Feng Shui rooms and living rooms: how to decorate?

Tempted by a Feng Shui living room or bedroom? Thanks to Mobilier de France, you'll find all the furniture, bedding and advice you need to create an interior design that lives up to your expectations. Read this article and find out all you need to know.

Within a home, spending time in the bedroom should rhyme with relaxation, and living room decoration should provide well-being for its occupants. This is why Feng Shui living rooms and bedrooms are so popular with interior designers. But what exactly is Feng Shui, and how do you go about it? Mobilier de France answers in this article!

With its historical origins in China, Feng Shui is a centuries-old art whose aim is to harmonize the relationship between man, his environment and the energies that flow through it. The unit of measurement for these circulating energies is called Chi. This notion of balance and appeasement requires an understanding of the rules governing the layout of rooms throughout the home.

This concept is based on the idea that living beings are in a perpetual relationship with their surroundings. In other words, the influence of the environment (whether natural or created) conditions the existence and destiny of each individual. This philosophy derives directly from Taoism, the balance of Ying and Yang, which affects every detail of decoration and location.

The Feng Shui decorator's objective must be equality. He must create zones of equal size on each side of the room. In the case of a Feng Shui bedroom, for example, the space on either side of the bed and furniture should be the same, to facilitate circulation in the room.

This Chinese concept attaches great importance to color. As a place of rest, a Feng Shui bedroom must therefore reflect a true harmony of colors!

Cool shades such as blue, white, gray or mauve are preferred for walls, while warmer tones are preferred for curtains and bedding. Colors representing passion according to Feng Shui are orange, red, pink, mauve and dark yellow, and are perfectly suited to the couple's bedding. Conversely, earthy colors such as beige or light yellow are suitable for a living room, as they would be a source of stability and security.

Calm and relaxation are the key words to describe the hues that should emanate from interior design! Whether warm or cool, the colors should be pastel.

The shapes adopted by the various furniture elements should harmonize with this gentle atmosphere. Round, softer shapes are preferable to square, angular, pointed furniture. The same rules apply, of course, to living rooms.

The living rooms and bedrooms of a Feng Shui home must be free from electrical cables, waves and electromagnetic disturbances.

Disconnection is at the heart of this Chinese philosophy, because our metabolism is fatigued by waves, even when we're not actually using our devices, as we sleep! Electromagnetic waves from cell phones, for example, diminish the quality of our nights by altering heart rate and brain activity.

This is why a Feng Shui living room or bedroom cannot resemble an office or business premises!

Tip: if you can't remove all cables and electrical installations, it's advisable to position minerals - such as shungite or orgonite - near the appliances concerned.

The presence or absence of mirrors in a Feng Shui bedroom is just as important as in a living room. According to Taoist philosophy, the installation of a mirror subjects the Chi to an acceleration phenomenon, disrupting the flow of energy between inhabitants and their environment. Within a couple, it would double the number of people visible (the occupants and their reflection), and thus be a source of discord in the relationship.

In other words, particular care should be taken before deciding to install mirrors in the rooms concerned, as they would be detrimental to balance, well-being and calm.

Furniture layout is at the heart of the issues raised by Feng Shui. The slightest disturbance or change in the position of an object within a room can therefore lead to disorder in the lives of its occupants. This is why the bed in a Feng Shui bedroom must be positioned in a specific place. A well-positioned bed:

- Is essential for a good quality of sleep.
- Should not be located between a door and a window facing each other, as this accelerates the flow of Chi.
- Should be installed between a door and a window diagonally opposite each other, thus promoting rest.
- Should be located away from plants and flowers, which are too charged with Yang energy in a room intended for rest.

According to Feng Shui, parents must preserve their privacy, even in the case of a large family! To achieve this:

- The couple's equilibrium must not be disrupted by electronic equipment, as mentioned above, such as television or computer.
- Lighting should be soft, as should the colors of walls and furniture.
- Signs and decorative elements symbolic of the couple's union should be installed inside a Feng Shui bedroom.
- The couple's bedroom should not contain images and photos representing children or other family members. This space should be reserved for the parents and them alone. Paintings and displays can also be used to represent impersonal or anonymous couples, through which the couple can project themselves.
- Inspiring works of art, nature scenes and soothing scenes can also be installed in the bedrooms.

Children don't just rest and relax in their bedrooms! They also spend their time playing, discovering, learning and working. That's why, according to Feng Shui, several energy flows need to be channeled here.

We must therefore avoid letting one of these energies take precedence over the others, at the risk of creating imbalances in the children's development. It's the layout and organization of the room that's important. It must be divided into several sections, each of which clearly defines which activity is to be carried out in that particular area.

As you can see, whether you opt to decorate a living room or a Feng Shui bedroom, you need to take into consideration details such as the positioning of furniture, but also more general elements such as differences in color, light and the absence of appliances that are sources of stress in everyday life.