“An interior is the natural projection of the soul.”
– Coco Chanel

Decorating should be the fun part of moving and home improvement but if everyday something comes up, you feel anxious, some event triggers an unhappy thought and you just can’t get started…your emotions are decorating your space. Here is what Jeanette discovered. Her family decided to move across country so her husband could take a new position and they could be closer to her parents. She had one week to choose a home for her family. The home she fell in love with had vaulted ceilings, a view of the back yard from the front door, a large master suite that stretched from front to back, a three car garage…it was certainly the right neighborhood and the school was perfect for her children. Once they settled into the new house she thought everything would be as before. But the stress of moving never dissipated. A barrier progressively developed between she and her husband. They were silent at the dinner table and he stopped coming home at reasonable hours. Her 13 year old son did not like sleeping in his room. It was so good before the move, what happened? 

Wanting to find the husband she had lost, to help her son stop his nightly wandering and bring some happiness to herself, she called me for help. Jeanette’s story is a powerfully moving scenario and not unlike the stories clients share expressing their profound loss and disbelief over what has happened to the life they once had. She had read several Feng Shui books. She suspected the emotional issues between she and her husband, her son’s distraction and her moodiness were stemming from her home. And she admitted she didn’t feel good being there. When I shared what I saw, my words immediately resonated with her. She had no trouble making a plan and her next step would be decorating using Feng Shui design.

I believe design education goes a long way in creating awareness that our home influences our well-being. With that in mind, I composed this Feng Shui guide to help you make better choices when deciding on your new nest. And if you are already settled in your space, you might recognize one or two design features that may be limiting your freedom and curbing your peace of mind. 

Want a picture? Here is a helpful companion blog on floor plans, “Unraveling Your Home’s Floor Plan With Feng Shui.

 Depletion That Paints You Into A Corner
• A hidden front door is when you cannot see the door from the street. Feelings of isolation can develop over time. What Professor Lin would call “strange chi.” At an office there may be loss of income, feeling frustration, depression and loss of motivation.
• An obstacle (blocking tree, wall, utility pole or column) at the front door can limit opportunities.
• Double doors can create confusion, especially if the door to enter is not marked properly.
• A slanted front door creates a slant on daily interactions that explode into unexpected events related to all areas of life.
• A blocking wall inside the front door can impede the forward movement of everyone in the household. Everyone may struggle with their career. Faith in the future may be lost.
• Front door /back door alignment may possibly create a split through the whole house. The closer the doors the worse this patten is. Parents may feel a barrier between them and lead separate lives. Parents and children lose touch. Money may leak and opportunities dry up. Money, motivation, reputation, health and good luck may fly out the back door.
• A split at the front door can affect all areas of life dramatically. The brain is activated unevenly and the two sides will start to lack coordination. The inhabitant may act more and think less. Or think more and act less. In either situation there is an imbalance. As a result illness along the midline can development. Also confusion and the lack of sound decision making can cost a family their health or business. Non-stop arguing and violence can result with a split at the front door. Extreme marital, family and business interactions can take place here.
• A split stairway (typical of split level homes) aka Mandarin duck stairway creates an environment where everything begins to fall apart; it can even shatter a person’s peace of mind. The different levels affect partners where they are more likely to experience miscommunication or not speak at all; children have difficulty feeling accepted; finances fluctuate wildly. Invariably health is unstable. When it is a company and affects all the employees, the consequences can be disastrous.

 Bad Luck That Colors Your Morale
• Seeing a cemetery, a morgue or a deserted house from your front door may bring illness and sudden expected disasters.
• If your home is at end of a “double T” intersection your luck may dwindle in all areas but in particular health and finances.
• A narrow driveway or path. The opportunity to expand your heart and mind may never happen. And if you see opportunity you won’t be able to grasp it, feeling shut down.
• A toilet over the front door brings bad luck to the entire household or business.
• A stove that is backed up to the toilet that is on the other side of the wall affects your luck to the point it may run out.
• A dead door is a door that is nailed shut or that cannot be opened. This feature may stifle’s one’s voice completely. If the original door has been closed there can be a sudden downturn in fortune or slow loss of resources.

Details That Design Conflict
• Arguing Doors are two doors that when they are open bump up against one another. The clashing is jarring to the senses and disturbs the inhabitants equilibrium. Conflict results. It may run throughout the house.
• Biting Doors are doors that are out of alignment with one another. Visualize walking out of your bedroom and seeing part of a door entry and part of a wall. This design feature creates a split and has the effect of a front door split. Biting doors create discord between parents and parents and children. In a child’s room it can create a bully. You may lose friends and neighbors can turn into enemies. In an office setting there may be gossip, back stabbing and power struggles. Biting doors at the front door are especially detrimental as the conflict and verbal fighting can reach into the neighborhood.
• Piercing Heart Doors are three or more doors which you could walk in a straight line. They create an invisible obstacle through the house which impedes relations between partners, partners and their children and between siblings. Alienation and separation tear the family apart.
• Many doors opening into a small space. I think we all have this one, especially around the bedrooms and bathroom. A door is a “mouth”. This area can be especially noisy because all the voices are trying to speak at once. Listening is difficult and family members may end up quarreling. This design feature is the underpinnings for health issues, particularly the digestive organs.
• Too many doors in relationship to the windows and the adult voice may be too powerful. This ratio may silence the voice of the children. In a business situation management (the adult) may not heart the feedback of employees (the children). There may be a conflict of wills.
• Too few doors in relationship to the windows and the children may create havoc. On the job, employees may strike or rebel.

Architecture That Exhausts All Your Emotional Resources
• A door that is below the level of the street make every movement feel like an uphill climb. Time becomes altered and energy depleted. There is an inability to follow through and complete projects.
• A contrary door is a door that opens to a wall instead of the main part of the room. Everyone who lives in the house may find they are laboring and not enjoying the results of their work. They may feel exhausted and disappointed most of the time.
• If a stove is in line with the front door, family problems may never be resolved. There is constant worry and pressure which can exhaust everyone who lives there.
• If a bedroom is the first room an inhabitant sees when entering the house, they may be too tired to take care of their responsibilities and daily duties.

 Exterior And Interiors That Are Blueprints For Illness
• An industrial park or factory next door may be overwhelming. The distraction and pollution create physical and mental imbalances. Being empty at night they create a yin presence. All of this affects your ability to concentrate, be clear and effective.
• A bathroom in the center of the house or office can deplete all life situations. Poor health can plague every inhabitant year after year, effecting succeeding generations.
• A fireplace in the center of the house can burn up money, create infamy and heat up passion so it is burns outside the house, drying up your creative juices. The flow of your career may come to a drizzle and your inner growth may be non-existent. Your vitality is depleted and your emotional capacity to lift your life to joy is severely restrained.
•A stairway that ends too close to a wall may impede the flow of Ch’i in the building and the bodies of the inhabitants. You may feel blocked physically, emotionally and in your career.

If you want to receive a cure for any one of these design features, I will ask you to honor the red envelope tradition.

Have you decided this will be your year? ”Boldness has genius”…start with one hour of Feng Shui A La Carte. Think of it as a fairy godmother for your house.

What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.