Water in Feng Shui Design
For our Designer Monthly issue on Design at the Beach, we thought it a good idea to take a look at how water figures in the ancient Asian art of Feng Shui.
The very name "Feng Shui," itself holds water: the Chinese words mean "wind," and "water," and much of the philosophy of Feng Shui is about balancing the elements (also including wood and metal) so that the energy, or ch'i, can flow freely through the living space.
In one way of looking at water in Feng Shui, it's the basis of all the other elements: water provides the moisture for the wood to grow, the wood is burned by the fire, the ash from the fire become the earth, and the earth forms metals — which in turn fill water with life-giving substances.
Feng Shui practitioners often advise their clients to bring the water element into the home in order to achieve balance; water can also represent the flow of prosperity, and so sometimes water is used as a cure for stuck finances.
Of course, the biggest way to bring water into a space is by installing a fountain or water garden on your property. Water in front of a home will tend to bring prosperity into the home, whereas some practitioners feel that water in back of a property will draw prosperity away. This question is best answered by consulting a practitioner about your particular situation.
In some cases, you can put a fountain or fish tank in the interior of a home, which is a sure way of bringing the water element in.
Not everyone has the space for that, or the time or energy necessary for maintaining it — and you certainly don't want to install something that you can't maintain. Just as freely flowing, fresh water represents the free flow of energy and prosperity, water that's left to stagnate and dry up will have the opposite symbolism.
So you can also bring the water element in with glass and mirrror, either by hanging a mirror on the wall or hanging a crystal chandelier.
Shapes can also bring the water in, with wavy, free-flowing forms of sculptures or in furniture. Water can also come in one-step removed, with photographs or paintings of water landscapes, waterfalls, or rivers.
Even color can come in to bring water to a room; black and blues, for example midnight blue — the colors of water as found in the natural world — are representative of water and can add the element to a living space.
The question of where to place the water, whether it's a fountain or a painting of the ocean, is a crucial consideration. Often, Feng Shui experts advise their clients to put the water element in the "wealth and prosperity" corner of the room or of the house, usually the far left corner. But much of the placement will also depend on what else you have happening in the space, and on balancing the other elements.
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