Harmonizing Your Home: Feng Shui Tips for a Balanced Living Environment
Living in a peaceful, relaxed home can help reduce stress and improve mental wellness. Feng Shui has many advantages, and one of the key aspects can be to create a balanced living environment that promotes the most positive well-being possible. If you’re ready to experience a home space that encourages harmony, happiness, and health, see how these Feng Shui tips can help you create a home you’ll love to return to at the end of the work day.
Be Aware of the Different Feng Shui Elements That Promote Balance
If you’re just getting started with Feng Shui, it’s helpful to know the unique elements that this practice uses to help establish harmony. These include fire, water, earth, metal, wood, and water. Feng Shui practices typically involve a number of rules or guidelines to help encourage balance and harmony, but you don’t have to stress about these rules. Rather, use them as some general guidelines to help you create a space that’s peaceful and relaxing to you. You can create your own unique style stamp and design using Feng Shui elements and aren’t limited to following someone else’s stylebook.
There are lots of simple ways to add these different elements to your decor. Incorporating small interior fountains for the water element, using candles to represent the fire element, or decorating with decor items that feature natural wood or sleek metals can all help create balance and add Feng Shui beauty and balance to your home. The beauty of the elements is that they can work for any home, anywhere; they’ll work just as perfectly for houses in Philly as they will for homes in Seattle, Austin, Denver, or LA.
Create a Welcoming Entryway
The “mouth of Chi” or the entrance to your home is a simple way to create a balanced, welcoming feel. Brighten up the entryway with adequate lighting, attractive or hidden storage, and decorative elements that help the space feel open and flowing.
Reduce Clutter and Feel the Power of Feng Shui
One of the most beautiful Feng Shui principles that has actually been proven to be beneficial is decluttering and streamlining your space. Making your space clean, clear, and clutter-free has been proven to have a connection to better mental health. According to Feng Shui, reducing and removing clutter can promote positive Chi, and anything that interrupts the flow of space (such as clutter and junk) can discourage this powerful force. Remove unnecessary items, haul away junk, and organize items to give them homes in closets, drawers, and shelves so they aren’t occupying the main spaces.
Consider Gentle Curves and Furniture Layouts That Provide Spaciousness
In Feng Shui, the concept of poison arrows refers to things like sharp edges and placements that can disrupt the flow of Chi. When choosing or updating furniture, or even smaller items like decor and plants, consider choosing those that have soft, rounded, or curved or edges as opposed to straight, harsh lines and angles. Think about placing furniture in such a way that it promotes an open flow of space and doesn’t make rooms feel cut off or compartmentalized.
Place Mirrors Strategically for Beautiful Balance
One aspect of decor that’s easy to change up and create a balanced feel is with mirrors. While many people choose to place mirrors in certain areas to help promote light or airiness, there are also some specific guidelines when it comes to the Feng Shui rules for mirrors. It’s actually recommended to avoid placing these in bedrooms, kitchens, or directly behind sofas. You’ll also want to avoid having mirrors directly facing windows. So where can you place mirrors according to Feng Shui principles? Across from beautiful views, near desks, in hallways, and in dining rooms (dining rooms are especially key as mirrors there promote wealth).
Focus on Feng Shui Colors for Harmony and Balance
While everyone’s style is different and certain colors just resonate more with some people than others, there are some specific color shades and families to use according to Feng Shui guidance. Blue and black are shades that have a water connection and provide a sense of calmness and relaxation. Green is associated with energy, stability, nature, and wealth. Red has a relationship to the fire element, as well as energy, the sun, and transformation. The color white is connected to the Feng Shui metal element and is associated with positive mental states, like clarity, creativity, simplicity, and balance. Yellow is another Feng Shui color and can represent happiness, power, and nurturing. Because there are many different shades and variations of these different Feng Shui colors, you can also go with what feels right to you.
Turn to Bagua Mapping for More Advanced Feng Shui
The practice of bagua, or energy mapping, is a more advanced way to look at Feng Shui beyond the basic principles. If you want to take your practices further than the basics for harmony and balance, considering bagua can be helpful. You can apply the principles of a bagua map to any space you’d like, so it can be helpful if you want to create balance in a specific area of the home. Or, you can work to apply the guidelines to your entire home.
Feng Shui Can Promote Balance and Peace in Your Home
Many of the Feng Shui practices and principles are simple to follow, so you don’t have to be a Feng Shui expert or an interior designer to make them work for you. Consider the different aspects and elements and choose what makes your home feel the most balanced and harmonious. Then sit back and relax in your peaceful space.