By: Henry
Walsh
Many
homeowners in the Miami area enjoy spending much of their time at home
outdoors. Creating a Feng Shui outdoor living space makes sense for those
wanting to make the most of their outdoor areas. Consider these tips on how to
Feng Shui your outdoor space to make it a more peaceful and comfortable space
this season:
Understand the Elements
Feng Shui is
an ancient Chinese system of laws that pertain to the energy that items produce
within an area. There are five elements to consider when designing your outdoor
space: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. While you may choose to include all
of the items into your outdoor area, the most critical Feng Shui elements in an
outdoor space include those natural resources of wood, earth, and water. Use
all of these elements in a literal sense, like building a wood fence, but you
can also use the elements within certain aspects of the space like furniture
and decorations.
Include Water
Water is an
essential element in Feng Shui, based on the earth’s need for water as a
resource. With water being one of the resources, this means that every Feng Shui
outdoor space should include some water feature. Water is so essential that if
you can only choose a few items to utilize, make sure that water is the first
one. Water symbolizes abundance and is best when placed in the North of the
outdoor space. Other spots are also available depending on what kind of energy
you want to attract to your area.
Use Directional Placing
Feng Shui
principles focus on the use of direction to the five elements. Using directions
means that you should not only know which direction your outdoor space faces
but also be aware of what items to place in certain spots. Water features should
be set on the north side of your outdoor space, but could also be placed in the
wood element direction of East and Southeast, since wood is nourished by water.
Place outdoor furniture in the Southwest corner of your outdoor space in order
to build relationships that are important to the earth element. Metal accents
can be placed within the West to Northwest areas of the space as well.
Plant According to Color
Color is
also an essential part of Feng Shui and relates to the directional aspects of
the practice. A Feng Shui garden would include blue or black featured plants to
the North to coincide with the water element. Green or brown colored plants
would be planted in the East for the wood element. Red and orange plant
varieties would be in the South for the fire element, while white, silver, or
gold colored plants would be in the West for the metal element. The earth
element includes those plants of yellow or beige coloring that should be placed
in either the southwest or northeast parts of the garden.
Use Natural Colors
The outside
living space of your home should bring harmony to the area around it, meaning
that it should naturally fit in with the hues of brown and green of the grass types and tree varieties that surround
your outdoor space. Feng Shui focuses on harmony within the space and nothing
should stand out too abruptly. However, one of the most important aspects of
Feng Shui is to have a brightly colored entrance to the space in order to
invite positive energy. This can be done by choosing a favorite non-natural
colored paint for the area in which you enter your outside living area.
Incorporate Natural Shapes
Another way
to bring positive energy into your outdoor space is to mimic those shapes that
are found in nature. You will rarely see straight vertical or horizontal lines
in life, but will find curves, circles, and odd shapes with odd angles instead.
These types of shapes and lines are encouraged in a Feng Shui outdoor space as
they help positive energy. Even if you do need to use straight lines in a porch
or fencing materials, consider shaping the space into a curved area rather than
one with 90° angles.
Choosing to
use Feng Shui principles in creating
your outdoor living space is a smart way to make the area more comfortable
to use. While becoming a Feng Shui master takes years of careful practice, you
can begin to incorporate many of these essential principles when trying to Feng
Shui your outdoor space.
