Do you believe in Feng Shui?

[70SATMan]

Just a precursor, I'm a believer in Color Psychology. Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, our eyesight developed and instinctively, we react to colors like blue, green, red in nature.

I've a long line of artistic bent in my background, dabble myself in many mediums and fully believe in the reactions some colors bring to us. The truly great designers utilize color palettes in the same way any talented painter does.

Having said that,,,,,, Feng Shui. I don't know if I'm on board. Enhancing the 'energy' of a home using 'techniques' that strike me a little like New Age Crystals. My Chakras are rebelling a bit!

We've been working with some designer/builders to remove our carport and build a formal garage, bumping out our entry and a full kitchen remodel. Aside from the cornholeo feeling of some of the quotes we've received, I'm seeing options of Feng Shui consulting, certifications??

Snake oil or just fluffing up a designer's resume?? Anyone had their home Feng Shuided??

Now, Elizabeth Shue I get or wish I did,,,

[flatbutt]

IMHO Feng Shui is a fancy term for setting up a home environment that "feels" right. I've done things like placing a mirror to brighten a dark corner or arrange taller pieces of furniture so they don't block natural light. Hippies will say my home has good Feng Shui but it's just setup in a way that makes me comfortable.

[Crowbob]

I'm with fatty.

However the notion that there might be an evolutionary aspect to arranging your furniture is interesting.

I've studied wabi-sabi which is also fascinating.

[Rusty Heap]

Ever notice it feels weird if you sleep east west, instead of your normal north south? We had 2 bedrooms and the beds are 90 degrees different.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

I'm with fatty.

However the notion that there might be an evolutionary aspect to arranging your furniture is interesting.

I've studied wabi-sabi which is also fascinating.

Who you callin' fatty?!

[Steve Carlton]

Suppose to be flatty!

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Suppose to be flatty!

as for that wasabi stuff:

[john70t]

It's odd that regardless of materials a slight 'imperfection' feels more like nature, and that feels more comforting.
For instance, three plants looks better than two or four.

There was something unique about sunflower petals and the geometry of nature.
https://www.reference.com/science/many-petals-sunflower-caf459bfeaaa5baa
Sunflowers have either 34, 55 or 89 petals on their face, depending upon the size of the sunflower. This number is based from the Fibonacci number

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Who you callin' fatty?!

Please, kind sir. My heartfelt apologies.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Please, kind sir. My heartfelt apologies.

HA all good CB! Just playin' with ya. I know that my imperfections make me beautiful.

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

HA all good CB! Just playin' with ya. I know that my imperfections make me beautiful.

Nope.

Still ugly.

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

I've studied wabi-sabi which is also fascinating.

I totally get wabi-sabi but, have difficulty equating that with bonsai as most practitioners I've seen have an obsession with creating the imperfections, far from the nurturing aspect of bonsai. How can one appreciate the imperfection when trying to perfect the imperfection?

It's a bit of a spiral into madness I think..

Like Fatty, I look at flow, placement, room lighting a lot but, from a practical perspective, not a spiritual perspective.

I'd pay to see a Feng Shui practitioner take a tour of Tabs domicile.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

HA all good CB! Just playin' with ya. I know that my imperfections make me beautiful.

Wait, you are imperfect?

[look 171]

Superstition is what it is. The traditional Chinese are just some of the most superstition people around. Somehow it crept into western design. I remember UCLA was offering classes on Feng Shui 25 years ago. Now some designers swear by it. My aunt will not buy a house that faces a T intersection with the back door directly in the back aligned with the intersection. She said the Chi or money will flow right through the house. That's the Feng Shiu they don't tall you at UCLA.

[A930Rocket]

I remember building a house for a Chinese couple. Whatever they were into, we had to change the street address, orient the house in the right direction, etc.

Edit: he was complaining about a noise. My coworker and I went to talk to him. We died laughing, when he explained the noise while slamming a cabinet door and saying it sounds like “discharge of electric stapler”!

[techman1]

Yep.
But only after giving it some thought. It was said above "Feels Right" is a proper statement.
Correct but why? It is related to thousands of years of experiences, tabulated, collated, and shared.

Many will snort and dismiss it, but think of this:
If you keep a pile of wood in the house, might attract rodents, keep it away from food. We know this, but the why is due to the diseases they carry. In the past, those who kept the firewood in a separate part of the house were healthier. Feng Shui.

No AC? a house stays cooler if the overhangs protect the east and west side of the house. The water is stored in a certain part of the house (Mold prevention). Also proper orientation would take advantage of wind patterns.

Over many decades, this was studied and Feng Shui was developed. We feel more comfortable with it due to evolution alerting us to hazards in our subconscious. (Now I am getting out there with limbic thinking) Rambling now, gotta stay off the hard stuff!!!!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by techman1

Yep.
No AC? a house stays cooler if the overhangs protect the east and west side of the house.

Don't you mean south and west (unless you're in the southern hemisphere, then it would be north and west).

Unless you're practically at the equator, the side of the house facing the equator is going to be the hot side. The other hot side is going to be the side facing the setting sun.

So you'd want a porch with an overhang to face south and west to block the hottest sun (mid day and afternoon). The morning has sun coming in low, but that's generally the coolest part of the day.

Back on topic. The Chinese have been around a loooooong time. The Chinese have had an advanced society for a long time. I'm not going to denounce any widely held Chinese beliefs. That's not to say that I think they are all completely valid either.

I've also seen some New Age mumbo jumbo used by folks where when watching and listening and thinking about what was happening, I easily saw "how they are explaining this, like it's magic, is total crap, but what they are doing seems completely valid and is likely to have the desired effect." It'd be like being a caveman and telling another caveman "if you rub these two sticks together, you'll call the fire god into the sticks and he'll make fire for you." It doesn't have anything to do with a fire god, but you know those guys are having BBQ tonight.

If it was cheap or included, I might be willing to listen to some Feng Shui ideas (or maybe read a book), but I don't think I'd pay an extra grand or two to have someone come Feng Shui my house.

[wdfifteen]

It's well know that certain chord progressions in music elicit specific emotional responses. You can engineer sound to create your desired response. The artistry is in the details.
It makes sense that the space around us can likewise be designed to elicit a certain feel.
Sound, vision, the sense of the space around us can all be engineered to manipulated our feelings and moods.
Feng Shui is like a genre of music. If you like the vibe, it works for you. If not, go with something different.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by techman1

Yep.


Over many decades, this was studied and Feng Shui was developed. We feel more comfortable with it due to evolution alerting us to hazards in our subconscious. (Now I am getting out there with limbic thinking) Rambling now, gotta stay off the hard stuff!!!!

That's not Feng Shui. What you described maybe a twisted western version, maybe even sales pitch for a certain design.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

It's well know that certain chord progressions in music elicit specific emotional responses. You can engineer sound to create your desired response. The artistry is in the details.
It makes sense that the space around us can likewise be designed to elicit a certain feel.
Sound, vision, the sense of the space around us can all be engineered to manipulated our feelings and moods.
Feng Shui is like a genre of music. If you like the vibe, it works for you. If not, go with something different.

It has also been studied and shown that different shaped and colored plates can make food taste different.

And I've absolutely had music that almost seemed tangible (like wind or the ocean).

And that's a great point. Different folks like different foods, different music, different art, etc.... So there's no reason to assume that everyone is going to like or do well in a house that looks the same on the inside or outside or is decorated the same way or anything else.

The human mind is an amazing thing.