Feng Shui In Your Apartment

Do you want to release positive energy in your home with Feng Shui? This ancient Chinese practice is designed to bring harmony to both people and their environment. So you can be sure that it will pay off for you if you integrate it into your living space. This blog post summarizes the five basics, like the five influencing factors of Feng Shui and five simple tips on how to make your home a Feng Shui paradise.

What is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese philosophy that provides guidelines for creating harmonious energy in your home.
It has been used for centuries to help people improve their health, career development, relationships, prosperity, and energy levels through the design of their environment.

If you're looking for ways to improve the energy in your home, Feng Shui could be the perfect solution. According to ancient Chinese teachings, energy is felt throughout the home and can be influenced to create balance and harmony.

Feng Shui can be applied in houses as well as in flats. In a rented flat, the design and implementation possibilities are more limited than in your own house. But even if it is a rented flat, there are many tips and tricks you can use to bring the positive energy of Feng Shui into your home.

Let's look at the five Feng Shui principles you should consider when decorating and organising your home.

Chi, or Qi, is an essential component of Feng Shui and is the life energy inherent in all things.

Ancient Chinese teachings state that chi must be in balance and flow freely in order to live a life of harmony and balance.

The goal of Feng Shui is to improve the quality of life by allowing chi to flow in the home. This involves finding the right balance of the elements to maximise positive energy in a home.

The yin and yang are two opposite poles between which energy - the chi - moves. Yin is the feminine, calm, and receptive side of balance, while Yang is the masculine, active and harsher side. Everything in life has its own unique balance of yin and yang, and every characteristic and condition is associated with one or the other. 

When designing a Feng Shui home, the main aim should be to create a harmonious balance between the two opposing energies. This can be achieved through the use of colours, shapes and textures, as well as through the selection of furniture and accessories. 

For example, round shapes represent yin energy, whilst angular shapes can represent yang energy. Colours such as blue and green are also considered more yin, whilst colours such as orange and red are considered more yang. 

Bedrooms, for example, are usually places of rest and relaxation; they are therefore associated with a strong yin energy. A study or office however, is often associated with a more pronounced yang energy due to the productive work that takes place there.

Have you ever heard of a Bagua? 

It is a type of floor plan used in FengShui that aims to create harmony and balance in your home. 

The Bagua is a tablet consisting of nine fields (also called "rooms" or "houses"), which are arranged as a square or octagon and represent different areas of life, such as family, children, career, etc. These rooms are related to the 5 elements, the 8 cardinal directions (primary directions on a compass) as well as different materials and colours. Through targeted combination, certain effects can be strengthened or weakened to create a harmonious balance.

Working with the bagua step by step:

1. First, you need a bagua board as a basis for designing your living space. Print out our A4 bagua to get started right away. 

2. create a floor plan of your home on foil or transparent paper that is no larger than the Bagua. 

3. Place the transparent floor plan over the bagua so that the entrance to the flat is in one of the rooms 'Knowledge', 'Career' or 'Friends'. The bagua does not have to cover the whole floor plan - it is important that the entrance is correctly aligned. 

4. The Bagua shows you how to divide your living space according to the flow of energy and enables you to design your home with colours, shapes and materials so that the chi flows.

The Bagua does not tell you which living space has to be in which place. Choose the areas that are important to you and give them priority. Make sure that the elements remain in balance and do not focus too much on individual areas.

The character of chi is determined by the cardinal direction, and each cardinal direction is also associated with one of the five elements and a time of day. For example, the south is associated with fiery energy, and this energy can be used to bring about positive changes in our lives and in our surroundings.

By taking into account the cardinal directions and the elements associated with them, we can create the best possible flow of energy in our home or office to bring about positive change. 

Light is a powerful source of energy in Feng Shui. It can be used to create a sense of balance and harmony in any living space.

What can you look out for:

• Use translucent curtains and blinds to let natural light into the home. This helps to create an atmosphere that is both calming and stimulating.

• In areas where there is a lack of daylight, artificial light sources can be used to create more energy. Lamps in warm colours are best for creating a homely, inviting atmosphere.

• Salt lamps also radiate warmth and are beneficial for indoor climates. They emit negative ions, which is thought to reduce stress and improve air quality.

By using these different light sources, you can create an environment that is both aesthetically pleasing and energetically balanced.

Houseplants can be used to improve Feng Shui in bedrooms. The right type of plants and their placement can help create a harmonious atmosphere that promotes relaxation and good energy flow.

