GEOMANCY
FENG SHUI: THE LIVING ROOM For many of us the living room is the true heart of the home, so it’s important to get the sheng chi (beneficial energy) flowing. Samantha Wong reports
O Photos courtesy of unsplash.com
ne of the reasons minimalist design schemes appeal to so many of us is that they radiate sheng chi (beneficial energy). A pared back, clutterfree room is harmonious and well-balanced; it’s calming without being dull and it has a sense of flow – all essentials for good feng shui. So, if you are reworking your living room to improve the feng shui, start by decluttering it. Throw out what you can (that pile of old magazines on the coffee table) and find storage solutions for things you use on a regular basis. It’s worth investing in a few simple pieces that will free up space – perhaps you need a bookcase or a couple of side tables with in-built storage. You’re aiming to fill your room with only the (attractive) necessities,
and this goes for larger pieces too – get rid of the chair you never sit in and the painting you no longer look at.
The basic elements Paring down will immediately up the feel of any living room, as will giving some thought to furniture placement. Work with scale and proportion to create harmony between pieces of furniture, and make sure there’s enough space for chi to flow. Group chairs to promote conversation and togetherness, and put the TV in a cabinet so that you can really switch off from it every now and then. A word here about tech – televisions, stereos, computers and phones are all associated with yang (male energy), so you need to go big on ying (female) energy elsewhere
in the living room. This is easy enough to achieve – avoid painting the walls stark white opting instead for cream or earth tones, and swap out any overpowering paintings or oversized pieces of furniture. Minimalist design schemes rely on clean lines and angular shapes but be sure to introduce a few yingboosting curves. A circular coffee table will immediately soften things up, as will curvy design motifs on your soft furnishings. Another thing you need to ensure in the living room, as in every room in the home, is that each of the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water) is well represented. We’ve talked, in previous issues, about how you can up the presence of a particular element in a room through colour use. For instance, you can invite more wood energy into a room by introducing some
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