Home   >   Feng Shui for living   >   Using Feng Shui principles and minimal decor

Using Feng Shui principles and minimal decor

By on May 29, 2023
 1

One of the preconceptions about Feng Shui is that it involves having a home with an Asian flavour that is sparsely decorated: plain open spaces with little more than a few bamboo stalks and a wind chime.

With a contemporary approach to this ancient science, one need not adopt an Asian theme of decor, and minimalism is also not required.

I myself am a bit of a maximalist, preferring to display a variety of artwork and objects that interact harmoniously and reflect my varied interests. That said, there are both aesthetic and energetic advantages to a more minimal approach.

Minimalism brings your attention very clearly to what you possess. With fewer points of focus, you can have a direct relationship with what you display in your space. A single object or image on the wall will be particularly impactful because it is not sharing consciousness bandwidth with other pieces. It is therefore even more important than usual (according to Feng Shui) to ensure that the subject matter speak profoundly to your envisioned goals.

I recall one client who had an enormous art piece in his living room that showed a pair of women’s legs walking in one direction while a man’s legs stood on the other side of the canvas. Interestingly, this was in the Family-Health area of his home, and he had felt abandoned by his mother and had a similar experience with the other women in his life. A well-chosen image in the right place, however, can support your single-minded focus to create the experience you are striving to create.

Natural objects can be wonderfully highlighted by minimalist decor. A piece of wood, a large crystal, a flower arrangement – all can benefit from clean-cut surroundings that provide a clean canvas for their presence. Because minimalist spaces tend to have a very ‘man-made’ feel to them, with clean lines and a cool look, something natural creates much-needed balance with its freeform shapes and organic origin. It is powerful to have such objects displayed prominently in the middle of a table or shelf, and they are especially impactful in a corner, a location which tends to be an energy vacuum that attracts little more than dust bunnies.

A risk in using minimal decor is a restricted elemental and tonal palette. Quite often such schemes extend minimalism to the range of colours and materials. The danger here is creating an environment that is two-dimensional and lacks perspective. I often see two-tone furnishings, usually white or off-white with black or ‘chocolate’ (what used to be called ‘brown’), which speak to a monochromatic existence. As an artistic statement, it can be attractive but this does not mean that it will be a comfortable, nurturing space in which to live. With each colour relating to an emotional tonal range, there is the possibility that you could limit your possibility space of full-spectrum living if you go too minimal. A variety of colours throughout the space to complement a two-tone primary furniture scheme – think carpets, flowers, artwork – will help to create balance in the space and in your life. It doesn’t mean you need to live inside an iridescent rainbow or Rubik’s Cube, but at least three colours in each room (in whatever proportion) will help the space to live and breathe.

It is also possible that minimal decor might remind you of less affluent times, perhaps your student years of living on a shoestring budget with the bare minimum (or less) in your home. While your attention can be more profoundly focused on what you do possess, such bare-bones decorating can in some people create the opposite innate response: one of lack as opposed to zen fullness.

It is important that you choose what works for you, while being aware that depending on the day and your individual perceptions, your perspective might change. Whether you choose to have a space fully or sparsely decorated, it is essential that what you display speak to you.

May your home truly reflect the fullness of your essence and life aspirations.

 

About Mark Ainley

Mark Ainley is a Contemporary Feng Shui Consultant and Emotional Stress Consultant living in Vancouver. A former 5-year resident of Tokyo, Mark consults with clients internationally to help them design living and work spaces in alignment with their goals. He also provides consulting in emotional stress management, as well as in the connection between facial structure and innate behavioural and communication patterns. He can be reached through his website: www.senseofspace.com and www.markainley.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *