A Feng Shui Makeover – With Color and Style
 

If you are interested in using the principles of Feng Shui to change your life, it may be time for a home makeover. Feng Shui is the Chinese art of placement and using tools of the Feng Shui trade can change how your home feels. In Feng Shui, the thought is flow of energy will affect the way you feel in a space. We are all made up of the same stuff energetically, and since it is all around, it will affect us. Often energy is moving too quickly or it is stuck and you may feel drained or stuck in the mud if chi is out of balance in a space. Balance and harmony is what good Feng Shui is all about so how do you go about achieving just the right energetic mix for your home?

When decorating your home with a Feng Shui eye, it takes part aesthetic taste and part common sense. Furniture should be good quality and the edges are best if rounded. If you think about a lot of points and sharp angles pointing at you all day that does not feel very good does it. Your furnishings do not have to appear as if you just came home from a trip to Hong Kong. However, having a few pieces of nice Asian furniture in the home is a very nice touch. Other good interior decorating pieces include temple or ginger jars. Art and accessories might include symbols such as the goldfish or peony blossom, as these call in wealth and luck. A great choice for additional softness and the use of the wood element include  bamboo. Soft upholstery on sofas, chairs, pillows and more balance out sharp edges from wood. Painting a wall is an easy, inexpensive makeover for a room. Paint affirmations on the wall before a final coat with a new color. The “intention” of the affirmation will always be in the room supporting your goals. You do not have to see Feng Shui adjustments in order for them to work. Trust that they are serving you and forget them or make them a beautiful statement for the world to notice. It does not matter; Feng Shui works through intention, no matter what.

Take a cue from the outdoors when deciding on your interior design theme. What colors of flowers are in your backyard? A nice balance is created if the indoor interior colors are reflected back when you look out the window. If you have mostly yellow daffodils, think about featuring yellows inside your home too. If pink roses and peonies is more your taste, these are very feminine flowers and the interior of the home is well served if it reflects these colors. Picture one of the scenarios in your mind’s eye and see if that “feels” good when you visually walk into the entrance of your home. Speaking of the entrance, a front door and entry area is very important in Feng Shui. Metaphorically speaking, all of the opportunity presented to you and your family comes from the Universe and enters your space through the front door. It is common sense to have round soft shapes in the entry as well so the opportunity feels welcome to enter. Round rugs or rugs with round designs promote a well-balanced entry as the energy is flowing at a good pace. I like using scent at the entrance too. Natural essential oils hold energy and scientifically promote either relaxation or rejuvenation. Choose from the many essential oils on the market and blend a unique scent for you and your guests to enjoy. Have a diffuser going at the front door and welcome all who enter (including opportunity) with a signature fragrance.

If you like using Feng Shui in your life, try wearing good Feng Shui too. A red embroidered lotus jacket provides a graceful silhouette as well as some energy for your spirit. Jewelry and colors are very supportive to the body and spirit as a whole. If you like wearing costume jewelry, choose from colors of the bagua or nine areas of life. For enhancing partnership, wear pink. For better health, wear yellow. For more money, wear shades of purples. For better career opportunities, wear black. If you love the look and feel of genuine gemstone, that is even better. Real stones hold an energetic vibration that supports the energy centers of the body. Fiery carnelian worn around the neck promotes fame and a good reputation. Any type of jade jewelry is supportive and lucky to wear. Metaphorical symbols are important in Feng Shui. A turtle bracelet signifies prosperity and long life. A lucky coin bracelet is a great source of good fortune and luck.  

Feng Shui will meet you where you are in this journey of life and lovingly support you along the way. Try bringing a little bit of Asia into your space, change things up with new colors that reflect the outdoors, or bring in more softness around you. Just shake things up and makeover your space to whatever suits you. Let Feng Shui support you towards a happier healthier life.

Beverly Marshall is a certified Feng Shui consultant and Aromatherapist. She offers guidance and suggestions regarding  Feng Shui products, decorating ideas and tips to enhance every area of your life. Learn more about how you can use Feng Shui principals to enhance your life.

Auspicious Decorative Symbols

Auspicious symbols and homonyms were often incorporated in the decorative motifs of glazed porcelain. These pieces were often given as gifts for birthday or New Year's celebrations.

• Peach-longevity or immortality

• Bats-good fortune especially red which wards off demons

• Five bats (wu fu)-5 happinesses: longevity, wealth, health, virtue, natural death

• Dragon with 5 claws-emperor; 3 or 4 claws were used as court gifts to attendants or foreign dignitaries

• Phoenix-empress

• Pine, Plum, Bamboo (Three Friends of Winter)-longevity, perseverance, integrity

• Paired quails-peace and prosperity

• Pomegranate-wish for children

• Apple (ping) homonym for peace

• Koi are symbols of courage, grace and perseverance according to a 3rd century Chinese book. Koi were introduced to Japan from China in the 1800's.

Textiles

• Batiks are made using a wax-resistant dye technique developed in Java. The fabric is painted with melted wax and dipped in dye. The waxed areas resist the dye so that when the wax is removed with heat the design is revealed. The resulting fabric has a casual, Eastern feel that works well with bamboo and rattan furniture.

• Brocade: fabric with a raised pattern usually woven into silk. Probably first developed in China. Persian (Iranian) traditional brocades are made with gold and silver threads. Textiles were originally hand embroidered and the province of royalty reaching peak popularity during the 16th and 17th centuries. They are now usually machine embroidered.

• Chintz: Cotton fabric originating in India in the 1600's. Although the word comes from Hindi "chint" meaning spotted, it usually now has a floral design and glazed.

• Damask: Woven fabric usually with a matte pattern on shiny background created by using the same color in different weaves. The name comes from Damascus, Syria, where the fabric originates.

• Folk textiles: indigo and white fabrics made in preindustrial Japan for the general population who were prohibited from using the vibrant colors of the upper classes.

• Ikat (ee-kaht) is an ancient fabric usually associate with sarongs worn by Balinese royalty. Patterns of flowers, birds, stripes, etc., are produced by weaving tie-dyed silk or cotton threads. This technique is believed to have been separately developed by Japan, Argentina and India.

• Muslin: Cotton fabric originally made in Mosul, Iraq. It is lightweight and is often used for slipcovers.

• Paisley: Fabric with colorful, swirling designs first made in northern India and based on the tree of life design. The name comes from Scotland where the designs were used to make paisleys, or shawls.

• Palampores: hand-painted panels with the tree of life motif from India. The patterns are very large and usually seen in wall hangings, spreads or bedspreads.

• Satin: woven fabric with a smooth, glossy side that reverses to dull, usually in silk, developed in China.

• Taffeta: a luxurious, stiff fabric made by weaving yarn alternatively over and under each warp yarn the entire length of the fabric.

• Indigo: According to expert Aboubakar Fofana, the blue hue results from fermentation of bacteria. He feeds them dates and honey. Dried leaves ferment in a vat for 9 months. Fabric is dipped, turns yellowish, then turns blue when removed and exposed to air as the indigo oxidizes and becomes colorfast. Some cultures believe it repels snakes and insects, some antiseptic power.

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