Feng shui tips for the home

Home and Garden

Feng shui tips for the home

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice that can help balance the positive and negative energies in your home.

This kitchen exhibits positive Feng Shui. It is free of clutter, bathed in natural light and decorated with live plants.

Toby Stearns, right, and Patricia Grinnan, center, look over wallpaper samples in Stearns' living room. Stearns relocated his fish tank from his bedroom on the advice of Feng Shui consultant Laurelyn Baker, left. The tank is now in the 'career' section of his house. The water represents the flow of career opportunities. After moving the tank to its current location, Stearns got a raise.

A Lo Pan Compass is one of the tools used to balance the energy in a home.

A mirror reflects prosperity back into the room, a feng-shui design attribute.

Here a crystal is suspended from the ceiling overlooking the living room. Crystals can help restore balance and positive energy to a room.

Debra Duneier is a Feng Shui practitioner and assists clients in balancing energy in living and working environments.

Plants in the bathroom encourage abundance and growth.

The bedroom should focus on romance and relationships and be void of distractions such as televisions and desks, says interior designer Trente Ashton. Also, photographs should be of the couple who inhabits the bedroom and void of other photos of family & friends. She also says that pink and red are colors that should appear in a bedroom, even if only in small amounts. A plant placed in the right corner, the relationship corner, will encourage the relationship to grow and flourish.

Nine fish in cubes mounted on a wall incorporate Feng Shui in the bathroom. Debra Duneier says that "Goldfish are pretty, relaxing to watch, and bring life energy into your environment." She recommends 8 goldfish for luck and 1 black fish to keep away bad luck.

Interior designer Trente Ashton, who is an expert in Feng Shui has placed a mirror above the stove to allow the person standing at it to see behind them (protection and power) and also suggests locating plants and fruit in the kitchen as signs of health and abundance.

Laurelyn Baker, a Feng Shui consultant, and homeowner Toby Stearns hold red envelopes between their hands while performing a brief ceremony. Homeowners seeking to incorporate feng shui principles in their home should seek the advice of a consultant trained in the ancient Chinese practice.

Michelle Tilghman used a feng shui specialist to consult on the design of her home. This is a salt water pool which is part of having a healthy home.

Using feng shui principles, one should locate an office desk in a position of power, looking out toward the office door, says Ashton. Locating awards and honors in a prominent place also is recommended for success. The plants are strategically placed in the left back corner of the office for wealth, growth and abundance and at the left corner of the desk (left for the person at the desk). She also suggests a wood desk for sturdiness and eliminating clutter to free up personal energy.

Raymond Luo, Feng Shui master, is shown with one of his Feng Shui tanks. He advises people on how to arrange, build and decorate their homes and office space for maximum harmony, good luck and energy.

Debra Duneier states that the kitchen is a portent for wealth. The burners on your stove represent wealth. Keep them clean and alternate your use of the burners when you are cooking.

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This kitchen exhibits positive Feng Shui. It is free of clutter, bathed in natural light and decorated with live plants.

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