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f you’ve chosen to decorate your home guided by the principles of the ancient practice of Feng Shui, there are many different aspects to consider. How you place furniture, position artwork or even choose colors to decorate your living space can all have an impact on the flow of energy throughout your home.

Feng Shui may seem complicated, and it is possible to be quite detailed with the practice, but how in-depth you get is entirely up to you. The basic principles of Feng Shui are easy to follow and bring balance into our hectic, modern lives. Feng Shui allows good energy to flow through your home unencumbered; it can help you capture positive energy and capitalize on its potential, while keeping negative energy away.

When positioning your furniture, you should first do it in a way that maximizes comfort and convenience. Try to keep high traffic areas of your home open and unobstructed, and while your living space should feel welcoming and cozy, they should also be free of clutter. Make sure your rooms have “breathing space” and invite good feelings in. Overall, the goal should be to direct the flow of energy in a harmonious manner.

Ensure there are no objects blocking external or internal doorways in your home, as this can symbolize blocked opportunities in your life. A good principle is to place main pieces of furniture in “command positions” – facing the doorways, off to the side. In addition, furniture in living rooms can be placed in conversation areas. You may even wish to set up decorative dividers or screens, so long as they don’t clutter up the space, to ensure there are no straight paths from doors to windows for good energy to be released from.

Placing furniture in your home office in a “command position” is also essential. Choosing to position your desk facing the door and off to the side, so long as a window isn’t directly behind you, can improve your career prospects. It can also increase productivity, number of customers, amount of respect for you professionally and overall success.

In the bedroom, the most important point to consider is how to place your bed. The worst way is in front of a door with your feet facing out to the hallway. This is known as “coffin position” because they’re usually taken out of a room feet-first. Doing so promotes negative energy. Furthermore, in the bedroom it’s imperative that your head isn’t right by the window while you’re sleeping. This allows your personal energy, or chi, escape.

Feng Shui is applicable to every room in your house, even the kitchen. It’s important to position your appliances in ways that promote a harmonious balance between the different elements they harness, such as fire and water. Doing so will encourage greater health, happiness and prosperity for you entire family.

In addition to using the principles of Feng Shui to determine how you place your furniture, you can also use it when deciding what type of art will decorate your abode, plus where and how you’ll place it. Choosing and placing works of art according to the practice of Feng Shui will help the flow of energy into your home. Furthermore, it’s important to keep in mind that certain colours, images and shapes can bring in needed positive energy, while others can drain the home of it and lower vibrations.

Some people think that choosing art to enhance their homes Feng Shui means choosing Asian art pieces, but that isn’t the case. It doesn’t matter the style of art or what country it originates from. The art should speak to you, be something you enjoy and compliment your Bagua, or Feng Shui energy map.

Placing art strategically will help direct the flow of energy in your home. For example, you may wish to line the walls up your staircase with pictures, but hang them straight across the wall, not in a graduated line parallel to the steps. This will create balance and stability and keeps the flow of energy from flowing down the staircase and out the door.

For your home office, art should be carefully selected that inspires you and symbolizes your career and ambition. Furthermore, it is important to frame and display anything that symbolizes your accomplishments, such as university degrees or certificates of achievement, alongside the art you’ve chosen.

Finally, the art that you select for your bedroom should also be chosen with careful attention to the principles of Feng Shui. For example, certain shapes and representations in artwork, as well as the colours used to create it, can help attract love and romance in the bedroom! If this is important to you, then be mindful of it.

The practice of Feng Shui also comes into play when choosing what colours you’d like to see in the works of art you display in your home. Colours are thought to symbolize certain feelings or energies, as well as represent particular elements in nature. Which colour scheme you choose for which room will have an impact on the flow of energy in it.

Colours that represent the fire element include red, which symbolizes passion, courage and romance; orange, which signifies being social, open and optimistic; purple, which symbolizes being royal, mysterious and noble and pink, a colour thought to be gentle, soothing and loving. Yellow can also be included under the fire element, though it also aligns with the earth element. It symbolizes sunshine, nourishment and happiness.

Colours that represent the water element are blue, which signifies calm, tranquility and peace as well as black, which represents the infinite, unknown and absorbing.

Symbolizing the wood element are the colours green and brown. Green represents growth, health and overall vibrancy, while brown is the colour of strength, grounding and stability.

Last but not least is the metal element. The primary colour that represents it is grey, which symbolizes being clear, detached and neutral. In addition, white falls under the metal element and represents innocence, freshness and new beginnings.

Prominent artist Jessica Baker creates unique works of art that highlight the principles of Feng Shui and can help bring the colours and symbolism you desire into your home. She is a self-taught painter who feels that art comes more naturally to her than anything else in life. Jessica uses trademark bold colours on her paintings and her desire is to create art that enriches people’s lives.

Whether you’re moving into a new home or looking to add some organization and balance to your current place utilizing Feng Shui, don’t let the prospect of doing so overwhelm you. Knowing the principles and what different colours symbolize can help you position items and choose colours, but don’t add stress to your life by trying to create and follow an idealistic Bagua. It’s not always entirely possible. Rather, focus on the areas you can and the general principles, plus choose what you love and what works for the space and belongings you have.