Mind, Body, Home: Transform Your Life One Room at a Time (15 page)

energy in spaces, often depending on their location on the floor plan.

Front Door

After my exterior analysis of a home or building, I always start my feng shui consultations at the front door. The front door of the home is the primary vessel through which energy enters a space. In feng shui, the

front door is referred to as the
primary mouth of chi
. For this reason, it
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is important that the front door be obvious and welcoming. Have you

ever gone to someone’s home where you couldn’t find the front door?

Perhaps it was on the side of the house or not on the front wall that

faces the street. Or maybe overgrown with bushes. In the same way

that you have difficulty finding the entrance so does energy in general.

There are also homes where the front door may be obviously placed on

the front of the home, but there is no pathway to get there. The front door looks abandoned because the residents only use the backdoor.

Doors represent opportunities, and the front door is the primary

door for opportunities. That is not to say that opportunities can’t come in through the backdoor. However, the backdoor is generally the way energy exits the home. Similar to our respiratory system, the front door is the inhale breath and the back door is the exhale breath. The front door brings in fresh air and exhales out old, processed air. This is essential for balance. It is therefore important to use the front door as much as possible even if you use the backdoor or garage door to enter and exit the home.

The front entrance of your home should be clearly delineated with

house numbers, a doorbell or doorknocker, and a welcome mat. This not

only makes your front door obvious, but also welcoming. Also be aware

of any trees, shrubs, or other foliage that may be blocking the energy

coming in through your front door. This is especially important for selling a home. If the front door is not obviously visible, then potential buyers will not energetically see the house. Of course they may be able to see it with their physical eyes, but the house will escape them energetically.

Front Entrance

The front entrance sets the tone for the entire home. In some homes,

you might enter into grand foyer with tall ceilings up to the second

story. Or the entrance could be a small, enclosed enclave. Can you see

straight back to the backdoor? What is your view from the entrance?

What rooms are visible? And where does the energy circulate to once

you enter the home? All of these considerations will set the tone for the entire house similar to the way a first impression is set when you meet someone for the first time.

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Once you enter the front door, you ideally walk into a foyer. Foyers

are transitional spaces. The importance of adequate transitional spaces is often overlooked. They allow beneficial chi to rest and accumulate before moving into the next room. They set the stage for the bigger rooms, similar to an opening act. It only makes the main act that much more

anticipated and better. I have recently seen new construction homes that eliminate a designated foyer in order to cut down on square footage. In homes without a foyer, you will immediate walk into a dining room or

family room, which makes the energy too fast and rushing for those

rooms. It will feel unsettling to eat, rest, or even focus in those rooms.

If you live in a space that does not have a designated foyer or entry

space built in, then create one. One way is to place a rug just inside

the door helping to separate the space just inside the door with the

room you are entering. Another way is to hang a picture on one of

the sidewalls as you enter the space. This will help the energy to rest in the entry before moving forward. In my current home, the front

door walks right into a sitting room instead of a designated foyer. Like a foyer, the energy is able to accumulate in this room before moving

into the family room. The low, lounge-like furniture helps to transition this area so that it doesn’t rush into the family room. Had we decided to use the front room as the family room, it would have felt too unsettled being so close to the front door.

In my previous home, the entry walked right into an open dining

room space. While it was a beautiful dining room it rarely got used.

Due to its location, it became a transitional space into the kitchen.

Whatever room the front door (or backdoor if used as primary en-

trance) immediately opens into will become a transitional space even if not intended. If you enter into a kitchen, dining room, office, or family room, it will always have a transitional feel that is not quite settled as it otherwise would be.

If your front door is centered on the front of your home, then you

will be walking into the Career & Life Purpose section of the Bagua Map, which usually includes the foyer. This is an auspicious arrangement because opportunity will come knocking on your front door and

will help in career insights, connections, and advancements.

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Unfortunately, not all floor plans include an auspicious entry into

a space. The most problematic entry is when you walk into the home

and run right into a wall. This could lead to blocks or feeling blocked in your life. The wall immediately stops the beneficial chi from fully

entering your home. It is important to open this area up energetically.

If architecturally feasible, removing the wall or a section of the wall would be the first consideration. Another option is to place a mirror on the wall, which will help push the energy through the wall similar to a window or cut-out of the wall.

Another problematic entry is if you can see the backdoor straight

back from the front door. This is similar to the shotgun-style house described in Chapter 3. However, other styles of homes have this arrange-

ment. Like a shotgun, the energy enters through the front door only to

have it rush out the backdoor. If you have ever had the front door and backdoor open at the same time and noticed how the airflow rushes

through the home, this is indicative of how the energy flows in general with this floor plan. This same energy pattern can occur if the front

door opens up to a long hallway. Even if there is not a backdoor lined up, the energy will immediately race down the hallway.

Inauspicious Entryways

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The best way to remedy this floor plan is to distract the energy, so

to speak, from rushing out the backdoor. If there is a room of furniture between the front and backdoor this will inherently help to slow the energy down. However, if the pathway is more like a hallway or an open

pathway, then it is best to attract the energy to the right and/or left of this pathway. You can use a mirror and/or interesting artwork to attract the energy toward a different direction. Hanging a crystal between the

front and backdoor can also help distribute the energy more evenly.

