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How Feng Shui May Help You Sell Your Home

On August 2, 2016   /   Feng Shui Articles   /   Leave a comment
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By Carole Hyder

home exteriorRealtors often use the term “curb appeal” when getting a home ready to sell. It means that the home should look attractive from the minute someone gets out of their car. The reason is that a good first impression can positively impact the rest of their experience with the home.

Yet from a Feng Shui standpoint, we want a home to have curb appeal all the time. It shouldn’t just be cleaned up for a quick sale but should have the following aspects in place at all times:

  1. The front door is visibly obvious. If a potential buyer (or visitor) has to assume where the door is located because they can’t actually see it, there is a potential for confusion that permeates throughout the rest of the property. If the door is tucked behind a garage or in an out-of-sight corner, place “signposts” that guide the visitor—-flowers, a bench, or windchime.
  2. The front door should stand out from the rest of the space. This isn’t just about being visible, but about being outstandingly so. A colored door, a wreath, or a flag are a few ways to make the front door the central focus.
  3. The walkway to front the door is inviting. The path to the door should be enticing and an experience all by itself—-no cracked pavement or pieces of sidewalk that could trip someone up. But an enjoyable jaunt leading to the entrance.
  4. All plants and flowers are thriving, especially those that are around the front door and the path leading to the door. If they’re not thriving, remove them.
  5. For those who ARE selling their home, place the “For Sale” sign in the Helpful People area of the lot (front right corner as you face the home). This area can elevate the possibilities of a helpful person coming along to buy the home. Put the sign here only if it makes sense and is visible from the street.

Obviously curb appeal is just the beginning of the sale. The same amount of care and consideration should occur once the potential buyer (or visitor) gets inside. Otherwise, the message is an inconsistent one which will leave the guest wondering why something doesn’t feel quite right.

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How Does Your Garden Grow? Elements of a Feng Shui Garden

On April 5, 2016   /   Feng Shui Articles   /   Leave a comment
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FS Garden 2 By Carole Hyder

Whether gardening in a large space or a small patio, there are some elements to consider if you want to be able to call it a Feng Shui garden. Size does not matter, but intention and layout does.

Before starting, it is important you determine the overall intention or theme you want to express.

FS Garden 5

  • Do you want to use the garden for quiet-time?
  • Do you want to amble through your flowers to get inspired?
  • Is it your intention to create a space where friends and family can gather?
  • Do you want the area to be kid-friendly?

FS Garden 3

Even if your gardening efforts are confined to a very small spot on the deck, think about what you want to create. Fairy gardens are intended to be small but that doesn’t make them less engaging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some additional elements to consider when you’re designing your garden—-large or small:

FS Garden 61) Water. In line with the concept of wind and water, having water in a garden is a natural. If a pond doesn’t seem like the right fit or feels like it would be too much work, a fountain could be integrated into your garden. A bird-bath is also an option. Japanese gardens use rocks to give the illusion of water.

2) Place to sit. This doesn’t have to be complicated—-a rock or tree stump, a bench or hammock would work. You want a place from which you can absorb the energy of the garden.

FS Garden 13) Curvy Path. Your Feng Shui garden should provide an effortless direction of where to go—–a path of flagstones, chips, or round pavers or a foot-worn path where others have walked before. Making it curvy implies a slower pace where ambling and lingering are appropriate. If you garden is small, create a path that the eye will follow.

 

 

 

 

 

FS Garden 44) Ornamentals. The way to personalize and create a unique garden is with your ornamentals. Although this can easily move into the arena of clutter, a few carefully positioned objects around the garden will offer variety and interest.

These photos are all from our garden. Its exquisite beauty and strength come solely from the labor of my master gardener husband. It goes without saying that sitting in this garden has provided us hours of enjoyment and healing, which were the original intentions with which he guided this project.

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5 Elements for Weddings

On April 30, 2013   /   Feng Shui Articles   /   Leave a comment
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Weddings 3“Wedding season” is quickly approaching. There is something about the summer that makes it a prime time for saying vows. It could be that travel plans are more flexible with kids out of school. Or that the warmer weather is a nice background for strapless dresses and beautiful flowers. Whatever it is that brings that energy, it totally encapsulates us for months at a time.

With all the razzle-dazzle, it can necessitate a yearning for balance. In Feng Shui, one of the ways we try to capture that feeling is through the Chinese five elements – water, wood, fire, earth and metal. Look outside and you will see how one element does not exist without the others. This is why people feel so peaceful in a natural setting.

Whether you are planning on getting married or attending a wedding, you can use the five elements to keep your personal chi (energy) or the event chi balanced.

3 Ways to Incorporate the 5 Elements

  1. Color: black for water, green for wood, red for fire, brown for earth and silver or gold for metal.
  2. Shape: wavy for water, columnar for wood, triangular for fire, square for earth and circular for metal.
  3. Themselves: water, wood (trees, plants, flowers), fire (fireplace, candle, heat lamp), earth (soil, ceramic vases or pots) and metal (jewelry, vases).

Weddings 2For my own wedding several years ago, the five elements were subtly – yet significantly – present. There were a few of us who knew, but for most people they were just added details. I wore all 5 elements that day – from the wave of my hair, to the metal of jewelry and the structure of my dress. Each bouquet and boutonniere included all five elements through flower colors and added ribbons.

Even the centerpieces comprised all five elements with their nourishing water, wood plants, bird cutouts (animals are traditionally “fire” energy), earthy soil and metal ribbon.

Weddings 1You can use them as a mix – a black ribbon here (color representing water), a candle there (fire itself)…whatever works for you! Use as much or as little as you like. I used them quite a bit – incorporating in several details for the day. But you could also just concentrate on a presence – like your flowers. Or if you are a guest – colors in your outfit. Even carrying a purse with colored ribbons tucked inside will do.

No matter how you decide to surround yourself with the 5 elements, you will experience their harmonious and comforting balance.

lisamccueBy Lisa Janusz

Wind & Water School of Feng Shui Registrar and Faculty

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