In part two of this series, we will be discussing how to implement Feng Shui in the bedroom to create a relaxing sanctuary that will continuously nourish and nurture you. The art of Feng Shui can be complex, allowing you to choose to focus on the aspects that are meaningful to you. Feng Shui decorating principles are centered around the five elements tree (wood), fire, earth, metal and water. They symbolize characteristics that define world. If any one of these five elements is more prominent than the other, then the energies won’t be balanced and your bedroom won’t be harmonious. The aim is to include all five elements in the bedroom’s design so that the energies in the room work together to refresh and renew you.
Typical Feng Shui colors (shown here from Benjamin Moore) are interrelated to the five elements which are wood (muted greens), fire (reds), earth (yellows), metal (whites) and water (deeper blues). Tree represents creativity and change; fire signifies energy and danger; earth symbolizes patience and stability; metal stands for business and success; and water embodies curiosity and travel. The color you select for your bedroom will draw that particular energy into the room: should you wish to concentrate on success, paint the walls of the room white; if you would like the room’s chi to be focused on stability, select a shade of yellow.
In any bedroom, the focal point is the bed. A Feng Shui bed has simple, rhythmic lines and includes a headboard that is solid, such as a panel bed. A solid headboard protects the body’s head from negative influences while you’re asleep, allowing the body to repair and refresh itself. To promote the harmonious flow of energy, choose a bed that stands off the floor: air should be able to flow above, below and around the bed itself. For this reason, opt for a type of bed that does not include under-bed storage.
The mattress should be comfortable and as roomy as the space allows, especially if you’re sharing. Plan on buying a new one; a used mattress from a previous owner confuses the energies in the bedroom and can create an atmosphere of bad chi.
All five energies are fluid. Each one should be present in the room. Since bedroom furniture is commonly made of wood, a dresser like the Lexington Zacara Lowell 9 Drawer Double Bedroom Dresser would certainly quality as tree energy. For this reason, it is important that no one energy is allowed to dominate.
Feng Shui principles strongly advise against the use of electronics in the bedroom. Of course, one could not manage very well without an alarm clock. And if you are one of those people that can’t manage very well without a little late night television, you could always hide it out of sight with the Butler Specialty Eastern Inspirations Wood Entertainment Center.
Since our moods are often easily affected by environment, promoting good Feng Shui in the bedroom depends on the right combination of natural and artificial light. Sitting the ELK Lighting Park East Table Lamp on a nightstand or a dresser will introduce another energy, metal, into the room’s design.
The Couristan Everest Area Rug Collection – Gridiron/Crimson safely introduces fire into the mix. Fire represents aliveness and action. The yang or flipside quality is destructiveness. As with the other elements, fire needs to be kept in check by balance and harmony.
The color palette chosen for this room’s interior design is yellow. If you choose another color, make sure you include earth into the décor by some other means such as clay bowls or vases or other earth elements such as tile or terra cotta.
When incorporating water into the bedroom, the most obvious way to do it is with a small table fountain. But it can be added to the bedroom in many other ways, as well, such as blue bedding or window treatments; a blue vase; a picture of water or a blue picture frame.
Feng Shui is about the five basic elements and how they are related to areas in our lives like career, success and reputation, children and creativity, health and family, helping others, knowledge, love, and wealth. When decorating a Feng Shui bedroom, these elements need to be in harmony with one another. This manifests itself by a flowing arrangement of furniture, furnishings with soothing lines and the use of muted and calming colors.
