Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese school of thought based on the concept that how we position furniture and other items in our home has an impact on our health, our work and our relationships, in fact every area of our lives. Feng Shui in the home is all about achieving harmony between the elements and is translated literally as Wind Water. The water element represents the visible or physical and what we can see with our eyes and the wind represents the energy, it is invisible but we can still sense it.



If we apply Feng Shui to Interior Design, then the objective is to create an interior space that is both harmonious and aesthetically pleasing, that is comfortable, practical and that "feels" good. Obviously this brings in careful arrangement of the furniture and how colour schemes are used, what is on the walls and floors and even the lights, sounds, and smells in a room. It makes sense that if our home environment is harmonious, then we will naturally feel more comfortable and at peace with ourselves.

Water, fire, wood, earth, and metal all figure in Feng Shui as these are natural elements existing in nature. The idea is to put right anything within the home that is contributing to negative energy, to maximise areas that are already contributing positive energy and to only implement new features that will create positive energy.

Feng Shui tips for the home

? Have no clutter lying around as this will interrupt the flow of energy around the home, particularly around doorways

? The placing of mirrors is important, for example, it isn't wise to position a mirror where you can see it from your bed or facing a chair

? Open windows often to allow fresh air and energy to come into your home and purify the stale energy

? Furniture should be arranged in such a way that they back on to the wall and do not have their backs to the door

? As much as possible, windows should look out onto natural views but if this isn't an option then you can improve the energy by adding, for example, window boxes or by treating them in other ways following the philosophy of Feng Shui

The Bagua chart can be used to identify which area of your home corresponds to the main nine aspects of your life. The chart is arranged with eight of the nine aspects in a circle round the outside and the ninth one in the middle and should be viewed from the position facing your front door. By looking at each area in your home and relating each area to the Bagua chart and identifying how the five elements are interacting in these areas, you can identify which parts of your life are functioning well and which ones need improvement. The following list represents the nine aspects of your life featured in the Bagua chart:

? Wealth and prosperity

? Respect, fame and recognition

? Relationships and love

? Family

? Health

? Children and Creativity

? Skills, knowledge and Learning

? Business, Career and life path

? Helpful people and Travel

Each of these nine areas should correspond harmoniously with the five elements of Water, Fire, Wood, Earth and Metal. For example, water can be represented by little water fountains, fish tanks, transparent materials like glass, windows and mirrors or even a painting depicting a water scene. Fire can be represented by candles, fireplaces and of course the colour red, lamps, cookers and heaters. Wood can be represented by wooden furniture or ornaments, plants, wooden photo frames and even books. Earth can be represented by earthy colours and stones like terra cotta pots or soil in plant pots, stone tiles, and statues. Finally, metal can be represented by metal fixtures and fittings or furniture, silver and brass ornaments, iron railings and so on.

If all five elements are working in harmony with each other, then the energy in your home will be positive and if not, the energy will be negative. It might help if we look at the creative and the destructive cycles. In the creative cycle water feeds wood, wood fuels fire, fire creates earth (ashes), earth produces metal and metal feeds water. In the destructive cycle, water put outs fire, fire melts down metal, metal chops the wood, wood consumes the earth and the earth absorbs water.

If it all sounds too complex and you want a complete overhaul of your home then you could always consider enlisting the services of a trained Feng Shui practitioner, however, by using your own intuition and tuning in to how certain parts of your home make you feel, you can determine what areas of your home need to be addressed and can take the necessary steps to remedy this. According to the principles of Feng Shui, even relatively small changes can have a big impact on your life.