Designer Style Without The Price Tag Using Feng Shui

The ancient art of Feng Shui teaches you to correctly place items in a room to maximize it's aesthetic appeal, balance, and harmony.

The end result when you have applied simple Feng Shui rules is more often than not comparable to the finished product of custom interior design work. If you want to give your home a designer look without the designer price tag associated with a professional consulant or indeed if you feel you lack the 'creative flair' necessary, let Feng Shui help.

With a few simple and affordable changes to your home - it will look and feel as serene and pleasant as possible.

As Feng Shui is as much about the positioning of items as it is about what kinds of objects you have, it is easy to give your home a makeover without investing bucket-loads of cash on new pieces of furniture or other highly expensive items. Feng shui will help you make the most of what you already have for the maximum 'WoW' factor.

Your home will be more ordered, more balanced, and more beautiful due to your time and effort rather than the outside influence of an expensive designer. It just takes a little bit of creative thinking and you can make Feng Shui work just by imagining how you can use and place the items you have already.

There are items you can purchase to enhance the attraction of positive chi into your home-life, such as plants, mirrors, wind-chimes etc... but these are inexpensive on the whole which means you will not need to raid your savings nest egg to make a big difference.

There are some aesthetic problems Feng Shui cannot resolve.

This is because practical feng shui is primarily about the arrangement of items and furniture, whereas many design problem spots in a home are due to the underlying architecture. However, there are remedies at your disposal to help minimise any such architectural issues.

If you have a room that feels small and cramped due to architectural 'features' like low ceilings and/or tiny windows, Feng Shui can help create strong visual lines making the room feel lighter and airier. Feng shui can also teach you practical methods to install multidirectional light sources in the space - this will help lighten the area without feeling you are being interrogated!

No matter what built in problems the design of your room may have, Feng Shui can help you mitigate the resultant issues so your home will have the look and feel of the designer touch.designers.

Feng Shui provides inexpensive, pragmatic solutions to interior design.

Give yourself the the designer treatment - without the expensive price tag!

Tracy O'Brien is a long time student and practitioner of the ancient art of Feng Shui. She is also the founder of FengShuiAstrology.com For more Feng Shui Tips and a FREE Feng Shui Astrology Personality Profile, visit: www.fengshuiastrology.com

Laugh, Celebrate, And Nourish Your Souls With Friends And Family Using Feng Shui In The Kitchen

Kitchens are the center of home life. This is where we laugh, celebrate, and nourish our souls with friends and family. Generations of families have taken substance, done homework, and had important conversations around the kitchen table. For these reasons, if for none other, we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to create an atmosphere of warmth and harmonious balance in our kitchens. One of the easiest ways to achieve this harmony is by using Feng Shui and kitchen design to enjoy a space intended for the preparation and eating of food with loved ones.

In the optimum home environment the kitchen is located in an area that is not clearly visible from the front door. If the kitchen is seen from the front door the occupants of the home may develop problems with digestion or even eating disorders. Guests to the home may feel an instinctive need to eat and immediately leave. Fortunately there are remedies for this situation. After all, there is no way a person can predetermine the lay out of a home unless they design and build it themselves. Installing a folding door or curtains in front of the kitchen door is an effective way to fix the situation. The busy activity of the kitchen won?t distract from the positive flow of chi. With Feng Shui and kitchen design, there aren?t any problems that can?t be corrected.

Once any kitchen placement issues have been corrected, it?s time to study the lay out of the kitchen. In Feng Shui and kitchen d?cor the room must be kept clear of debris and spotlessly clean. Clutter is not useful in generating good energy. Take the time to clear out and arrange the counters, cabinets, and open surfaces of the kitchen. Be sure to keep an eye out for the problem areas, like the top of the fridge and table tops. Enlist the help of the other occupants of the home to help prepare the kitchen for Feng Shui practices.

Appliance placement is particularly imperative in combining Feng Shui and the kitchen. The person cooking absolutely must be in a position of prominence in the room. Ideally the stove will be placed in such a way as to allow the cook to clearly see all of the kitchen. If the stove must be placed facing a wall, there are ways that you can remedy the situation. The simplest and fastest way to do this is to place a mirror or other reflective surface on the wall. In this manner, the cook will be able to see the entire kitchen in the reflection. The larger the reflective object is the more potent the correction will be in the room. The stove is also a symbol of health and wealth. Obviously the health aspect comes into play through the nourishment the appliance provides the family. In terms of wealth, it is related to the fire element. Actually, a good cook who is practiced in the Feng Shui tradition will be sure to use all of the burners equally. This ensures that the occupants of the house will receive money from multiple sources. Die hard Feng Shui practitioners avoid using a microwave oven to prepare their food, as this can lead to an unsettled frame of mind. After all, the work you are putting into your new Feng Shui kitchen is intended to create an environment rich in good chi and balance.

The stove should hold a specific place in relation the other appliances of the kitchen. Like elements should be grouped together. For example, the water elements of the refrigerator, dishwasher, and sink should be situated together in the kitchen space. The fire elements of the stove and microwave oven need to be placed together for optimum spacing. Feng Shui and kitchen design is fortunately one of the most common sense oriented ways of creating a space. You will find with the new look comes better usage of this vital space. Think of it as creating a warm, positive environment for your family and designing a space that is ideal for creative, efficient cooking. Feng Shui is a win-win situation.

When you consider that Feng Shui is such an ancient philosophy, it is clear how long kitchens have served as the center of family life. Imagine how much more memorable and meaningful family celebrations will be when held in a Feng Shui kitchen. The positive flow of health, wealth, and good chi can?t help but add a feeling of unity and well being to all that are fortunate enough to enter your personal space. The Feng Shui and kitchen design are relatively easy to accomplish. It is a matter of choosing the correct kitchen lay out and color designs. Before you know it, your kitchen will be the most restful, welcoming area of your home.

Candace Czarny,ASID,CFM,LEED AP, "Award Winning" Interior Designer, Feng Shui Expert & author. www.artofplacement.com is continually ranked "Top 10" in Google and Yahoo. Clients testify of dramatic results!