Feng Shui or Gumballs
At the risk of jeopardizing my credibility as a design consultant, or perhaps strengthening it, I would like to critique the increasingly trendy style of decorating known as Feng Shui (pronounced "fung shway").
Feng Shui is a methodology of decorating living spaces and office settings. It attempts to balance the invisible energies that flow through rooms the way that wind and water would, which is how Feng Shui gets its name ("wind" and "water")
I think its Feng bunk.
The Design Guy Offers Alternative Explanations to Feng Shui
I agree that the decoration of a room can profoundly affect the mood of a room. I might even say that it can affect the energy of the room, but I don't mean the same kind of energy that Feng Shui is talking about. When I say energy, I am talking about physical energy. For example a dark blue/gray room will make you want to read books and take naps as opposed to working out and being creative. This is simply because blues and grays are very soothing colors.
When Feng Shui speaks of energy, it refers to the the moving of invisible life forces and spirits. For example, it suggests that you put mirrors on the ceilings above toilets so that your life energy doesn't get flushed away with the toilet paper. Supposedly life energy is always looking for a way to leak out. Feng Shui even suggests that you keep your sink drains closed to keep energy from sneaking out through the plumbing.
What really strikes me funny is Feng Shui's answer to bedroom design. According to the rules, the beds should never be situated with their feet facing the door. The concern is that this may tempt a person's spirit to make a premature departure for the afterlife.
Perhaps it's better that they sleep with their head towards the door so that their hair escapes during the night?
Regardless, the affects that Feng Shui attempts to achieve can be grasped without the help of astronomers and spiritual diviners.
One principle of Feng Shui is that energy flows through a room. Supposedly, a front door that opens into a room with windows is a bad idea because the energy/money/power that comes into your home will quickly leave through the windows. Based on this principal, homeless people who live in cardboard boxes should be extremely successful.
I won't comment on the money and power perks, but I do know why big rooms with windows seem fleeting. It's because the human mind desires to establish boundaries. The mind has developed a way to gauge distances, shapes, depth, and space based on visual and audio stimuli like perspective and acoustics. When a person walks into a room that does not have a defined space, perhaps because the eye is looking out into a back yard, it has a hard time comprehending the space it is in. The mind thus has to work extra hard to understand where it is. Often, this leads people to seek out another space in the house that is easier to figure out.
Feng Shui's answer to this puzzle is blocking the path, or at least the view of the windows, so the energy doesn't escape. The problem with this is that your room will become smaller if people can't see its far walls.
My suggestion is that you leave this aspect of the room alone. First of all, you have a backyard! That's fantastic. There are people all over the world who live in tiny condos with little balconies. I say you let them see what you got. Is that a barbeque? A pool? Oh...you have a dog? Why not?
Besides, who wants their guests to stand comfortably at the front door? It's probably better that they decide to move elsewhere in the house where they can relax.
What about the bathrooms that drain energy like leaky buckets?
It doesn't have anything to do with the plumbing. Bathrooms are generally just cold
environments for four reasons:
1. The floors are usually tile or some other type of hard , cold surface.
2. There is usually a lot of light (enough to light a room quadruple the size) which keeps you
alert.
3. There is usually some moisture hanging out, which makes it a little damp.
4. There is a large amount of cold porcelain on the toilet, sinks, and bathtub.
Putting a mirror on the ceiling and closing the sinks aren't going to change this. If we want a more comfortable bathroom setting we need to bring in warmer colors for the walls, thick floor rugs and towels for texture, and some candles for warm light.
Lastly, Feng Shui suggests using simple shapes for design. This goes along with what I explained earlier. Simple shapes for furniture and accessories do two things for you. Firstly, they keep the room from feeling cluttered because the design is simple and easy to navigate. Secondly, they keep the design simple for the human mind to figure out. Once it knows what to expect, it begins to feel comfortable. Until then, the mind will analyze its situation to make certain that it is safe.
I don't mean to mock Feng Shui. What I am really saying is that it isn't as magical as it sounds. My experience with it has been that it is expensive and after all the consultations are finished, the homeowner is left with a bunch of 25 cent mirrors stuck all around the house.
