Teaching Materials - Lesson - The China Seminar

THE CHINA SEMINAR

Furniture Placement With Feng Shui
by Patricia Santhuff
Feng Shui is often described as the Chinese art of placement, but are there rules for furniture placement? Yes, good taste, comfort and convenience are always essential factors. Its also important to never allow anything to block external or internal doorways - this symbolizes blocked opportunities. Keep traffic lanes unblocked, too, to prevent a difficult or obstructed "passage" through life.

One rule that seems to make sense to most everyone - because its such an innate human impulse - is to position one's favorite chair in the "command position" of a room. This is the point farthest away from and facing the door to the room. You'll often see people vie for this chair at meetings. And usually the head of the household intuitively selects this spot for his or her preferred seating in family, living, or dining rooms.

People who move their desks so their chair is in the command position of their office - at home or at work - often report immediate improvements in their careers; from increased phone calls from customers to increased respect from peers, to favorable attention from management. Don't however; position your chair so that your back is to a window. That defeats the purpose entirely because it leaves your back unprotected.

Your bed should also be in the command position. The very worst position for your bed is directly in front of the door with your feet facing the door. It's called the "coffin position" because the dead are usually removed feet first - it is quite naturally considered very inauspicious. Its also bad Feng Shui to have the head of the bed against a window -- one's personal chi (energy) can seep out.

In the kitchen, the stove should be positioned so that whoever is cooking does not have his or her back to the door to the kitchen. Since stoves are a little harder to reposition than other furniture, the Feng Shui cure for this stove position is to place a mirror behind the stove. This not only provides the cook with a view of whoever enters the kitchen, it also has the happy effect of symbolically doubling the number of burners, which represent prosperity in Feng Shui.

The stove should not be positioned immediately next to the refrigerator or sink. Both the refrigerator and sink are Water element appliances, and the stove is a Fire element appliance. Water douses Fire, and this placement is considered auspicious since the stove contributes so much to the family's well being.

Furniture can be used to redirect the flaw of chi. If you have a large enough living room or family room to create conversation areas, that can help direct the flow of chi in harmonious patterns through your house instead of allowing it to rush straight through from the entry without adequately circulating to nourish the space. Screens or dividers can be used as well. The principle is that you don't want an arrow-straight path from the door to another door or window.

Dining rooms can present special problems. They often feature two doors and a large window on a third wall. Its very difficult for anyone to feel comfortable in such a room - so they are often under-used - since most seats are unprotected. Be kind to your guests next time you entertain and give them seats with a solid wall to their backs.

Someone once noted that whenever she and her guests moved from the small, comfortable and intimate family room area to the larger, more beautifully decorated living room the previously animated conversation came to a haft. While a few small decorative items contributed to the problem, the major reason was that the living room and dining room formed an L-shape and the space was too open. All sense of intimacy and protection evaporated because everyone's attention got scattered and drawn elsewhere. A small floor screen creating a division between the dining and living rooms provided more privacy and a heightened sense of comfort for both rooms.

Another consideration is to allow some open spaces in your rooms, rather than stuffing them with furniture. A favorite Chinese saying points out that a vase gets its utility from its open space, from the part of it that isn't there. Leave a little breathing room so the chi can circulate through all of each room. Positioning rectangular furniture at across corners helps prevent chi from gathering and stagnating in corners,

Other furniture placement criteria may be needed for specific or individual situations. Once you start getting a sense of what a good flow of chi through your environment feels like, you'll be able to "study" your rooms - especially those that don't feel quite right - and figure out better furniture placement for better Feng Shui. Don't be afraid to experiment. One thing is certain - if you have a room you're not using, you have bad Feng Shui in that room.