The Feng Shui Room and Yin-Yang

Feng shui (pronounced “fung shway” and literally meaning “wind” and “water”), a far eastern meta-physical oriented philosophy, and with origins going back over 3,000 years, is used in design by concentrating on the balanced elegance of room space, object placement and equilibrium.

Through careful consideration of colour, spacing and alignment, the feng shui room adds positive “chi” (or life force) energy to your house, which is said to increase mental and physical health, ward off malicious spirits, and bring health, wealth and calmness into your life.

There are many mechanisms for enhancing the circulation of chi in your feng shui room. Lighting and brightness work to quell the dark forces while stimulating the positive chi in your surroundings. Similarly, plants are used to add life to the inside by both conveying chi as well as manufacturing it.

Chinese mirrors are another good method to enhance chi, and are particularly effective as a defense to troubled locations where only a weak positive or a highly negative chi is present. And water, symbolizing wealth, can be merged into the home thru babbling fountains, or a clean, healthy fish tank.

In addition to the interior, extra feng shui home decorating tips so as to maximise chi include consideration of the home’s exterior qualities, such as physical placement (i.e, ideally the front facing south), as well as proximity to surrounding hills and mountains (providing protection), bodies of water (symbolizing wealth), and the stars.

Yin-Yang

The traditional Chinese philosophy of yin-yang is an experience of the coexistence of opposing forces which complement one another and attempts to combine opposites. But what does it mean and how does it apply to Asian Decorating? As a core Asian philosophy, yin-yang represents life’s opposites and striking balance, which translates extensively into how Asian homes are decorated.

Examples ofyin(black-female) include being dark, passive, down, wet, weak, inner, or cold.Yang(white-male), on the other hand, is exemplified by such things as light, activity, up, dry, dynamic, outer and life. Light vs dark, hard and soft, round or angled, past and present, are often contrasted against one another in Asian interior decor in such a style as to weave this philosophy into everyday life.

This philosophy is not about “good” vs “evil” but rather it conveys the universal truth about the inherent opposites, the push and pull, the tug of war, occurring throughout our entire existence.

One popular example of this continuing interaction between opposites in Asian decor is located when black is used to contrast with lighter colored objects, e.g., showing white stones against a black dish to achieve the appearance of balance.

Chris Jeub has 2 websites dedicated to Feng Shui home decorating and other design themes from all over the world. Be sure to visit his sister website, www.worldly-treasures.com, for decorating accessories and ancient art.