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Colors also affect nature of interactions, and when you enter a new space you should always pay attention to way people behave to one another. If there is a room in your home where people tend to get into arguments, reassess colors in that room. Bright or extreme colors can irritate people’s eyes and increase their metabolism, making them more likely to fight. Darker rooms can put people in a bad mood and make them lethargic. Color and placement are not only things that influence interactions, but by paying attention you may be able to understand subtle influence it can have.
Flow In traditional Feng Shui, goal is to maximize flow of positive chi in an area. While you will probably not be able to detect essence of energy of a space, you can increase feeling of flow in a room by paying attention to way people and objects move through space.
The flow you want to achieve is in essence of room. You want there to be easy access for people moving through room, as well as in and out of it. You want objects to be able to move from their storage, into use, and back without adding to clutter. This kind of flow is a mixture of organization and design that focuses on removing blockages and allowing easy movement through every area.
You will be able to feel whether a room has flow just by walking into it. There are tiny currents of air that run through every space. We do not generally notice these currents, however using your intuition you can just barely perceive this air. The difference between greater and lesser currents will be translated into your mind as greater or lesser flow. As always, make yourself sensitive to subtleties of space.
EXPERIMENT It is important to allow yourself to be wrong. If you don’t make mistakes, you won’t learn anything. Pay attention to emotional variations you feel from placing different decorations and colors in different spaces. At a certain point, stop and simply exist in room, remaining attentive to feel of space. Occasionally, make small changes, and observe emotional and interactive differences.
If you don’t have time or strength to constantly move furnishings and furniture around, then try visualizing different scenarios. Sit somewhere quiet, close your eyes, and imagine room in a different style. Imagine yourself in room, and try to incorporate every detail in room into setting. Feel how your emotions respond to such a setting. Pay attention to any problems you may feel. Allow yourself access to subconscious of your mind, and trust its natural inclinations, as it will pick up on problems and solutions that you won’t consciously understand. Use color charts and pictures to help with imagination process.
Feng Shui is a very respectable form of interior decorating with a long and rich history. However, it was originally based on simple trial and error, as ancient Chinese thinkers explored many different ways that positioning and design can affect most subtle workings of human mind. Today you can try to recreate that method, by experimenting with yourself and your surroundings to produce a room that will affect you and your family in a positive way. While you probably won’t achieve accuracy of ancients in your first attempt, each try will educate you as to style and design that suites you best as well as way it affects you. Exploring this further can allow you a creative outlet enabling you to get in touch with very basic nature of art that exists within you.
Joey Lewitin is an author, artist, and designer of home décor accessories made from imported stone. Original designs from him and other artisans can be seen at The Stone Décor Store