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Feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of manipulating positive energy in your environment to improve your life.

The Basics

Feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of manipulating positive energy in your environment to improve your life.

The key to feng shui in your home is to keep it simple. Remove all the clutter from your rooms. Throw away ornaments and oddments that you've been meaning to get rid of for ages. Recycle any old newspapers and magazines lying around the place. You could even have a car boot sale and rid yourself of unwanted items that way.

Doors

The doors in your home are in constant use and are important in feng shui. Invest in sturdy doors and keep them in good condition in order to generate positive chi energy. Feng shui dictates that if a door sticks or is difficult to open and shut, those living in the house or passing through the door may find themselves similarly stuck in life.

Your front door should be a welcoming threshold for all whom pass through. Keep your hallway or the area around the front door clear of shoes, bags and general clutter. Invest in a cupboard or shoe rack to give you extra peace-promoting space (and reduce the risk of accidents).

Other front door ideas to prevent the area from feeling 'clogged up' with negative chi are to install a mirror, a picture of a landscape, or, if you have the space, a small indoor water feature.

Kitchens

In order to promote a happy family cooking and eating area, you have to achieve balance. Hot and cold, fire and water must be positioned opposite each other. If you're feeling energetic, move the fridge opposite the cooker. This might be less than practical for most people, so if the prospect of moving all your piping and power point, think small. Try positioning your toaster opposite the kettle, for example. Think laterally.

The Colour and The Shape

When it comes to feng shui, colour and shape are important in any room. Earthy tones and opposites like black and white can encourage the flow of positive chi energy.

The idea of balance - yin and yang - is reflected in shape, too. For example, round or oval dining room tables symbolise the female side of the universe and may be balanced with an even number of chairs that appear masculine in design. Sharp-leaved plants (like yucca) are bearers of bad chi and are known as 'poisoned spears'.

Bedrooms

Sleep is vital for our physical and mental health.

To create a haven of peace and tranquillity, try a bit of feng shui wisdom:

If you use your bedroom as a study or living area as well, use a screen or fabric divider to separate your bed from the rest of the room. This will create a psychological divide between work or activity and rest.

Pictures of nature, the sea or birds in flight will increase positive chi in your bedroom.

To promote love and good relationships, place pairs of objects in your bedroom. A pair of antique candlesticks, statues or framed pictures will be good for your chi and look great, too.

Combine nature and colour for positive energy by choosing plants and seasonal fresh flowers as a finishing touch for a bedroom.

Bathrooms

Symbolic of cleansing, the bathroom is a particularly important room in terms of feng shui. The most well-known bathroom feng shui tip is to keep the toilet seat lid down in order to stop money going down the drain. Less famous is the fact that cleaning your bathroom helps disperse negative energy in your home. So get those rubber gloves on and get scrubbing!

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