Feng Shui for apartments is not only about arranging furniture but bringing happiness and balance to your life.
Have you ever walked into someone’s home and felt like the space had really good energy? They arranged everything with a natural, intuitive flow and it just seemed to fit well together? That person probably designed their living spaces using Feng Shui principles.
What is Feng Shui?
Originating from ancient China, Feng Shui is the practice of arranging living spaces to create a balance between the space and its user. By directing energy or chi, it’s said to bring happiness, health and harmony.
Besides these benefits, many practitioners enjoy incorporating Feng Shui into the design and layout of their homes because of its aesthetic appeal. And you don’t need to have a giant house or lots of space to use Feng Shui. You can practice Feng Shui in apartments, as well, where it’s especially beneficial.
Apartments are typically smaller than houses, with less space. So, balancing the space and making the most of it is especially important. Curious about how you can use Feng Shui for apartments? Here are some tips for Feng Shui for apartments that will bring balance and harmony to your space.
Translated, Feng and Shui mean wind-water. This ties into Feng Shui’s connection to Taoism, a system of belief from ancient China centered around humans and nature living in balance together. Inspired by a historic text called the Book of Burial, Feng Shui was originally used to orient graves and tombs to align with energy forces and be auspiciously placed. But over time, its uses have evolved and changed, especially as Western cultures embrace the ideology.
Elements of Feng Shui
There are several different elements to the practice of Feng Shui. The first is about bringing Earth’s five main elements into your space.
1. The big 5
These, of course, are fire, earth, wood, metal and water. Each represents different values or qualities you’d like to incorporate into your home. For example, the earth is about being grounded in areas of life like relationships, while water’s flexibility and shifting qualities tie into career goals.
The principle is to have these five interconnected elements equally balanced throughout your apartment. However, you can also pick and choose what areas of your life you wish to improve and focus your energy on bringing those elements into your design and therefore, your life.
2. The Bagua map
Meaning “eight” in Chinese, the Bagua map refers to eight different areas essential to building a well-balanced life. These include knowledge, family and health. At the heart of the Bagua is you, the ninth element that draws everything together.
The Bagua map charts the flow of energy around your home and acts as a blueprint of the strength of each area. To have a perfectly balanced home, you want equal attention paid to all areas. As you learn more about Feng Shui, you’ll discover which parts of your home tie to which values. Placing certain types of crystals in different areas can also attract desired qualities.
3. The commanding position
The commanding position is one of the elements of Feng Shui that allows it to fit so well with interior design. It’s where you want to spend most of your time when you’re in a specific room. It’s the furthest spot in a room from the door and located on a diagonal.
Once you’ve found the commanding position in a room, that’s where you’ll place the most important furniture or item of the room. If it’s your bedroom, that would be your bed. Whatever item or piece of furniture you place in the commanding position, it should not be directly in line with the door.
How to add Feng Shui to your apartment
One of the best aspects of practicing the art of Feng Shui is that it’s not one size fits all. Whether your apartment is big or small, these Feng Shui design ideas can transform each space and bring balance, positive chi and happiness to your life and apartment.
Bedroom
The bedroom is one of the most important rooms in your apartment. It’s where you start and end your day, so it’s a space for rest and centering yourself. It’s also a space for connecting with your partner physically and emotionally. So, you want to set the space up with the embodiment of all your goals.
- Place your bed in the commanding position. Once again, this means it’s as far as possible from the door and place it on a diagonal.
- If you don’t have a headboard for your bed, get one. Headboards represent support and are essential for bringing good energy into your bedroom.
- Decorate in pairs. That means having two nightstands, one for each side of the bed. If you have lamps, get a matching pair. This creates symmetry and balance.
- Avoid having furniture with sharp corners, large paintings and mirrors.
- Decorate the room in muted, neutral tones like creams, off-whites and warm brown shades to promote relaxation.
- Use warm lighting, nothing harsh and artificial-looking.
- Keep electronics and work-related items to a minimum to both keep the space visually clean and also give your mind a break from screens.
- Sorry plant parents, but try to keep plant life out of the bedroom. This is because plants have strong growth or yang energy, which offsets the peaceful atmosphere you’re trying to cultivate.
- Reduce clutter and keep places like bookshelves and dressers clean and organized.
By keeping these clean and minimal, you’ll have excellent Feng Shui in the bedroom.
