Sometimes, I come across clients who rely on feng shui to guide their home design. I remember we had to change the whole floor plan of a home even though the structure was almost done because in the middle of the process, the client decided to bring in a feng shui guru. It was a little costly but they are happy with the end result. Since that incident, I’ve encountered more clients who take feng shui seriously. This practice is not exclusive to the Chinese but to everyone who would like to improve their conditions in general. It was practiced by the emperors in China to enhance their power and fortune. It was also applied to the designs of the houses of the nobles to accumulate more wealth. With the Chinese New Year we just celebrated, I thought it would be interesting to revisit and apply some of these basic practices to our own lives.
For the whole month, I will be focusing on how we can apply feng shui on different areas as this practice may help preserve the favorable chi of a place, bring in more beneficial energies from the surrounding environment into the interiors, help develop a more harmonious flow and encourage good health and fortune to the occupants of the home. If you happen to be in the market for buying a home or about to build that dream home of yours, here are some factors and information to consider.
1. The past matters. Study the history of the plot you are interested in before purchasing it. Avoid building a home on land that used to have a hospital, cemetery, funeral home, temple or church, slaughterhouse, or police station built on it. Due to the previous activities that went on in the previous establishments, the negative energies may still linger and affect the fortune and wellbeing of the new occupants.
1.1 If the former property was burned down, do not build upon that land immediately. To remedy the energies of the plot, do remove a meter of the top soil. Fill the loss with new soil from a good place that holds beneficial chi.
2. Avoid purchasing or building a home near the fault line. Research on the location of the fault lines as this will be disastrous to the homeowners during earthquakes.
3. Aside from the plot, the topography is also important. Being on top isn’t always a good idea. If you build your home on the topmost level, the house will be exposed to all the natural calamities. This is important since our country experiences several typhoons a year. It will not retain the good energies as well because the wind will blow them away.
4. If the home is situated on the bottom, that isn’t great either. If the house is built on the lowest portion on the area, then it will collect all the energies. Aside from accumulating all the different kinds of energies, it will also be vulnerable to floods.
5. An important condition of feng shui is to have backing at the rear of the house. Backing can be in the form of a tall building or a big tree. An absence of backing suggests a dwindling family. It can also hinder the next generation from surpassing the success of the present generation.
6. We love swimming pools. It connotes fun and good times, right? According to feng shui, the location of the pool matters. The most common mistake we make is to place it right behind the home. The worst case is having a creek at the rear of the house. This signifies loss from loved ones which can affect health and wealth. Lower grounds should be situated in front of the plot, not behind. If the plot slopes towards the rear, don’t worry. The cure is to fill it with materials to create more elevation than the front.
Follow me on Instagram @cal_tavera