3 Key Feng Shui Kitchen Design Principles

Irwin Weiner ASID - An open fire once cooked early man's food; now all of that meal prep is done in a modern kitchen. The hearthside or open fire may now be replaced by a modern oven and cooktop, but the principle of "fire for cooking" is the same. We still need air to prepare a meal - a well-ventilated place to cook our food is vital to avoid cooking fumes, smoke, and grease getting into other rooms of the house.

Feng shui has been applied to the kitchen - many times called "today's hearth" or "the heart of the home" - and we wanted to highlight 3 practical tips to help maintain this room as an inviting and comfortable place where people can gather, eat, and talk.

• Natural light - This is the best possible lighting for any kitchen. There is so much fire energy in the kitchen with the concentration of appliances that traditional feng shui advisors believe it's better to go with weaker fluorescent or natural light - as opposed to strong lights and particularly focused spots.

• Water and fire - Feng shui advises us to separate appliances that embody fire (stove, cooktop, extractor fan) and water (sink, dishwasher, washing machine, water purifier). If they can't be on opposite walls from one another, try putting them at right angles. As one feng shui book says, "The main principle to respect is never to put them side by side lest, like racing camels, they begin to fight." (from The Feng Shui Kitchen: The Philosopher's Guide to Cooking and Eating by Master Lam Kam Chuen with Lam Kai Sin)

• Calm atmosphere - Due to the strong concentration of opposing energies in a kitchen (think five versus water), feng shui experts advise that calm wall colors be used in a kitchen. Many consider white to be better than any other color; it's always a color that signals purity and cleanliness. Beige and pastels are fine, too. Earth tones work well in creating a good work atmosphere, e.g., light browns, beige, yellow. 

Perhaps your kitchen is A-OK, and you've gotten the feng shui in proper balance. What then? Design2Share's Feng Shui 101 columns provide monthly inspiration on the subject, along with easy-to-tackle "homework" projects. Check out March's new post from Franca Giuliani, our Feng Shui expert: 7 Ways to Better Feng Shui in Your Bathroom.

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Here's How to Celebrate Chinese New Year

Jennifer Allen Frank - Chinese New Year landed on the new moon of January 23, 2012 in the U.S. It is the Year of the Black Water Dragon. The Chinese New Year is a time to welcome longevity, wealth and prosperity and to eliminate negative chi from the past. This year will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity. The year of the dragon is traditionally associated with new beginnings and good fortune. Those with entrepreneurial spirit are particularly favored to see much success in the coming year. Generally, it's predicted that any new venture may benefit from the outstanding luck often associated with the dragon. Therefore, 2012 will be a very good year to get married, have children, and/or start a new business.

The water dragon is a less imperious type of Dragon who favors optimum growth and expansion. He can put aside his ego for the good of all and is less selfish and opinionated. He can assume a wait and see attitude, and his wits are as formidable as his strength of will. The water dragon lives by the “do unto others” philosophy.

Since 2012 is the year of the Water Dragon, the liquid element is predicted to calm the dragon's usually tempestuous nature, and will give a thoughtful perspective to the plight of the less fortunate. Water is calming and beneficial to this lunar sign, enabling him to know how to act wisely and do what is essential for his progress. He is quick and reliable and is capable of marketing his ideas with untiring devotion. He is likely to be successful as a negotiator; He must learn to make difficult choices and relinquish whatever is unfeasible or unnecessary. This way, he will be able to devote his energies to fewer but more rewarding endeavors. As the world suffers through one of the worst economic calamities in recent memory, bold new leadership will help ease the circumstances of those suffering most from recent financial setbacks.

Dragons who can pursue their own passionate ambitions while meeting the needs of others are best suited to navigating the year ahead. Those compatible with the Dragon — the Rat and the Snake in particular — will also find 2012's circumstances inspiring them to greater personal happiness and professional success.

House cleaning should be done on or before the day of the eve of Chinese New Year. Starting early in the morning, someone goes to the flower-market to buy red flowers for the worship events and new year’s day decoration. Red is the auspicious color in China.

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What Goes Into a Feng Shui Room Staging?

Jay Johnson - There are several schools of Feng Shui, but they all come down to a mystical and a practical side of approaching how objects in your home and life are positioned to maximize health and harmony.

A whole home or a single room can be staged using existing furnishings and accessories so that it flows better, reflects the residents' intentions better, and feels more inviting and beneficial.

Have you ever walked into someone's home and felt trapped or oppressed? Contrast that with walking into someone else's space and feeling a sense of welcome, peace, and wonder. The latter is what feng shui can help achieve.

We picked this video from Denver feng shui practitioner and stager Nicolette Vajtay. As part of her Inspired Living Feng Shui practice, she interviewed a young couple and captured before and after scenes of their living room to emphasize the practical aspects of furniture and accessory placement in feng shui.

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Happy Halloween: Do You Live in a Haunted House?

Jay Johnson - Is your house haunted? Are you experiencing the presence of others ... with no logical explanation? About a third of the population believes in ghosts, and according to a USA Today article on the subject, that's about the same number of people who are baseball fans.

Well, Happy Halloween to you! On Design2Share, we look at home design in a very serious way, and we wanted to acknowledge that for some people, their home may be an uncomfortable, fearful place due to reasons other than a bad decorating job we can blame on the previous owners.

We spoke with a feng shui expert last weekend, and she says that she now combines her practice with "clearing" procedures, to help rid a home of what's called predecessor energy. That's a fancy term for ghostly residue or unresolved issues from folks who used to live on the land or in your home. Even if you live in a new-construction home, you can be dealing with predecessor energy. We know a couple who just moved into a just-opened condo building in lower Manhattan. Nothing has gone right for them, and living in their ultra-modern apartment is supremely uncomfortable. When they found out that their home was built on the grounds of an old churchyard, they said "Ah ha!" and asked us for help finding someone who could clear the energy and help them restore normalcy in their home. 

As our feng shui expert told us,

If I don't deal with house clearing issues, it's like putting fresh flowers into dirty water. What's the sense of that?

I grew up in a small Midwestern neighborhood where most everyone believed in the paranormal (it's a long story!). Let's just say that set of beliefs was part of the history of our community of 30,000 people. Many people I grew up with can personally attest to the presence of an invisible world, and I've come to think that science just has to catch up with some explanations of what's going on. My mind is open to accepting many beliefs and respecting what others are experiencing firsthand.

The following video shows you some practical advice if you find yourself experiencing what you think is a ghost or paranormal presence in your house. If you're in that third of the population who believes, then this may be for you. If you're not, then this should be entertaining fiction. But I thought, being Halloween and all, that this would be an appropriate "holiday video pick." Please leave a comment telling us of any experiences you've had in your home. Thanks for sharing.

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