This week, as promised, I’ll be taking you to the backsides of Asia; the ‘West Han Dynasty’ to be exact, where ‘Feng-Shui’ originated from. Feng Shui; translated as ‘Wind-water’ literally is the art of placing furniture, furnishings and accessories within a room so that it’s in harmony with its surroundings.

The vastness of Feng Shui can very easily take us to discussions about how ancient Chinese emperors built their palaces strictly following the ancient principles as they sought to find balance in their world. They firmly believed the principles of Feng Shui created harmony between the forces of nature and that this harmony influenced man’s existence.

Their palaces were surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and were incomplete without water and hills, a contrast between yin and yang, fluidity and solidity. They sought a contrast between openness and closeness and curved and straight lines. The elements of the landscape were placed so that the yin (negative) and the yang (positive) were in harmony, balance and continuity - the perfect environment.

We could very easily get sucked into the intricate principles of Feng Shui. However for the purposes of this article, we are simply concerned with ensuring that our homes and offices not only feel spectacular but bring in a measurable level of harmony.

1. Positioning - In every room apart from the bathroom, place the largest piece in the core or centre of the room, organise your furniture in such a way that it doesn’t lean against walls. For instance try not to push sofas’ against walls, leave a little bit of space ensuring that there are no hidden corners, areas that do not allow the flow of air or light in the room. Psychologically, heavy objects placed on the floor in key areas ground you. I’d simply advise that you trust your instinct with the placement and positioning of these items, walk around and feel your way around what feels right.

2. Never allow clutter - We have spoken a lot about de-cluttering over the past few weeks. Eliminate clutter completely. I can’t emphasise this enough, clutter is extremely mentally draining; in the kitchen it’s unhygienic, in the bedroom it interferes with romance, it’s almost impossible to think clearly with clutter. Most people think clutter is dirt, but the two are different. You can have loads of expensive pieces and accessories in your home that it becomes clutter. I walked into an apartment a few months ago, there was a coffee table and at least three side tables in the lounge, the coffee table and the centre tables had at least four vases each on them. It was obvious the owner had spent a lot of money on expensive clutter.

3. Decorate each room separately - This is extremely crucial in creating balance and harmony in your home or office. Particularly in the home, approach each room as a single project, don’t simply stand in a five bed-room house and say our theme for the house is green and gold, we want to recreate the Amazon Forest. Decorate your house or office in stages and colour-coordinate as you do this. Be mindful of the colours you use remembering that each colour creates an atmosphere and a mood. Ensure all the accessories, furniture, rugs, curtains and whatever else you may have in that room are colour co-ordinated. It simply doesn’t stop at the colour co-ordination or the placement of items within the room. To induce a more ‘masculine’ or busy environment use metal and to tone down aggression use a lovely natural ceramic bowl filled with water or a waterfall statuette. If you find that you need to balance toughness, add feminine or ‘soft energy’ using plants, wood and natural ceramics.

4. Get rid of Sharp Edges - Feng Shui principles adopt the use of straight lines, triangles and squares. However when it comes to furniture, these are a ‘no-no’ and are referred to as ‘poison-arrows’. Your rooms should contain furniture with rounded edges (even if there are some that are squared and asymmetric). You can also adopt the use of Oval tables and round chairs. Personally, I like square furniture; I avert the poison arrows by ensuring my furniture corners are as rounded as possible.

5. Adopt the use of Light in Dramatic ways - Light is usually applied at eye level, so use this in dramatic ways. Beautiful wall lamps, long stemmed floor lamps are an amazing addition to the room particularly in areas with no direct light. The best source of light is however still sunlight. Create an atmosphere where the sun can take a peek into your home or offices. Large windows or skylights make an amazing difference.

Feng Shui is simply about lessening stress and promoting good, clear vibes in your environment. The above is not a thorough look into the principles of Feng Shui but there are some amazing tips that will make a world of a difference within your homes.