5 simple tips to help Feng Shui your space
We spend approximately 90% of our lives indoors, so shouldn’t we make our home a nice place to be?
One way we can achieve this is by practising the Chinese art of Feng Shui.
Feng Shui, which translates to "wind" and "water", is a set of principles designed to help align your living space with the right energy (also known as “Chi”) and achieve harmony with your environment. This ancient practice has been around for thousands of years, but has seen a huge resurgence in recent years, as more people turn to home improvement.
These simple principles aren’t unheard of, and are often based on common sense and functionality in order to improve organisation, which, in turn, reflects positively on our mood and wellbeing. You may already follow some Feng Shui practises in your home without knowing!
As the Rug Gurus, we’ve handpicked our 5 favourite Feng Shui tips that are guaranteed to help you feel more at home in your space.
1. Balance the elements
Feng Shui focuses on the Five Elements: fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. Each element represents a specific energy (or “Chi”), so it’s important to choose which energies you want to bring into your home, and how to balance them accordingly.
Once you’ve decided which elements you want to incorporate into your space, it’s time to choose how you’d like to incorporate them. You don’t need to add solid wood or running water to your home in order to reap the benefits of the elements, you can also introduce them by colour, texture and material.
Use the principles of the Five Elements as a base to help attract the energy you desire. You’ll be surprised how your Chi begins to change when your environment reflects it.
2. Pay attention to doors
According to Feng Shui, the home receives its energy from the front door, also known as the “Mouth of Chi”, which travels throughout the house via passages and internal doors. Because of this, it’s vital to remove unnecessary obstacles from doorways and make sure they can open a minimum of 90 degrees, as these barriers will stop the flow of Chi in your space.
As the portal of all energy (good and bad!), your front door should reflect which Chi you want to attract. Use the principles of the 5 elements (see above) to create your perfect front door. Looking to improve your intuition and gain clarity from everyday life? Have you thought about painting your front door dark blue? If you’d like to welcome growth and new beginnings into your life, you could attract the right energy by placing a green doormat on your doorstep and some potted plants on either side.
3. Make your bedroom restful
It goes without saying that in order to achieve optimum energy levels, you need your beauty sleep. The same applies in Feng Shui - we’re at our most vulnerable when we sleep, meaning we’re more affected by the Chi that flows through the bedroom.
One way to promote a restful night is to make sure your bed is in the commanding position. One of the most renowned Feng Shui principles, the commanding position is the idea that when you are in this position, you are in command of the room. This is where your main piece of furniture should sit (in this case, your bed), and it should be positioned diagonally opposite the door. The reasoning behind the commanding position is so you can see the energies and opportunities coming through the door towards you, but you are not overpowered by them as you would be if you faced them head on.
It’s also imperative to remove any items from the bedroom that promote negative connotations, such as sharp corners, looming furniture and unnatural light. Look to add soft furnishings like wool throws and luxury rugs, opt for sleek, less invasive storage, and remove unnecessary electronics.
4. Remove clutter
If you’d like to help the flow of Chi around your home, you may need to think about decluttering. Having lots of functionless objects in your space slows down your flow of energy. It’s not just Feng Shui that promotes this, it’s also been scientifically proven that a disorganised space leads to a decrease in productivity and an increase in stress. As Marie Kondo would say: keep things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy!
5. … add some clutter!
If you’re a minimalist, or tip 4 just doesn’t apply to you, then you may need to think about perhaps adding some pieces to your space. If there are no obstacles in the way of your doors, your Chi may be flowing in and out of your space too fast, not circulating and not giving you enough time to reap the benefits.
In order to slow down the flow of energy, accessories such as rugs, artwork and side tables are encouraged - but only if they are functional or spark joy!
If you need help choosing the perfect rug or doormat to find your Chi in your home, our Rug Gurus Leanne & Carol are more than happy to help! Get in touch by phone, email or live chat.