality and light are also key for good energy or chi – universal energy (energy inside your body and the energy around you externally). To achieve this, you must open up the windows as much as possible to let fresh air in. In colder climates, an air purifier and/or air purifying plants are great for this. Allow as much natural light as possible into your home. Purchasing full-spectrum lights is good too.

3 – Decorate in colors that support good energy and mood. Choose colors that represent the kind of energy you are trying to achieve in your space. Examples of energy/mood are; calm, energetic, minimalistic, or clean. Color plays a huge part in the energy one feels upon entering a space. Balance light and dark colors along with smooth and rough textures.

4 – Furniture placement is a large part of practicing feng shui in your home or office. It is important not to block or interfere with the chi aka energy flow of the room. Never force furniture or accessories into a tight space. Less is always more when it comes to feng shui-ing a space. Keep it minimal and keep it simple. Position the furniture so it has a good view of the entryways. For example, in a bedroom, always have a wall at the head of your bed. This supports your mind. Make sure that when laying in your bed, your body (feet) are facing the entryway and that it is visible. A good view of the entry way is also key for couches, desks, sinks, chairs, and stoves. If this is not possible, hang a mirror so that you are able to see the entryway. There should be at least 3 feet of space between the furniture in a room. Pay special attention the space between night stands, couches and tables. Always keep in mind, coziness, comfort, and good conversation, these are all things you definitely want to have in a room. Also arranging furniture toward the main focal point of the room or space is a good idea too. Example, in a living room, the focal point could be a fireplace or hearth. Regarding decorative accessories, place them at eye level and if there is a large piece of furniture along side a wall, place the accessory for example, a painting, above the large furniture. Always aim to create harmony in a room.

Feng Shui is a way to maximize our living and working environments. It creates positive energy flow, giving us the best possible comfort in the spaces we spend a majority of our time in.

About the Author: Alycia Hartzell is a seasoned design professional with experience in both residential and commercial interior design. She writes for ContemporaryRugMall.com – a leading retailer of contemporary rugs. Learn more at: http://www.contemporaryrugmall.com

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Read the rest here: How to Decorate Using Feng Shui

A Brief History Of Feng Shui

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By Charles Chang

Feng Shui (pronounced as “fung schway”) literally translated means “wind and water.” It is an ancient Chinese art and science of placement and arranging objects and space within the environment so as to achieve harmony and balance. The object is promote and nurture the flow of good Chi (pronounced “chee”,) which is a Chinese word similar to “energy” in English.

Feng Shui is not simply a decorating style. In fact, it is a discipline with rules and guidelines that can be adapted to fit with many different decorating styles. Truly it is a belief system which combines many different religious, geographical, astrological, mathematical, and philosophical ideas, as well as aesthetic values.

The origins of the term Feng Shui have been said to come from the Jin Dynasty (265-420.) In the Burial Book written by Guo Pu, Chi rides the wind and stops at the boundary created by the water. Ancient Chinese believed in manipulating the Chi so that it was directed with purpose and not wasted. Since this art and science was based on the wind and water, the term Feng Shui was born.

Today, it is a widely held belief that all Feng Shui books were burned during the Qin dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC.) One of the most authoritative works on the subject was written by Huang Shi Gong and given to Zhang Liang during the latter part of the Qin dynasty. Later, in the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907,) Yang Yun Song and his disciples wrote several books on the subject. Those particular works are the most authoritative work used by all Feng Shui schools. Unfortunately, the books were very cryptic and used knowledge largely passed down through the oral tradition.

Feng Shui is also believed to be intuitive and derivable from our own common sense and our sense of what is natural in our environment. Eitel, a German Missionary in China in the latter half of the 19th century, wrote in his work, Feng-Shui, Or, The Rudiments Of Natural Science In China(1873), that the origin of Feng Shui is a belief system that is unique to the writings of Chu His and other writers from the Song dynasty (1126-1278.) Chu His is more well known for influencing Confucianism, and while his writings and commentaries may have become the foundation for Feng Shui, Feng Shui’s roots truly go back as far as original Chinese Philosophy.

By the mid 19th century, Feng Shui had become such a part of life that the Chinese government published all the materials necessary for use in the practice of Feng Shui. In fact, as English speaking settlers came to China in the mid 19th century, they had a difficult time adapting to the way of Feng Shui. Much like modern day contractors have to conform to building codes and other community rules and regulations, the English settlers had difficulties in construction and renovation because their design ideas did not conform to the Feng Shui principles, and were therefore rejected.

Further early introduction of Feng Shui to westerners did not go well either. When foreigners wanted to purchase land, and those foreigners were not welcome, they would be directed to land that did not lend itself to good Feng Shui. Early western writings on the subject of Feng Shui were equally as unkind. In 1885, one author wrote that “if any one wishes to see what a howling wilderness of erratic dogmatism the human mind can arrive, when speculation usurps the place of science, and theories are reverenced equally with facts, let him endeavour to fathom even the elementary principles of that abyss of insane vagaries, the science of Feng-Shui.”

Over the last few decades, many English books have been published on the topic of Feng Shui. They usually focus on interior design, decorating, architecture, or landscape design. Reception from English audiences has often been skeptical, particularly towards the use of crystals, wind chimes, fountains, and mirrored balls. Claims that Feng Shui can improve one’s life, finances, and relationships are dismissed by some as mythology and new age mysticism. Still, others in the west have adapted Feng Shui to their own lives and report overwhelming positive benefits.

About the Author: Charles Chang is a Feng Shui enthusiast and author. He enjoys helping others with feng shui tips through his articles and website. Visit http://www.feng-shui-pro.com for more information.

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Read more here: A Brief History Of Feng Shui