
The feel of the photo is definitely more French than Chinese yet those images, and where they’re located in my room is strategically placed in my “Creative Area” because of my belief in Feng Shui. However, when you’re in my home, you’d probably never guess it because you wouldn’t see things traditionally associated with this practice like crystals, Asian decor, fountains, wind chimes, etc..
Feng Shui is a practice of arranging objects to help people achieve their goals. I use it as a way to be conscious of my entire life, make sure all my areas are balanced and most importantly, to help me decorate! Although it’s not really used for decorating purposes, that’s how I came to use it when, around 2000, I innocently picked up a book called, “Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life : How to Use Feng Shui to Get Love, Money, Respect and Happiness”. At the time I had just immigrated to America and, with very little money, took on my first American flat and decorated it with everything Ikea - wood, wood and some more wood. I knew I had a problem because when people would come visit the first thing they’d say is, “Oh, I got that at Ikea, too!” My home had zero personality, I had no idea how to make it my own, I owned things I didn’t know what to do with and personally I was overwhelmed at all the personal transitions I was going through (new country, new legal steps, new job, new man, new home). So this book seemed like the right read and it turned out to actually really change my life.
Although there’s much cheek to the book, it’s a very informative, easy read that really breaks down the areas of life (reputation, creativity, family, prosperity, helpful people/travel/health, career, knowledge) and helps you become conscious of them by really thinking about their placement in your home and the things you then put into each of these areas. It talks easily about materials that are good and colours that are bad. There’s a flow to it that just really spoke to me at the time (someone with no money, no decorating sense, and in need of some major uplifting!).
With help from the book, I sketched out my flat and placed the bagua (the “map” of the different life areas) on top of my drawing and then made notes about the good and bad things for each area. I then began to take away the bad and replace them with good things. If I couldn’t add things, I just thought about them until I could. Now, whether or not adding red to my reputation area helped me actually get a great reputation (which is what happened to me at the time with my company, Girl at Play), I can’t say. But what it did do was make me really think about this area. When I entered a room, an object would trigger a thought about creating positive cash flow. Or the colours blended from one room to the next instead of being a crazy, uncomfortable mishmash from before.
So although my style is very French/minimal/Shabby Chic/Boho modern, I practice Feng Shui and use it for every flat I move into (and have actually said no to a few when I saw the “Prosperity” area was in the washroom. I can’t afford to have money going down the drain!) Feng Shui has also just really helped me to connect with the energy and layout of a home, to keep colour working for me instead of against me, and from keeping impulse buying at bay. No use in buying that beautiful wooden table if wood is a bad object to have in a particular area, right? Well, perhaps I don’t go that far (I’d probably cover it up with a table cloth in the right colours just to be safe!) and that’s not to say I live 100% by it, but it’s just another useful tool, for me, in keeping my home feeling good and me from going crazy with decorating.
Another great example of using feng shui in this way is the book Feng Shui Your Life by Jayme Barrettt. Her book shows beautiful examples of feng shui homes that use a lot of the decor/colour schemes I love.
And here’s my new flat’s bagua: Read the rest of this entry »
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