Let’s jump straight in. Feng Shui loves square rooms and simple shapes but we live in a world of either modern form or ancient use of space with places on top of each other. It is rare that we have a perfect shoe box area to work with which means we need solutions and to make choices. We are renovating and have discovered a range of old architecture including old painted ceilings and marks on the wall of children’s heights. A sense of history that has been hidden by a depressing 1980s overuse of tiling and too many down lights.
Feng Shui First
Using the Bagua map, enter the whole place from the front door. See my previous post – https://interiorharmonyblog.com/2019/09/15/feng-shui-conversations-how-do-i-use-the-bagua-map/
Place each room where it should be and check which areas are missing. We are missing the Travel & Helpful People sector and a small portion of the Career Lifepath. This means using large mirrors to face in to the missing space and stating that this ensures there is no missing space. The original Feng Shui practitioners would say this doesn’t help but I follow the modern Feng Shui philosophy, in that how we see and use our different rooms has different energies from those in the past.
Once you have done this for the whole house or apartment, use the Bagua map in the same manner for each room. The entrance is the ‘front door’ to that room. Note any strange angles or missing areas. Draw a square and take notes of what aspects need some solutions. We have almost every room with the ‘corridor’ effect where you see a window straight away as you enter the room. A pure crystal ball will be hung from the window of each room to keep the energy in. We will even need to put one in the main hallway as we have 3 entrances opposite each other.
Some Things Are Just Common Sense
We are made of Chi energy, our gut instinct and life force. As you enter a room go for the first impression and either remedy the issue or allow it to attract you. We walked in to the living room and felt like we could almost touch the ceiling, it felt oppressive. Opening the ceiling up in all three major rooms, we found 19th century mural style floral paintings! Sadly, they are dowdy and damaged so they have been covered but it was as if we had gone back to a different era. It also gave us more height and instantly the rooms opened up and more light came in.
Have Courage
We found strange plumbing in the bathroom, which is not unusual when an old place has been modernised and basically, plugged together. We swapped over the shower for the vanity cabinet, put the shower in the opposite area and put the toilet back in the bathroom. The room has the space and there was no choice due to exposed pipes. Feng Shui practice doesn’t like to see the toilet. The philosophy is that drains and toilets are where the energy goes down. It is preferable to hide the toilet and ensure drains are closed and unobtrusive. A thin wall has been built for the shower that hides the toilet. We will need to carefully place a mirror behind the toilet not only to reflect the drain to keep all energy in to the space but to embrace the missing space! Another remedy, has been to put the washing machine and dryer in the original toilet room. A big mirror will be placed there solving the missing space. White and grey will be the colour scheme as the room sits in the Communication and a small part of the Travel & Helpful People sectors. Metal picture frames will be placed to add interest.
Open vs Closed
We chose not to pull down a wall due to practical reasons for workspace and future heating and cooling. Feng Shui loves small rooms rather than open plan. Post-Covid, interior designers are stating that people are returning to separate rooms and spaces due to remote working and also to separate uses of areas. The second bedroom will be a dining room and workspace and also room for a visitor. A vision is definitely needed as the apartment is emerging out of the demolition stage and changes need to be adapted due to discoveries. Next stage is tiling which is all about the Earth element!
