How's Your Qi Today? Feng Shui Basics
by Kate McIntyrekate.mcIntyre@interiordesignschoolreview.com
Love it or hate it, feng shui is a trend with staying power. At some point during your career as an interior designer, you are likely to encounter clients more interested in a room's qi, or energy flow, than in traffic patterns or color schemes. To give these clients an interior design scheme that looks great and promotes positive energy, you'll need to brush up on the basics of feng shui as it relates to interior decorating.
What Is Feng Shui?
Feng shui is a Chinese practice that dates back to ancient times. Practitioners of feng shui are concerned with qi, the flow of energy through the universe. If a home has a healthy flow of energy, it can bring its residents health, wealth, and happiness. Feng shui devotees believe that sometimes the energy flow can be blocked by interior decorating choices.Feng Shui in Interior Decorating
Luckily, many of feng shui's guiding principles also make good interior design sense. If you are asked to design a feng-shui-friendly space, keep in mind the following:- Try to minimize hard edges in furniture and fixtures, which can disturb the energy flow. Kitchen countertops and tops of coffee tables, for example, can be beveled so that they have no sharp corners.
- Incorporate mirrors in your design. They encourage energy flow.
- Keep your design clean and simple. Too much clutter can stall out the qi.
- Avoid putting different elements close together. For example, the kitchen stove (fire) should not be right next to the sink (water).
If feng shui in interior design is an area that interests you, you should consider seeking out coursework at an interior design school or finding an established feng shui designer with whom you can apprentice. Some interior designers make whole careers based in holistic and feng shui design.
Sources: About the Author
Kate McIntyre is a writer in Portland, Oregon. She holds a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Oregon State University.
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