Good feng shui energy is possible without windchimes and exotic items

Feng shui decorating can be fun and powerful, when you know what you are doing. The term feng shui decorating means different things to different people, because there are endless stereotypes attached to feng shui and to how a good feng shui space looks like.

At its best, good feng shui decorating creates a harmonious, beautiful and happy space with proper energy for its intended use; be it a home, an office or a garden. At its worst, unskilled feng shui decorating creates conflicting energy that visually resembles a cheap Chinese restaurant struggling to attract customers.

A good feng shui home is not easily detectable by visual signs; it is in the overall energy rather than in the presence of specific items. If one can look and say “This space has definitely been feng shui-ed!”, know that this is a red flag. Having windchimes, many fountains, lucky bamboo plants and money frogs in any given space, be it a home or an office, does not automatically make it a good feng shui space.

Good feng shui decorating means using feng shui wisdom in a subtle and skillful way to create harmonious energy in any home, no matter its decorating style is modern, classical or mid-century.

Good feng shui decorating will never scream for attention or fight with the style of the home, but will rather create a quality of energy that is vibrant, happy and harmoniously compliments the essence of your home.

You can have excellent feng shui decor in any style, because good feng shui decorating means knowing which colors, shapes, images and specific decor items to use in specific bagua areas of any given space. You can do that in any style and in any space without disturbing the visual field and the aesthetic preference of homeowners.

To master the powerful, yet subtle art of genuine feng shui decorating, you have to understand the theory of five feng shui elements and all the intricate ways these elements express themselves.

Once you understand the language of these elements, as well as know how these elements are expressed in various decor items, you will become successful in your feng shui decorating.

I know this might sound complicated, but if you want to achieve lasting results with your feng shui work, there is no way around it. Of course, one can always place two Mandarin ducks in the love area,  paint the front door in a bright red color (which might or might not work for good feng shui), and call it done.

Will this actually create good energy in your home? Of course not. So, how do you start mastering the art of feng shui decorating? You start by understanding the five elements theory on both theoretical and practical levels. You play and experiment until you are comfortable with the main expressions of each element in most common decor items.

For that, we first need to actually know these powerful elements.

Read: All About the Five Feng Shui Elements

image: potterybarn.com