Four things Feng Shui says you should consider when adding plants to your living space:

• Leaf shape
  When choosing indoor plants, it is important to pay attention to shape and form. The leaves of the different elements have different shapes: narrow and elongated (wood), pointed and spiky (fire), cubic (earth), spherical (metal) and hanging and irregular (water). Round leaf shapes are preferable for a harmonious atmosphere.
• Care
  It is important that indoor plants are regularly watered, cared for and dusted to allow their energy to flow freely.

• Number of plants
  It is also important to consider the number of plants in the room. Too many plants can disturb the flow of energy, so it is best to limit yourself to one or two plants for the entire room. Fresh flowers and plants can make any room feel cosier and create a better indoor environment.

• Placement
  When placing plants, it is important to pay attention to any "dead corners" or angles of the room. These corners can benefit from a potted plant and help create a more harmonious atmosphere. 

Note: Choose plants wisely. Not all plants are equal when it comes to Feng Shui. Some plants are considered auspicious, such as bamboo, ferns, bonsai, orchids or basil. Other plants such as carnations or hydrangeas should be avoided altogether indoors.

We all know how important it is to have a tidy home. Not only does it look better and make our home more inviting, but it can also have a real impact on our energy levels and mental well-being. A tidy and organised home can help us to reduce stress and anxiety and be more productive in our daily lives.

Roll up your sleeves, let's go: 

• Declutter
  The key to a tidy home is decluttering. Look around your home and really evaluate every item you own. Ask yourself if you need it and if not, can you donate it or get rid of it? This way you can bring more positive energy into your home and make it easier to stay organised and clean.
• Organise
  Once you've decluttered, it's time to organise. Sort the things you need into categories and store them in neat bins or boxes. This will make it easier to find things when you need them, and your home will look neater and tidier overall.
• Keep it clean
  Finally, it is important to keep surfaces free of clutter and dust. Not only does this make your home look better, but it can also help reduce stress and anxiety. Tidy surfaces are a great way to start and end the day, so take the time to clean and organise your home regularly.

Most rooms are usually square. To create an idyllic living space, choose decor that has a round, curved shape, as this allows the chi to flow harmoniously through the home.

Here are some tips on how you can use round and curved shapes to create a balanced living space:

• Hang up a round mirror.
  Mirrors are great for reflecting light and creating a sense of space and energy. Round mirrors also look more organic and calming than their square counterparts. But be careful: never place mirrors opposite doors or in the bedroom.
• Try curved furniture.
  Furniture with curved edges and lines gives a room a more organic feel. It also makes the room feel less cramped and more inviting.

• Place round objects such as candles or stones.
  Candles bring a sense of warmth and comfort to any room, while stones can bring a sense of grounding. By placing these round objects in your home, you can create a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere. 
• Put plants in round pots.
  Plants and flowers bring a sense of life and vitality to any room. Placing them in round pots will promote chi energy even more.

By focusing on round and curved shapes when decorating your home, you can create a space that is both beautiful and inviting, promoting chi energy and creating a balanced and harmonious feeling in your living space.

The effect of colours can be used to promote the positive flow of energy. Each of the five elements - wood, fire, earth, metal and water - is assigned its own colours. The elements and colours are in turn assigned to the rooms in the bagua and thus to the cardinal directions. In this way you can determine which colours should be used in which room.

• Wood: green, blue
  
  
• Fire: red, orange, purple
  
  
• Earth: yellow, beige, brown
  
  
• Metal: white, grey, bronze, silver or gold
  
  
• Water: black or cream
   

For the bedroom, for example, Feng Shui advises muted, light colours. Pastel colours such as blues, greens and pinks are also a good way to create a restful sleeping environment. These colours also have a calming effect on the mind and body, which can contribute to a better quality of sleep.

Feng Shui is a complex system that can be difficult to understand. It is often difficult for lay[LS1]  people to see through everything and grasp all the connections. For this, a thorough study of the matter or consultation with a Feng Shui expert is recommended.

However, there are also a few simple things that can be easily implemented. Here are five simple tips that you can use to easily integrate Feng Shui into your life and home:

• Bedroom
  Choose mainly light colours or pastel shades to make the room feel light and airy and to promote Yin. 
  
• Living room
  Place rugs in the middle of the room or under the coffee table to create a cosy atmosphere.
• Kitchen
  When furnishing the kitchen, order and functionality should come first.
• Study
  For optimal qi flow, have a view of the door and window. 
• Children's room
  Divide the children's room into three zones: active, semi-active and quiet.