The floor plan of split-level home creates confusing energy. Luck-

ily this floor plan is considered outdated and hopefully will not return.

When you enter the front door of a split-level home, you are immedi-

ately given a choice: upstairs or downstairs. Its occupants will always be faced with dilemmas, choices, and confusion. The overall energy in

the home will be confusing. The homeowners of this floor plan usually

resort to using the backdoor as the primary entrance instead. If you

have a split-level floor plan, then give visual cues to which direction you want the energy going, which is usually to the main level floor. Attract the energy either up or down the stairs with artwork, plants, or other

décor items so that there is no decision to be made about which way to

go upon entering.

Hallways

Hallways connect rooms like veins and arteries connect major organ

systems throughout the body. Newer homes with an open floor plan

and loft-style apartments have few, if any, hallways. Rooms connect

without walls like lines blurred on a page. This allows for an openness of space and can be easier to breathe in. It can also blur the functions of rooms and make it difficult to know how to best use a function of

a room. For example, a kitchen that opens up into a living room with

no wall divider at all can sometimes feel unsettling to those relaxing, or trying to relax, in the living room. At the same time, the person cooking feels more a part of the living room.

Hallways are great for dividing spaces where necessary. For exam-

ple, you may want the master bedroom to have more privacy from the

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public spaces, such as the living room or kitchen. A hallway can provide a division of these spaces that is essential to a good night’s sleep. At the same time, hallways should be used consciously and sparingly. Too

many hallways can lead to too much division in the space, especially in the case of long hallways. Hallways can make the walls feel like they are coming in on their occupants and even affect breathing patterns within

the home for its residents.

Have you ever been to a home where the rooms are grand, with tall

ceilings, and then you walk into a tight hallway with a low ceiling? The transition is too quick and you suddenly feel like your breath has been cut off. The width, height, and length of hallways should be propor-tional to their adjoining rooms and used purposefully. You should also

avoid having a bathroom at the end of a long hallway. All the energy

rushes down the hallway and down the toilet. Keep the bathroom door

closed at all times. In the case of a door, place a curtain over the window to avoid energy loss.

In the case of a hallway that feels too long or too dark, place a mir-

ror on the side wall, have adequate lighting, and avoid placing furniture along the wall. Hanging a crystal from the ceiling is also a way to get the chi flowing properly as well. Hallways are iconical for displaying

family photos, but be mindful not to hang so many that the hallway

feels clogged up.

Stairways

As you will read in Chapter 10, stairways represent opportunities for

growth and taking things to the next level. They are transitional spaces that connect us from one dimension to another. However they can also

be jarring to the flow of a home if not placed correctly, creating a too-abrupt transition. How they are placed within a home can significantly

shift the flow of energy.

Similar to a chute, the energy can rush up and down a staircase. For

this reason, it is best that a staircase not be located in front of the front door. The energy rushes up the stairs as opposed to being distributed

among the main level. It will also rush down the stairs and out the door.

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Having a staircase with a landing partly up the stairs helps alleviate a rush of energy up and down the staircase. Just as the landing is a resting spot for those climbing the stairs, it does the same for energy in general.

Landings also serve to change the direction of energy, which slows the

energy as well.

A staircase with the opening lined up with the front door creates a

similar energy dynamic as when the backdoor is lined up with the front

door. The remedy is similar too. You want to distract the energy from

rushing upstairs by attracting it to the right or left sides. You can accomplish this by using a mirror or artwork to attract energy to rooms or

hallways to the right or left of the staircase. You can also hang a crystal anywhere in the vicinity to more evenly distribute the energy.

Floor plans commonly place a stairway in the center of the home. It

is important that the center of the home have a good flow of energy as

it represents health according to the Bagua Map. In the case of a staircase in the center of the home, it is important that the energy circulate easily and freely around the staircase. Usually there is a circular pattern around the staircase made up of hallways and rooms. Be mindful that

these areas flow unobstructed without furniture or clutter blocking the pathways with at least a three-foot walk-through space around this area.

If this pathway does not circle around and instead comes to a dead end

wall, then place a mirror on that wall to help push the energy through

completing this circle of energy.

It is advisable to avoid homes with a spiral staircase. While they may

add functionality and a novelty to the space, they are detrimental to the health of the occupants. The energy up and down a spiral staircase is

hard, abrasive, sudden, and similar to that of a corkscrew drilling down into your home. Aside from health concerns, the section of the Bagua

Map in which the spiral staircase is located will experience challenges as well. If architecturally feasible, it is best to remove the spiral staircase altogether. If that is not possible, then hang a crystal above or as close to above the staircase as possible. Place a plant at the top and/or bottom of the staircase to soften the energy and ground the energy better.

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Bathrooms

Early homes had it right: the bathroom goes outside in an outhouse.

Unfortunately, there is no good place for a bathroom with regard to

feng shui. Due to the drains and flushing in a bathroom, the energy

exits the home in the same draining and flushing manner. The phrases,

“money going down the drain” or “your love life down the tubes” are

common in our language. These precisely describe the energy of toilets