Improve the Feng Shui of your Living Room in 16 Effective Steps.
Dr. Michael Oon
The Feng Shui of your living room is pivotal to the good fortune and harmony of your household.
It is the centre of activity and often a communication hub where family and friends bond and entertain. Therefore, this room of high energy must enjoy good feng shui for the well-being of all concerned.
This is the best room to activate the Eight Life Aspirations: because everyone uses this room, the excellent feng shui will benefit everyone in the household.
Step 1 Location for the Feng Shui of your Living Room
Ideally, the living room should be located in the front of the house near the main door. This is to tap directly into the vital flow of Qi energy that enters the house via the front door. If a living room is accessed through a hallway, make sure the corridor is well lit and clear of clutter so as not to obstruct the movement of Qi into the living room. If a house has a split-level design, it is more auspicious for the living room to be lower than the dining room.
Step 2 Shapes and Forms
Check the shape and form of your living room. Ideally, it should be regular - either square or rectangular. It should have no sharp corners pointing at the sitting area and no sofas or chairs placed directly under a beam. Check if there are any sharp corners from which “poison arrows” or Sha Chi may emanate. These can be softened with plants or furniture.
If a room is L-shaped, one approach is to mark it with furniture to “square it off” and treat it as two separate rooms. For example, keep one section as a formal reception area for guests and the other part as a family room. Another approach is to fill in the “missing corner' perhaps by placing a mirror on the wall and then determining the centre from the shape of the “completed” room.
Step 3 Check Furnishings
Sharp objects, like swords and knives, firearms, or hunting trophies such as heads of dead animals, should not be displayed on the wall. They all generate yin negative energy in a room and could cause disharmony or aggressive behaviour. Likewise, ornaments or table lamps with sharp edges should be avoided in this - or any other - room.
Step 4 Form Feng Shui for your Living Room
Make sure the Qi energy can flow uninterrupted in a curved motion through the room. There should be no “cold spots” or corners that might stagnate and no clutter.
Step 5 Decorations
The decoration of a room depends largely on the lifestyle and aesthetic sense of the people living there. Although a traditional Chinese practice, feng shui “cures” and enhancement tools need not be of Chinese origin. Ornaments and artefacts in keeping with your own culture and aesthetics will work just as well, as long as they are determined by following the correct Life Aspirations formula.
The Eight Aspirations are the eight main departments of your life. They are marked on the Bagua and are based on the compass directions. Each direction is ruled by an Element.
Step 6 The Eight Aspirations
Draw up a sketch plan of your living room, clearly marking all doors and windows. Identify the location of the Eight Life Aspirations by dividing the space into nine equal squares or rectangles. Find the centre of the room at the point where its diagonals cross each other. Determine the primary compass directions of each sector of the Bagua. Read the compass from a position in the centre of the room.
Align the compass on the floor with its needle pointing to the “N” position. Mark each sector - N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, and SW - on a piece of card and lay the eight cards on the floor in the appropriate sector.
In particular, establish the compass direction of the door: you need this information so that you can identify and activate each sector according to the principles of the Eight Aspirations and the interaction of the Five Elements of Fire, Wood, Water, Metal and Earth, which are associated with them (see box).
(We use the word “sector” because in one house, North might correspond to a side wall, but in another house, North might correspond to a corner. It is easy to forget that not all houses are “perfectly” aligned North to South.)
The next stage is to consider each sector in turn. It is not necessary to change the feng shui of every one of them, just the areas you want to change in your life.
Step 7 North - Career Prospect in Black and Blue
Check what is located in the Northern sector of your living room. North represents Career Luck, ruled by the Water Element and influenced by blue or black. An aquatic item in this sector would significantly enhance the career prospects of the occupants: a painting or waterscape with a dominance of blue, an aquarium, or a minor water feature will all suitably energise it. Black Ornaments, mainly made of metal, will be very beneficial, as Metal “ produces”. Water in the Productive Cycle of the Five Elements.
Step 8 South - Fire Red of Fame
Now turn to the South: auspicious feng shui in this sector will bring Fame and Recognition to the family, particularly the head of the household. This sector is ruled by the colour red and is symbolically known as the 'red phoenix', the traditional Chinese symbol for luck. It will benefit from something red like a painting of a phoenix or a photograph of flamingos at sunrise (but not sunset).
Red rugs or red wooden ornaments (as Wood produces and feeds Fire) will also contribute to this sector. A bright light here is doubly auspicious, while a fireplace in this part of the room will significantly enhance the Fame aspiration. If a mirror must be hung above this fireplace, make sure it is a small one. Mirrors represent Water, and you do not want to risk putting out, symbolically anyway, the “Fire” of fame.
