Feng Shui in the Kitchen: Open Shelving – Good or Bad Feng Shui?

Reader Krys S. in Chicago asks: 

“I adore the look of open shelves.  I have a whole Pinterest board devoted to them.  And, yet, I read on your blog and in other feng shui resources, that open shelves are like knives that cut the residents of the home.  Ouch!

“Do I have to abandon my dream of open kitchen shelving surrounding my one kitchen window?  Or is there something I could do to diminish the cutting effect of the open shelves?”

Indeed Krys’s fear’s are valid. In fact open shelves create two Feng Shui issues:

• The knife-edges of open shelves create “sha chi,” or poison arrows, aimed right at you.

• Open shelves invite dust and clutter, violating the #1 rule of good Feng Shui, to keep your space clean and clutter-free.

For instance in these two photos you can see that things are stacked behind other things on the shelves, making them inaccessible at best.

Your Feng Shui goal is to blunt the edge of the poison arrows.  You’ll create good kitchen Feng when you:

• Build the shelves so they’re just deep enough to hold one later of kitchen supplies. 
• Pull things to the front of the shelves to create more of a blunt-edge to the look of the shelves.
• Design the shelves with rounded edges to reduce their sharpness.
• Avoid using Metal for the shelf material.
• Keep the shelves clean and tidy.

Here’s an example of open kitchen shelving with good Feng Shui:

The shelves have been build just deep enough for the spice jars so you’re hardly aware of the sharp edges of the shelves at all.

Here’s another positive Feng Shui example, with dishes:

(Photos: tessituracrafts, collarcitybrownstone, bhg.com)