13 Mar Stayin’ Alive: Timely Feng Shui at Home

An Excerpt from Carole’s recent book “Conversations with Your Home”

Just as with any organization/structure that holds life, there has to be some system in place that assures your home will maintain its vitality.  Certainly general upkeep and care counts for something and should not be minimized, but in addition there should be a level of care that extends past the basics of keeping the floors swept and the windows clean.  You might call this nurturing the grace of the home—-those actions that not only keep the place alive but also instill a sense of uniqueness and of beauty.  However, it’s not just a decorative approach that is important for vitality, but also a connection with the changes of nature.  A home’s life should be coupled with appropriate timing, so that the grace or vitality is not just a design element but a timely design element.  Just like some people wear green on St. Patrick’s Day or put on costumes at Halloween, your house can also take on this visual market of temporal change.

Holiday decorations are a perfect example of including the home in this temporal dimension.  One client has her summer furniture arrangement and her winter furniture arrangement.  Another client collected twelve wreaths and on the first of each month placed a new wreath on her front door—-she need only look at her front door to be reminded what month it is.  I’ve had another client who accomplished a similar idea using four wreaths, changing them for each season.

A well-traveled couple I worked with did an “artwork exchange” each solstice and equinox when they would change the painting over their fireplace.  The idea of a summer bedroom and a winter bed room is not a new one.  We change our wardrobe depending on the season.  Why wouldn’t you “outfit” your home to reflect what season it is or what month?  Your home has an internal clock keeping itself and you in step with nature.