Living room
While the living room is not one of the most important rooms in your apartment in regards to Feng Shui, you still shouldn’t neglect it. The living room is where you gather with friends and family, nurturing the relationships and partnerships aspects of your life. Therefore, the living room needs to be a welcoming, well-balanced place.
- Usually, larger pieces of furniture like sofas, couches and chairs act as the center focal point of a living room. Depending on your specific taste, think about where you spend most of your time when in the living room and then move that piece of furniture into the commanding position.
- In many modern households, the living room is often arranged around the television. But don’t put the TV in the commanding position, as it distracts you from quality time with yourself or others. Place the TV in an accessible but not central position, like mounted on a wall where everyone can see it but it’s not the main focus.
- Living rooms are great places to have lots of plants, inviting growth into the space.
- Enhance the connection to nature and the outside world by inviting in lots of light and fresh air. Nine is a very lucky number in Feng Shui, so opening windows for nine minutes will allow stale, bad energy and air to leave while welcoming in fresh chi.
- Declutter the space of excess, unnecessary furniture and décor to allow for good energy flow.
- Similar to other rooms, be mindful of the colors you’re using in the space and what kind of energy they’ll attract or qualities they represent. This handy guide offers a great run-down of what different colors mean in Feng Shui and how to utilize them.
Make this space more about connection and nature, and you’ll be well on your way to good Feng Shui.
Kitchen
The kitchen is another key place for Feng Shui for apartments. It’s the place where you nourish yourself and attend to your health and well-being. Therefore, it’s crucial to invite good energy, happiness and success into this area.
- The stove is a very important object in Feng Shui. Just as your bed and desk represent different values, qualities and areas of life, the stove represents nourishment, resourcefulness, prosperity and wealth. Be sure to place your stove in the commanding position of the kitchen.
- Decorate with either white colors for cleanliness or dark, earthy colors and wood elements like cabinets or décor. Wood represents growth and development, while earthy tones are for stability.
- If you can, have as many burners as possible on your stove. Burners represent opportunities for wealth and success in your career, so the more burners you have, the more chances to invite financial and career success into your life.
- Keep the space clean, organized and free of clutter. This is especially true for the stove and fridge, as they’re the most important Feng Shui objects in your kitchen.
Just as the kitchen is where you feed your body, it can also feed your soul.
Home office
Your home office is ideally where you’ll get your work done and keep your affairs in order. So, you want the space to keep you focused, motivated and inspired.
- Place your desk, which represents your career and work goals, into the commanding position.
- Situate your office layout along the northern wall of the room. In Feng Shui, the north connects your success in your career and work.
- Arrange your office to prevent furniture or objects from blocking the paths around the room. Objects that are restricting the flow of movement and just seem “in the way” can represent feeling blocked at work or that you place obstacles in your own way. Try to create an open floor plan to free your mind and workspace.
- Using the Bagua mapping techniques, find out where the fame and wealth areas are around your office. Place objects tied to these areas, like plants for growth in wealth, to activate and attract more of these qualities into your work life.
- You can also overlay a Bagua map onto your desk itself to identify problem areas and reorganize them accordingly, like adding a bonsai tree or small water feature.
- As with all other rooms, keep your home office clutter-free, clean and organized. Messy spaces can get in the way of the positive energy you want entering your life and home.
Adding these elements into your home office will give you a calm and peaceful place to stay productive.
Key principles for Feng Shui for apartments
Even if you’re not able to utilize all the above design suggestions in your apartment, here are some key take-aways that will still help bring good chi into your apartment:
1. Avoid clutter
Overcrowded, cluttered rooms block the flow of chi, so it’s important to keep your spaces clean and organized. Eliminate extra furniture and furnishings. If you want to get rid of unnecessary clutter but are unsure where to start, follow the teachings of organization guru Marie Kondo.
2. Utilize the command position
Your bed, stove and desk are some of the most important Feng Shui objects in your apartment, so if you can place those in command positions, you’ll still be setting yourself up for success.
3. Incorporate balance in your apartment layout and design
Feng Shui stresses the importance of symmetry and balance in organizing your home to mirror those effects in your life. So, try to keep your spaces balanced in terms of where you place furniture and objects
4. Bring nature in
Connect to the outside world with fresh air and sunshine and use all five elements in your apartment.
Use Feng Shui to balance your life
Once you understand the principles and techniques of Feng Shui, they’re easy to incorporate in apartments of all sizes. Mastering the art of Feng Shui for apartments will not only make your living spaces feel and look better, but it will help direct positive energy into your life and set you up for success in all areas of your personal and professional life.
Source: rent.com