Three things that should be in for your house design to work
As above so below, as below so above!
Following design principles are universal. They apply to a building at large, a unit, and also scale down to a room, a corner or a workspace, and even scale up to the level of landscape.
The three important principles of design are:
1. Right space
The first principle is that of right space. By space I refer to any area that contains a certain function. It may be a room, but often just a part of a large area, such as the lounge or work space in an open plan scenario.
The principle of right space requires that each functional zone (such as the lounge or work space) should be well defined. It should be recognisable as a space not just something in a large space. For this, it should have some definition, some boundary. You want to have a clear sense of where it starts or ends. When a space is defined it can contain you and help you to focus or get into what you are doing there.
Let’s take the example of a lounge with the function of chilling out, napping, reading, or chatting. This is a space. Even if it is part of a larger area it should have some demarcation, some edge. Edge creates containment, more possibility of life and differentiation. Crossing it, you are entering a different zone with a different energy and purpose. You can achieve such definition through the design of nooks and corners, or, in an existing space, through the strategic placement of sofas, seats, side tables, a rug, planters or pots. Most people do this naturally. It is important to note though that the best seat in a space has a solid wall behind with you looking out into the larger area.
You may get a sense of the importance of this principle if you imagine a space that is undefined. In the extreme, imagine a sofa sitting in the middle of a paddock, or more common, a sofa in the middle of a large room. It is not contained. When the space is not defined you are more likely to be dispersed and distracted and more likely to wander off to do other things. However, a space can also be too defined, too separate. Connection with the rest of the building or the world is important. If a space is demarcated by too rigid boundaries or walls, you can become disconnected, loose energy and stagnate.
A good space has a degree of definition that is right for you and for its purpose. It is personal. It’s the balance between containment and openess that feels right to you and that makes you use this space. Such a spaces can support you and its particular function.
2. Right flow
Nothing exists in isolation. To function well, a home/office/space needs to be connected to its wider world so you can receive energies from the environment, family or team members. People and energies need to be able to naturally move in and out of a space. A healthy way for energy to flow is in a gently meandering manner, like a river that distributes nourishment to the lands surrounding it. This does not rush and flood over the land, yet it is not dry, constrained or barren.
One question to ask is whether a space receives right amount of energy? Does it have enough connection to the outside world, the rest of the building or is it cut off. This is different for each purpose, of course. Much less is required for a bedroom, for example. If a space lacks connection and is removed from the flow of energy, people tend to feel isolated. Such spaces are often avoided and remain unused. An example of this is a child who does not study in their room, the shop at the end of the strip that does not get frequented. On the other hand a space may also be by bombarded or blasted by too much energy, such as the home at the end of a T-intersection, or the sofa with its back to a hallway where no-one ever gets to relax, or the bedroom with too many or too large doors.
Apart from quantity it is also the quality of energy that determines good connection. In order to nurture a space and its people, it needs to flow in a gentle and meandering manner. Long straight hallways or pathways feeding into a space are experienced as cutting and aggressive. They ‘attack’ anyone in its trajectory and disturb the good energy that could otherwise be received.
3. Right time
Good Feng Shui means to be at the right place at the right time.
We addressed right space above, but time is a much more slippery proposition. It does not stand still and constantly changes. Nevertheless, the time factor is the other fundamental pillar of right design. Amazingly, there are powerful time space Feng Shui tools that need to be incorporated into a design for it to be a whole and guaranteed to work.These are advanced Flying Star Feng Shui methods. They inform us of the qualities of energies that enter a space from the eight compass directions, how each of these affect the various functions and, most importantly, how to use these in order to make the best of their positive potentials.
For relaxation, health and sleep we want to make sure we are using positive Yin (relaxing) energies in a bedroom or sitting room. For an active room or business we are looking for ample positive life force, good Yang (active energy). If this is not in place a space can still be dull, or sleep and health can be compromised in the bedroom.
The location of these good energetic potentials is different in each building. Their distribution is determined by its exact magnetic compass orientation and period of building, and it interacts design. To activate right time, ensure that your building design is run through and optimised by a Flying Star Feng Shui analysis. This will guarantee that you are making the best of a building’s positive potentials and that you are not inadvertently activating any negative or unhealthy influences.
Last not least, your design should be you. Right design is not something that can be imposed remotely. It is created through your relationship and communication with the site or a space, by working through obstacles, opportunities, needs and wants, likes and dislikes. Give your ideas and intuitions time and space to guide you through the development and differentiation of your design.
It may be a luxury, but feeling into each detail you are working on to see what may want to be in this corner, etc is a key to a space feeling right in the end. This process is made much easier if you are guided though endless possibilities by the boundaries of Feng Shui recommendations.
[image: Alhambra by Darrell Chaddock on unsplash.com]