My intuitive design work is based on the principles of Feng Shui. I started out as a Feng Shui consultant and quickly learned how to sense patterns in a space that contribute to disharmony in a home. Here are the top two mistakes I see people make when designing their homes. Addressing these can make a HUGE difference in how your home can support your health, wealth and relationships.
1. Furniture Under Arrest
This happens when everything you own is up against the walls and covering every surface you have. Many people feel the need to use every inch of their home to display their collections, prized possessions and artwork.
Rooms need to breathe. There need to be places along the walls for the eyes to rest. These beautiful displays are adding an abundance of yin energy to a room. My mantra here is “where goes sight, so goes energy.” However long it takes a person to stop and fully take in all that is before them is how much you’ve slowed down the energy in a space. It can work for you when yin energy is warranted, but very much against you when it keeps the energy from moving on to nurture other places in your home. The cure? Eliminate the vignettes and pull some of the furniture off the walls and out into the room. Open spaces in the middle of rooms creates fast moving energy which are challenging to relax in. By removing stagnant energy along the edges and creating conversation areas in the heart of the rooms, you place the focus of a room back on the people - where it actually belongs! 2. "You want what to happen? Where?" Room function sounds simple enough, but I find that in a lot of homes it is not a well-thought-out plan. For example, how many of you have an entrance that doesn’t accommodate your belongings? Or a dining room table full of clutter? Or perhaps you expect your partner to enjoy crawling over to his/her side of the bed because you’ve placed your bed against the wall?
When we ask the body to do something internally that goes against what we provide externally, it will not energetically relax. That translates into restless sleep, indigestion and feeling disempowered in a space.
The Cure?
Take a GOOD LONG LOOK at how you have set up your rooms. When you enter a home, create a place to take off the outside world in order to enter your sanctuary. Hooks for coats and purses, drop zones for keys and mail and a rug to catch wet, dirty shoes are a few ideas.
Make sure where you eat your meals is a calm, beautiful place. You are asking the body to assimilate nutrients, which is a receptive energy, and external chaos interferes with that process. Sitting while eating tells the body we are doing something important, so it relaxes and takes it all in. Eating as you’re standing or even worse, while you’re moving sends the opposite message and often results in weight gain.
Not offering a partner the same conveniences you have next to a bed sends the energetic message that they are not an equal, or more to the point…you hold all the power in the relationship. Move that bed over, add a nightstand and fill it with all the items you (and they) enjoy! Yes, allow them to have a lamp for reading, a box of tissues for tough discussions or allergy season and perhaps access to an electrical outlet to charge their phone. If they hold a special place in your heart then demonstrate that outwardly by creating a place that says ”you belong here with me.”
Our homes are an outward creation of our inner world. They can support us and give us that place of rejuvenation or they can drain us, making our life dull and challenging. When you create a space with intention and foresight, you provide a safe haven not only for yourself, but for all those that need a port in the storm.
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