I’ve been feng shui-ing my house like a crazy person turning their home upside down.

The changes have been pretty minor in some of the rooms but big changes are happening in my office. Today, my new desk chair arrived.

Cool, minty green for my hot tush.

Cool, huh? And it’s very comfortable and affordable at only $60. It’s got a whistle: the seat goes up and down. It’s on wheels too but these days, that really isn’t considered a whistle. Just like electric car windows, they’re pretty standard these days but I remember when they weren’t and new car ads would tout the electric window as an added plus.

I’m not sure if I can say that buying this new green chair is a result of all the feng shui-ing I’ve been doing in my office or if its just part of the changes I’ve made. Either way, I’ve got something new that’s just for me in my office so I can do better work. Let’s hope that’s the case.

Today was beautiful here in the city by the bay. The sky was blue, the sun was sharp and the air was a cool breeze. I took Derby out for a walk and snapped the following pictures that I would like to share with you now.

You already know that feng shui is a big part of how I see the world. What feng shui does for me is help me understand why some things work and why somethings don’t work in a given space. Some people intuitively know what’s wrong when look at a house or a room or even a building; they just know what isn’t right about it. Some problems can be pretty obvious such as being built next to a toxic waste dump or garbage heap or fast running river and one would think structures like these would never get bought but they do. They get purchased all the time because the asking price is so low but those aren’t the only dangers to a home.

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese science and philosophy that takes into account a variety of phenomenon including the earth, the universe and we humans. I would be an arrogant liar to say that I am in any way an expert on the subject. My gift is purely intuitive or magical. I connect with furniture and arrange them in such a way as to simplify, organize and inspire. I can relate to what I imagine certain pieces of furniture experience when they are placed in the wrong spot. I know that sounds pretty weird and its a bit weird for me to be writing it since I’ve never articulated that perception to anyone before but its true. I’m a furniture whisperer!

Furniture of course is only one influence on the quality of life we have in homes we live in. Everything about the experience of our homes should be as positive, functional and inspiring as possible. This means that what’s going on immediately around our house will have a strong effect upon our mental state. Take for example the picture to the left.  Notice anything wrong with this arrangement? How does it feel to imagine yourself walking out of that door and into your car? Imagine a different scenario. Imagine a green garden taking up half that space with a lemon tree and flowers. Wouldn’t that be a better balance and better vision to start your day? Ideally, the car could always be parked on the street and the entire space could be filled with nature but with so many people owning more than one car, the street quickly fills up with parked vehicles.

Not only is this home/car experience unattractive, it’s a source of stress as well. Like most things in this world, the car possess an energy that relates directly to its function. Its a big, dangerous moving object that prefers to go fast. This energy doesn’t disappear just because the motor is turned off. The energy carried by the car as it travels through space is hurled upon the house where it has no place to go except inside when the front door opens. Sensitive people will feel the charge of the car beyond the walls of the house. This constant pounding of unspent energy can potentially cause anxiety, stress, fear and sickness because of prolonged exposure to these unhealthy emotions. Here is another example.

Double trouble.

Wind and water, feng shui, two of natures most powerful forces can nurture or destroy our happy homes.

Since feng shui originated in ancient China, there is much about it that I am too ignorant to understand the implications or applications of those ancient rules in today’s world. And to be honest, I’m not entirely sure they can be applied. Modern advances in home design, smoke detectors, even technology has made some of those ancient disaster traps obsolete but not all of them. The more I learn about feng shui the more I understand common sense. In its most simplified, basic form, feng shui is all about looking at the potential hazards surrounding your home and mitigating them with remedies that support and enhance the opposing or missing energy. More on that later. I’m worried that my posts are too long.

Left are examples of a pet peeve of mine, lolly pop shrubs and tree. Does anyone like the way these poor bushes look? I guess the obsessive need some of us have to completely control nature has gotten to a point where we have to piss on everything to think is looks good.

lolly pop tree

And since we’re on the subject of pet peeves, here’s one more: painted rock wall.

painted rock wall

It just doesn’t work, at least for me it doesn’t. Rocks are rocks and are best left in their natural state. They shouldn’t be painted for a number of reasons including, they’ll never be able to go back to their natural state of beauty without a ton of work using potentially toxic substances.

So that’s it for this post. I hope you all are doing well.  Thank you for supporting my efforts and adding your comments to my ideas.

Warm regards from your design detective,
Karen