By Katherine Salant
The basic premise of Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement, is universally appealing. When Feng Shui directives are followed in the creation of a floor plan, the type and placement of furniture and artwork and the choice of finishes and colors, happiness and prosperity should come to the occupants of a house. Despite Feng Shui's widespread popularity and its potential benefits, however, "good Feng Shui" almost never gets on the "must have list" of new home buyers because for most people Feng Shui remains arcane - an endeavor too difficult and expensive to undertake.
In fact, building a house with good Feng Shui is easier than you think. Most Feng Shui directives appeal to common sense, and "proper balance" is another way of describing good design. Moreover, you don't have to build a custom house to get one with good Feng Shui "basics." In evaluating a number of typical tract-builder floor plans with two Feng Shui practitioners, Marge Richards of Ardmore, Pa., and interior designer Angelique Swingle of Oakland, Calif., it was clear that many floor plans currently being built have good Feng Shui qualities.
For example, the outside envelope of many tract-built houses is a simple box because this is the easiest and least expensive way to frame a house. It's also good Feng Shui practice because it avoids "missing corners." Straight walls inside that create square or rectangular shaped rooms are easier to build and likewise, good Feng Shui practice. A bay window or a room extension, which most tract builders offer as upgrades, would be a beneficial enhancement to a particular room without compromising the overall Feng Shui character of the house, Swingle said.
In terms of a floor plan, a house with good Feng Shui has a room arrangement and circulation pattern that is not immediately apparent when you open the front door. Instead it gradually unfolds as you move through the house. Such a low key design approach is also more likely to produce a house with a relaxed and comforting atmosphere, which buyers everywhere say they want. A Feng Shui practitioner would describe such a house as one in which the positive "chi" energy, which is slow and meandering, is balanced, and the negative, pointed arrow "sha" energy is minimized.
According to Feng Shui, each corner of a house symbolizes a major part of the occupant's life - relationships, wealth, helpful people (benefactors), and self-knowledge. In order to keep these "nourished," the occupants need to use all the corner rooms with some frequency. This can create some positive life changes, however. Using a formal living room which might be in the front left "self knowledge" corner for reading would incorporate some quiet time into an all too hectic existence for many people.
When evaluating a specific floor plan, a Feng Shui practitioner begins with the front entry. The front door, which should be obvious and approachable, is one of the most critical points in a house because it symbolizes the occupants' connection to the world and it's the opening through which guests are received. It's also necessary to use your front door with some frequency; otherwise you won't get the Feng Shui benefits, Swingle said. Since most people enter their houses through the attached garage because of the convenience, using the front door with any regularity will require some effort.
A driveway and large garage doors emphasize coming and going. Since the house should be a place of refuge, the driveway and garage doors should, if possible, be hidden from view. A side-load garage, which will always be more expensive because it requires a larger lot, or a rear garage approached from an alley would be preferable, both Richards and Swingle said. But, they both added, a front loading garage is acceptable.
On entering the house, a powder room should not be the first thing you see (most buyers would agree), nor should your eye immediately be drawn to the view out the back of the house. According to Feng Shui, your energy follows your eyes; if you look first to the rear, your energy has gone through the window and exited the house without ever entering it, Richards said.
Within individual rooms, however, views are considered a benefit, Swingle said. In many plans, the foyer leads directly into the kitchen; the simplest way to block the view out the rear is to add a kitchen door.
From the front door, the location of the stove is also important. It should be placed so that you can't see it (most buyers would agree here too - no one wants a messy kitchen on display). The stove should also be placed so that when you are using it, your back is not to the front door. Standing at the stove so that your side is to the front door is not optimal, but acceptable, Richards said. An island cooktop, often a builder's upgrade, is "ideal" because when using it, you face out into the room, she added.
The position and layout of the stairs is another important Feng Shui detail. With a straight run stair close to front door, the chi energy every person brings into the house will run upstairs. To slow this energy down, a u-shaped or split stair at right angles to the front door is preferable. In many cases, the stair issue can be solved by simply reversing the direction of the stair run and having the first floor landing in the kitchen instead of by the front door. Although such an arrangement would be unusual, it can be advantageous. For example, teenagers could not race in the door and upstairs without crossing paths with a parent first.
Feng Shui practitioners can differ on the placement of rooms on the second floor. Richards stipulates only that the master bedroom be in the rear, which many buyers prefer because it's more private, and a bathroom not be over the entry foyer.
Swingle, who has studied with a black sect Feng Shui master, also places the master bedroom at the rear, but she tries to avoid placing the master bathroom in either rear corner (respectively wealth and relationships), and she analyzes the second floor separately, treating the second floor stair landing as a "second front door."
Both Richards and Swingle prefer to put childrens' bedrooms on the front of the house as they will "eventually leave the nest." As lots become smaller and house plans more compact, a second floor living space over a garage is more common. Swingle said that such an arrangement is not optimal, but workable if the room will be used as a guest room, an older child's bedroom, or a home office.
Many further Feng Shui refinements can be made as you choose a specific site; consider furniture placement and types of furniture and select colors and artwork. The refinements can also act as a cure if there is a negative Feng Shui condition in a floor plan that cannot be corrected - for example, the stove cannot be relocated. "There is always a Feng Shui cure," Swingle said. "And, the most important thing about the cures is that you believe in them. 90 percent of Feng Shui is your intention, 10 percent is the actual cure."
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