Feng shui is the Chinese art of creating a healthy and organized home by using symbolism to allow energy (chi) to flow freely throughout the house thereby contributing to heightened physical and mental well being. It is the process of utilizing symbolism to design your home to allow chi to flow freely through it. You can do so by incorporating the five elements of Feng Shui – wood, earth, fire, water, and metal to bring a refreshing balance to your home and your life.
Wood is said to harness the power of trees from nature and release that power of creativity in your home. It symbolizes traits of strength and flexibility, birth and growth, and intuition. If you find yourself in a rut experiencing a lack of creativity, ambivalence, or depression, adding some wood elements to your home may make you more decisive and motivated. When designing with wood elements, it is important not to let it overpower the other elements which may prove to be counterintuitive and create a tenser overwhelming environment instead. To add a wooden element to your home I suggest, fresh flower pots, accent wooden furniture, or a simple yet elegant motivational wood sign to add purpose to your life.
Earth symbolizes physical strength and is crucial for an overall feeling of groundedness. Lack of this element makes people feel disorganized and unfocused. Earth design uses earth colors (green, brown, etc) and rectangular shapes to bring a feeling of stability. You can explore textured rugs, paintings, low flat surface furniture, and even use wood signs to kill two birds with one stone while finding the right earth element for your space.
Fire is all about encouraging expressiveness and boldness. While too little of it has been linked to emotional coldness and lack of self-esteem, too much can result in anger, aggression, and irritability. It is possible to use fire either literally or purely symbolically in designs. Literal design options include adding a fireplace, using candles, or sunlight. While a symbolic approach involves animal prints, different shades of red, purple, and pink, and if you want to go all out, look into indoor electric fireplaces with adjustable flame colors and you can have the best of both worlds!
Water encompasses spirituality and emotions. So naturally, too much water can create a sensation of unbalanced emotion and simulate a drowning feeling while too little may create an apathetic space that radiates isolation. To incorporate the water element, you can either go with the physical route and purchase an Red sea Aquarium or fountain, or you could experiment with reflective surfaces such as mirrors, free form asymmetrical shapes, or dark tone colors.
Metal affects mental clarity and hinders decision making. By adding more metal into your home design, you can reduce the coldness of your space and create a more wholesome environment for thoughts and ideas to flow freely. You can design with metal by adding round or oval shapes, rocks and stones, and by using light pastel colors in your home design.
By using the five elements of Feng Shui whether physically or symbolically you can create an environment that offsets your imbalances in life and create an environment that aligns with your personality and brings your personal aspirations to fruition.