What is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui (pronounced “fung shway”) is a design technique. It’s the art of placement.

People use Feng Shui principles to decide where to build a house. They also use it to choose room colors, and where to place a sofa.

In Chinese, the word “feng” means wind, and the word “shui” means water. Both wind and water should flow gently in nature; too much or too little of either can be disastrous.

Likewise, your home and office should feel in balance.

For example, your home should not feel too bright or too dark, but–as Goldilocks said–”just right.” Feng Shui helps you to design and decorate your surroundings so that they work for you.

To accomplish this, we study the visual cues around us–large and small–and their effects.

Feng Shui can be a detailed study, but it does not have to be difficult. You can learn and apply basic Feng Shui decorating tricks in ten minutes. The results can be surprising.

IS FENG SHUI A RELIGION?

Feng Shui can seem “like magic” when a home feels dramatically more comfortable, but it’s not mystical.

Many Feng Shui concepts were sparked by Buddhism. But, today–especially in the West–it is not tied to any religious beliefs. It’s primarily a set of guidelines for choosing what goes in each room of your home or office. These includes color suggestions, whether a metal bookcase will look better than a wooden one, and so on.

Feng Shui is more art than science. Feng Shui is not a religion, and it’s too practical and hands-on to be called a philosophy.

IS THERE MORE THAN ONE KIND OF FENG SHUI?

There are many Feng Shui styles, usually called schools of design. All of them share a common belief in the importance of balance and harmony in your environment.

Although the Chinese organized these design principles, these concepts are not unique to China. They were observed, collected and refined over thousands of years because–like gravity–they work everywhere.

Seeing how Feng Shui recommends placing your bed or sofa, you may think, “I remember my grandmother doing that, too!”

To some degree, most people are already practicing Feng Shui.

FENG SHUI IS COMMON SENSE

Most people experience a sense of relief when they begin to apply Feng Shui. It may seem familiar to you. It’s routine to hear someone announce happily, “I always felt that we needed a picture there,” or something similar. You have an instinctive sense of how your environment should look and feel. Feng Shui helps you to connect with that innate sense of what goes where.

Feng Shui increases your awareness of what’s around you. It improves your sense of energy–called chi (pronounced “chee”) in Feng Shui–and restores a sense of flow and harmony to your life. To accomplish this, there are a few basic design principles at the foundation of all Feng Shui.

FENG SHUI IS SIMPLE

These principles evolve around colors, furnishings, and décor in your home or office. Feng Shui starts with the simplest visual cue, such as clutter. Later, it addresses the sense of balance and flow in each room.

Many people study Feng Shui to redecorate their homes, when something “doesn’t feel right” about a room or hallway. Feng Shui provides clear and simple decorating rules.

Others study Feng Shui hoping for a little magic in their lives. Maybe they’ve heard that a fish tank in a certain corner of the home will bring them more money. Or, perhaps a friend found love when she put flowers in a particular area of her bedroom.

FENG SHUI IS FUN

No matter what sparks your interest in Feng Shui, rest assured that it is a simple and fun way to make your home or office look great and feel comfortable. If minor decorating changes work “magic” to improve your life, that’s even better.

But, above all, Feng Shui makes your environment work for you. Feng Shui highlights small changes, and the differences that they make in how your home or office feels.