Step 9 East- Green Wood for Health
The East sector of the room relates to the health of the residents. For good health and longevity, place solid and healthy plants in this area. A water feature or waterscape painting is also beneficial here as Water feeds Wood. Chinese scrolls of bamboo groves, deer, or cranes resting on pine trees, are all excellent symbols of health and long life to display in this sector.
Step 10 West - Silver for Descendants
Now examine the West, which is associated with Descendants or Progeny Luck which can be translated as children or as projects you work on (something you produce). Ruled by the Metal Element and the colours white, gold, or silver, this sector benefits from metallic ornaments such as sculptures, wind chimes with six hollow tubes, or even the metallic television and hi-fi. You can also energise this aspiration with objects made of Earth, such as white ceramic vases or natural quartz crystals, as Earth produces Metal.
Step 11 Northwest - Mentors and Metals and All White
To attract Mentors or support from employers or other people in your life, or to improve your business networking, it is vital to enhance the Northwest sector of your living room. This area is associated with solid Metal, so metallic objects of generous proportions in white, gold, or silver are ideal ornaments, for example, rounded metal sculptures or metallic-based table lamps with round white shades. Six Chinese coins tied with red thread can be placed here, or suspend a metal wind chime with six hollow tubes to attract the support of Mentors.
Step 12 Northeast-Yellow Earth of Inner Knowledge
You will want to ensure that this sector enjoys good feng shui if you have children undergoing education or are spiritually inclined. It is associated with the Element Earth and with earthy colours like ochre and clay. Earthenware objects - ceramics or terracotta vases - are suitable for enhancing this sector. To energise Education Luck, natural crystals like quartz or amethyst or even faceted hanging crystals are excellent tools. This is also the ideal place to site something spiritually significant to you: a statue of Buddha or a crucifix, for example. Don't place these objects on the floor, they should be elevated on tables or wooden plinths as a mark of respect.
Step 13 Southwest - Earthly Relationships
If you want to improve your marital or Romance Luck, then this area of the living room is of paramount importance to you. Ruled by the Element Earth, the activation of this sector is similar to that of the Northeast, which is also attributed to Earth. A chandelier-style table lamp placed here will attract an abundance of positive energy and promote harmony between partners; rose quartz or any natural crystals with pictures of family and friends will also add to this aspiration.
Pictures of red or pink peonies, the Chinese “Double Happiness” sign, ceramic or wooden ducks, terracotta or ceramic statue of an embracing couple, or a pair of red candles are other good energisers for this sector. A tiny touch of red will ignite the fire of romance for those in the mood, as Fire produces Earth.
Step 14 Southeast - Green, Colour of Growth and Money
The South-east sector of the sitting room represents the Wealth and Prosperity aspect of the home. Financial prospects can be significantly enhanced by placing wooden objects here, as
Wood is the ruling Element, symbolised by the colour green. As 'growing wood', plants are more auspicious than furniture or wooden ornaments. Display a robust jade plant (Chinese money plant) festooned with deep green succulent leaves, or a healthy plant with a profusion of rounded leaves, to symbolise an abundance of Wealth. Dried flowers here are, however, a 'no-no', as they are too yin.
This is an excellent sector for an aquarium, mainly if it contains nine goldfish - one black and eight gold - or a small fountain to 'feed' the Wood Element. Make sure the size of the water feature is in proportion to the size of the room: feng shui is all about balance, and you do not want to “drown” the area.
Step 15 Colour of Living Room
The main colour in the room's decor does not play a significant role in the overall feng shui of the room. Form, a balance of energy, and the interactions of the Five Elements take precedence. However, to emphasise the feng shui of the room, the choice of colour can be based on the location of the living room in the house plan.
For example, if the room is located in the Southwest or Northeast of the house, the appropriate colour will be any shade of yellow (for Earth), while if it is in the Southeast or East, the colour could be green (for Wood). A North location could be blue, and a South location would benefit from shades of red. The North-west and West sectors will be enhanced by shades of white, silver or gold, representing Metal.
Step 16 Furniture
Furniture should be solid rather than flimsy, while sofas and armchairs should have high back support, not just to ensure maximum comfort but to symbolise support in the lives of the residents. The theoretically ideal · configuration of the furniture in the room simulates the octagonal shape of the Bagua. This arrangement would inspire a warm and harmonious ambience as chairs will be in conversation range with one another - so encouraging good interpersonal relationships among the householders.
Commentary on the Feng Shui of your Living Room:
These 16 Effective Steps to Improve the Feng Shui of your Living Room – are straightforward and easy to implement. This article was written by Michael Oon practises Traditional Feng Shui and is a member of Alliance Feng Shui.
