Feng Shui – Page 3 – Interior Harmony

Friends for Dinner

Dinah Washington sang with emphasis, "what a difference, a day makes, 24 little hours..." This song is in my head as I contemplate the past week of positive outcomes. New work projects, new friends by chance and steps forward in the land of French bureaucracy. It looks as if my social security number may be delivered in the next 10 days. Note the word 'may'! My husband's residency card should be picked up at the end of July and we are both completely vaccinated. A yacht cruise with a group we have never met ended up connecting with four

Catherine2021-06-21T11:14:59+00:00June 20th, 2021|Feng Shui, Interiors|Comments Off

Your Front Door – Feng Shui Conversations

Every entrance in Feng Shui is considered the 'mouth' of the place and it is also sets the scene when you enter. We have been in our French apartment for six months and whilst we love the building, the entrance is sad. So like good neighbours, we got the syndicat's permission to paint. We were told that the French 'don't do DIY' and it was obvious as we looked at the tired dark wooden paneling in our entrance, along with old traditional tomato tiles which are falling apart, a drab wooden yellowing post box and bits of plaster falling

Catherine2021-05-30T19:26:39+00:00May 30th, 2021|Feng Shui, Interiors|Comments Off

Down to Earth – Feng Shui Conversations

A climate demonstration went by the beach last week chanting in French that the Earth was warming and we need to ban plastics. I reflected on the sand we were sitting on, pondering that it is really particles of rock, glass, wood with some shell ground together in rough salt water to become the earth. Earth in the Bagua map represents the grounding of Chi energy in the home and focusing on the centre. The Earth element is also in the Relationship and the Knowledge/Self-Cultivation sectors. It is about knowing yourself and what is truly important to life. Consider

Catherine2021-05-16T11:55:33+00:00May 16th, 2021|Feng Shui, Interiors|Comments Off

Interior Inspiration

We have had lockdowns in the South of France for the last two weekends which means little inspiration around interior design or Feng Shui. We are about to finally sign for our apartment so watch this space for more Feng Shui conversations next week!

Catherine2021-03-07T21:02:42+00:00March 7th, 2021|Feng Shui, Interiors|Comments Off

White on White

Renoir supposedly said that nothing was so difficult, and at the same time so exciting, to paint, as white on white. White is said to be a non-colour along with black but it represents so many emotions. In Western culture, white represents purity, innocence, summer, clarity and cleanliness as if starting again. In other cultures, it represents death, sadness and silence. In Feng Shui practice it represents the element of Metal, of purity and honesty. Then in interior design, there are several hundred shades and tones ranging from cool blue hues to warmer ivory shades. It is the colour

Catherine2021-02-28T18:36:13+00:00February 28th, 2021|Color, Feng Shui|Comments Off

Bring Me Some Water

‌Kahlil Gibran said that "in one drop of water are found all the secrets of the ocean". We are both feeling a bit tense with all that is going on, aside from the virus issue! Selling furniture whilst trying to balance out the Feng Shui of the apartment. Letting go of memories, revisiting others and having one eye on a To Do List that doesn't seem to be decreasing quickly enough! Late afternoon, we kayaked around a lake and for a short while, forgot what was happening on the shore. Water is the one element which gives both of

Catherine2020-09-20T18:41:08+00:00September 13th, 2020|Feng Shui|Comments Off

It’s all about aqua

Aqua, turquoise, teal and shades in between always draw me as images of the Côte d’Azur, sea, sun and sand hang in the air. I am here in the South of France for two weeks and in a happy, poetic frame of mind. I ask for forgiveness for this lighthearted post. I swim every day in an aquamarine sea as it moves across the shore pulling back the pebbles. As a fellow sea lover says, it is my happy place! For others, mountains, cool lakes, greenery and trees call them but for me, as John Masefield said,

Catherine2023-08-23T13:57:50+00:00July 26th, 2020|Color, Feng Shui|Comments Off

Let’s Reconnect

Well here we are with life back to normal and yet there is the breath of anxiety on our necks and either cautious interaction or a decision to proceed as if nothing has happened. What have we to say to each other now that has any importance? It is times like these that I need an interior and internal balance and we come full cycle in the world of Feng Shui. There is a sense of change in the air, a chance to create something better but as Tolstoy said, 'everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one

Catherine2020-05-31T17:09:49+00:00May 31st, 2020|Feng Shui|Comments Off

Doors – the entrance and exit of your life

We enter our lives, incidents, choices and challenges through a door and out the back. Phrases such as when one door closes, another one opens and so on. It is a physical day to day occurrence and often a psychological and emotional entrance and exit, joyful, dramatic or otherwise. As we approach Chinese New Year on the 25th January, we have a second chance if our Western version hasn't exactly delivered the new dawn. I am in London this weekend which gave me the opportunity to wander the chalk white terraced streets of Kensington with their lovely doorways

Catherine2020-01-19T21:34:19+00:00January 19th, 2020|Feng Shui, Interiors|Comments Off

Feng Shui Questions – What About Storage?

Chinese New Year arrives on the 25th of January, so get cleaning and clearing before then! The Chinese regard this time as the end of winter and the beginning of a new season. It is the chance to wash away the old, the bad luck and the ghosts of the past year. Having lived in Malaysia, I have seen Chinese friends re-paint their apartments, re-do the whole kitchen to appease the kitchen gods and sweep out the whole place. Once the 25th arrives, you are supposed to do zero cleaning as that is sweeping away the new good luck! This

Catherine2023-08-23T13:24:22+00:00January 12th, 2020|Feng Shui|Comments Off