You’ve just picked up the keys to your brand new home. However, does your cool ‘scandi-industrial’ interior design adhere to conventional feng shui practices? Can all that exposed concrete and bare metal shelving still be in balance and harmony with nature to give you the best chances for success?
We consulted Master Chan, a feng shui expert, to bring you 5 feng shui tips for your home.
1. Unlock your home’s destiny
Whether you’ve renovated or are about to renovate your home, feng shui masters would usually recommend that you have a feng shui assessment done of your home to set the stage for greater success. Every home is unique, and this assessment helps you to understand where the negative zones are, including those which attract quarrels or sickness.
Just as it is important to know the favourable areas in your home, you should also be aware of your own bazi, or personal birth profile. This is to take advantage of certain directions that are considered more favourable based on the day and hour you were born. For example, the position of your bed can be better aligned to give you a good night’s sleep.
2. Decorate with lucky plants
Every home is livelier with plants. But according to Master Chan, not all offer the same benefits. Visit a local nursery and look out for species like Epipremnum aureum (money plant), Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen), or Spathiphyllum (peace lily). The money plant and Chinese evergreen are wide-leaved plants that grow on soil, symbolising wealth accumulation, while the peace lily grows on water, enabling wealth activation (on top of being a great anti-pollutant). Now when your grand-aunt remarks on your healthy peace lily, you’ll be able to explain how it’s helping you and your partner to activate wealth!
3. Pay attention to colours
You probably already know how colour can affect your mood. Yellow curtains make us feel more cheerful, for instance, while blue walls leave us feeling calm—perfect for the bedroom.
Feng shui takes choosing colours a step further by associating colours with elements, such as greyish hues in metal. According to your bazi profile, certain colours might nourish you, while others might sap you of your energy. By referencing your profile, you'll be able to determine a colour scheme for your home.
4. Build your own aquarium
Having an aquarium is like owning a square metre of the ocean, right at home. But did you know an aquarium represents the perfect balance of the five feng shui elements?
- Water: the water in the aquarium
- Earth: rocks or gravel at the bottom of the tank
- Wood: aquatic plants or driftwood
- Metal: the structure of the aquarium
- Fire: the tank lighting, or fish with red, orange or yellow colours
With these elements co-existing in your aquarium, it can help generate positive energy and absorb negative energy. Ideally, keep eight brightly coloured fish, along with one black fish, such as a black moor, to complement the lucky number. As the living room is the centre of the home, keep your fish tank there for the best possible flow of energy.
5. Warm, not heated conversations
Everyone would naturally wish for peace and harmony within the home. However, we know that disagreements do happen within households.
Aside from being cautious of your tongue, you can take steps to reduce heated conversations through the placement of certain objects within your home. For example, rose quartz spheres in the west (associated with quarrels) or a glass of tap water in the southwest sector (associated with gossip) are believed to help diffuse negative energies, leading to a more harmonious time at home.
