Feng Shui Your Way to a Happy Place!
The jury may be out on how to pronounce feng shui (here are the two possibilities from YouTube — you’ll hear one that sounds exactly how it looks, and one that is more like fung schway) but the practice has plenty of followers given the positive rewards that can result. Regardless of how you say it, this pseudo-science of furniture placement is said to invite maximum prosperity, happiness and bliss into living and work spaces. Here’s a smidgen of what we found out about creating optimal positive energy using this ancient, time-honored practice.
Feng shui originated from China and is said to use natural energy forces to harmonize humans with their surroundings. The term translates into English as “wind water” and in Chinese culture, wind and water are associated with good health and good fortune — on a number of levels. And while Feng shui is a complex body of knowledge, here’s what we found out about maximizing the placement of things in your home for maximum bliss!
The Basics: Five Elements
Feng shui followers say everything consists of varying degrees of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each is represented by certain colors that can help synchronize a particular space.
Colors from the five elements include green and brown (wood); red, yellow, orange and pink (fire); light browns, tans and yellows (earth); white and gray (metal) and blue and black (water).
Each color is associated with improving an area of your life, whether it be health, career growth, happy gatherings, creative endeavors or general prosperity.
Laura Benko, feng shui expert and author of The Holistic Home offers actionable tips on how to slow down the energy flow from the front door to the back door by moving it through your home “in a graceful undulating way”. Benko also says that the corresponding colors can calm down or amp up your natural emotions. For example, an accent wall painted red may be too stimulating for a person with a hair trigger, but perfect for someone who needs a little extra motivation!
Feng Shui Your Living Space
Some of the designers and writers at My Domaine are huge fans of feng shui – and use it to select good-luck houseplants as well as when choosing artwork that overlooks loved ones during a meal. My Domaine writers are always on the lookout for feng shui ways to usher good vibes into a home!
To give you an example, we started in the living room to collect tips about the best placement of your couch. The Spruce notes that making any room clutter-free is a great start for good feng shui. Apparently, the two cannot co-exist. For easy feng shui clutter-busting tips, consult the Spruce’s handy guide.
Another obvious tip is to insure that the flow of movement to and around the living room furniture is unobstructed. Think about that when you place an end or side table next to the couch. Another bit of advice is to place the couch so that anyone sitting on it will have a clear view of who’s entering the living area.
We found this interesting and reminiscent of Marie Kondo. Laura Cerrano, a certified feng shui expert with offices in New York and California, says that the things you put on display in your living room should be happy-energy anchors. That is, these items should give your heart a happy sense of accomplishment, curiosity or adventure.
The Welcoming Environment of Colliers Hill
The master-planned community of Colliers Hill is a welcoming environment where neighbors become friends and a network of supporters! Come for a visit and take in the amazing views of the Front Range and tons of amenities. The beautiful model homes from Richmond American Homes, Shea Homes and Meritage Homes offer ranch or two-story designs and are priced from the upper $300s to the $600s.