For that kind of money, I think I would prefer to have some gumballs.
Feng Shui is a methodology of decorating living spaces and office settings. It attempts to balance the invisible energies that flow through rooms the way that wind and water would, which is how Feng Shui gets its name ("wind" and "water")
I think its Feng bunk.
The Design Guy Offers Alternative Explanations to Feng Shui
I agree that the decoration of a room can profoundly affect the mood of a room. I might even say that it can affect the energy of the room, but I don't mean the same kind of energy that Feng Shui is talking about. When I say energy, I am talking about physical energy. For example a dark blue/gray room will make you want to read books and take naps as opposed to working out and being creative. This is simply because blues and grays are very soothing colors.
When Feng Shui speaks of energy, it refers to the the moving of invisible life forces and spirits. For example, it suggests that you put mirrors on the ceilings above toilets so that your life energy doesn't get flushed away with the toilet paper. Supposedly life energy is always looking for a way to leak out. Feng Shui even suggests that you keep your sink drains closed to keep energy from sneaking out through the plumbing.
What really strikes me funny is Feng Shui's answer to bedroom design. According to the rules, the beds should never be situated with their feet facing the door. The concern is that this may tempt a person's spirit to make a premature departure for the afterlife.
Perhaps it's better that they sleep with their head towards the door so that their hair escapes during the night?
Regardless, the affects that Feng Shui attempts to achieve can be grasped without the help of astronomers and spiritual diviners.
One principle of Feng Shui is that energy flows through a room. Supposedly, a front door that opens into a room with windows is a bad idea because the energy/money/power that comes into your home will quickly leave through the windows. Based on this principal, homeless people who live in cardboard boxes should be extremely successful.
I won't comment on the money and power perks, but I do know why big rooms with windows seem fleeting. It's because the human mind desires to establish boundaries. The mind has developed a way to gauge distances, shapes, depth, and space based on visual and audio stimuli like perspective and acoustics. When a person walks into a room that does not have a defined space, perhaps because the eye is looking out into a back yard, it has a hard time comprehending the space it is in. The mind thus has to work extra hard to understand where it is. Often, this leads people to seek out another space in the house that is easier to figure out.
Feng Shui's answer to this puzzle is blocking the path, or at least the view of the windows, so the energy doesn't escape. The problem with this is that your room will become smaller if people can't see its far walls.
My suggestion is that you leave this aspect of the room alone. First of all, you have a backyard! That's fantastic. There are people all over the world who live in tiny condos with little balconies. I say you let them see what you got. Is that a barbeque? A pool? Oh...you have a dog? Why not?
Besides, who wants their guests to stand comfortably at the front door? It's probably better that they decide to move elsewhere in the house where they can relax.
What about the bathrooms that drain energy like leaky buckets?
It doesn't have anything to do with the plumbing. Bathrooms are generally just cold
environments for four reasons:
1. The floors are usually tile or some other type of hard , cold surface.
2. There is usually a lot of light (enough to light a room quadruple the size) which keeps you
alert.
3. There is usually some moisture hanging out, which makes it a little damp.
4. There is a large amount of cold porcelain on the toilet, sinks, and bathtub.
Putting a mirror on the ceiling and closing the sinks aren't going to change this. If we want a more comfortable bathroom setting we need to bring in warmer colors for the walls, thick floor rugs and towels for texture, and some candles for warm light.
Lastly, Feng Shui suggests using simple shapes for design. This goes along with what I explained earlier. Simple shapes for furniture and accessories do two things for you. Firstly, they keep the room from feeling cluttered because the design is simple and easy to navigate. Secondly, they keep the design simple for the human mind to figure out. Once it knows what to expect, it begins to feel comfortable. Until then, the mind will analyze its situation to make certain that it is safe.
I don't mean to mock Feng Shui. What I am really saying is that it isn't as magical as it sounds. My experience with it has been that it is expensive and after all the consultations are finished, the homeowner is left with a bunch of 25 cent mirrors stuck all around the house.
For that kind of money, I think I would prefer to have some gumballs.
posted by The Design Guy at 9:53 PM
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