2014 is the year of the Wood (or Green) Horse and you can welcome the year of the Horse by fulfilling some key Feng Shui principles at home; these tips can help you welcome new opportunities.
Multi-Purpose Storage Furniture
Clear Clutter
The Horse is low maintenance, Feng Shui experts advise you to reduce clutter as much as possible. If you don’t need it, lose it.
While open storage racks will help, we’d strongly recommend that you consider concealed storage furniture instead.
While there are only so many items you can throw out before you beginning wishing you still had them, a creative way of doing this is by purchasing storage furniture that fulfils multiple purposes.
Excellent examples include storage stools that can be easily matched with your living room furniture and storage beds to stow away bulkier items.
Sharp corners create ‘poison arrows’ in feng shui. Avoid L shaped furniture placements.
Avoid Sharp Corners
Feng Shui experts also advise to avoid sharp corners in furniture this year. On top of getting furniture with rounded corners for smoother flow of chi, this also means that you should not place or arrange furniture to shape the letter L (you might want to avoid L-shaped sofas this year) as they form ‘poison arrows’ which create negative chi.
Other sharp corners may be formed by walls and can be avoided by placing plants in these corners to block the ‘poisonous’ chi that they would otherwise create.
Balance of yin and yang (opposite yet complementary forces) is also key in Feng Shui principles.
Balancing Yin & Yang
Place dark coloured furniture in light coloured rooms to introduce sufficient yin to balance out the yang and create harmony in the room, and vice-versa.
Spacing Out Furniture
Also take care that you do not place seating furniture too close to other furniture in the room (e.g. give your sofa and coffee table more space in between them) to avoid imbalance. Likewise, never obstruct doors with furniture as these block chi from entering the home.
Add freshly cut lilies, orchids and peonies to your home for good luck in 2014
Plants and Flora
As it is a Wood year, it is strongly advised that you add plants, flowers, bamboo (live and strong) into your living and working spaces for clearer and fresher air.
For the Lunar New Year, fill your vases with freshly cut flowers like lilies, orchids and peonies for good luck.
According to Feng Shui experts, this is also a good year to introduce lush and leafy evergreen plants outdoors. Do ensure that these stay healthy throughout the year and avoid allowing them to turn yellow and wither.
Lastly, avoid dead or dried flowers this year; yes ladies, this is not the time for potpourri, we’re afraid.
Keep your living room reflective of the heart of your home with lively, fiery colours.
Living Room
The living room is considered the heart of your home, so furniture and décor choices play a huge part in it.
For the year of the Wood Horse, Feng Shui experts advise to fill your living room with bright, lively colours like fiery shades of red and purple. This can be done very easily with the addition of a brightly coloured rug.
Wooden, Earthen and Muted Tones go well for your Kitchen and Dining Room’s Feng Shui.
Dining Room & Kitchen
The element of the Dining Room is Earth. Consequently, fill your dining area with earthen tones: clay, gold and other soft, darker tones for a general yin feel. Avoid bright colours.
Similarly, the Kitchen’s element in Feng Shui is Wood. For your kitchen, paint the walls white and add a touch of green; whether it be a plant or through green furniture and décor items.
Chairs and sofas should have high, full backs with full armrests for better ‘protection’
Sofas & Chairs
For good Feng Shui in the year of the Wood Horse, you should invest in sofas and chairs with high backs; this will give you better protection.
To further strengthen this protection, avoid placing the backs of chairs and sofas towards entrances and doors and ensure that the backs of all seating furniture are fully solid; this means that they should not contain gaps or be made from strips.