Feng Shui

I once worked on a whole series of feng shui books (nine or ten of them) and spent much of the time bitterly regretting having agreed to do so. Since then, out of sheer bloody mindedness I have made sure that the paintings on my bedroom walls feature water, the bookshelves in my office point directly at my back and I wake the sleeping tiger at every opportunity.

I did meet someone who feng shui-ed her whole house, including moving the lavatory so that all the money coming into the house wouldn't go straight down it.

Of course some can take things too far, but surely there's no harm in giving it a go? Good luck, Jan09!

I have a book called the Yorkshire Way of Feng Shui, subtitled Feng Shui for Real People.
The authors say we do not all live in the affluent South - they live in York, which is actually quite affluent.
"It is said that you should not have your kitchen visible from the front door. If you do, both the family and guests will think only of food....
Some clients have read that you should not have open shelves for fear of evil arrows. More likely it is fear of grease from stir-frying settling over everything! In general we feel that you are too much of a moving target in a kitchen to take much harm from edges and beams, unless you habitually stand and prepare food under a beam or within range of a sharp edge."
You can see the tone of the book. They also tell you not to rip out your toilet because it's facing the wrong way.

You have to imagine an Asian room with movable walls and little furniture. Not our over crowded houses. In Japan it is easier to move things and everything is uncomfortable as it is with nowhere to sit and just a roll of straw matting to sleep on. No wonder they looked for ways to make it all feel better.
In Hong Kong there were banks built on the Feng Shui basis which went bust in the financial crisis. So that's where Feng Shui got them.
We can forget it and keep our lavatories where they were originally built- probably where the waste water pipes are!

I believe in getting rid of clutter, and have been selling things on gumtree. I don't like blocking windows with furniture but have no choice because our lounge is small. I like the ideas but can't always follow them.

I'm reminded of the time we had a water leak which poured down the stairs.... according to Feng Shui this was the right place for a water feature...

Well, a development...a new client. It's probably a complete fluke and a hard worked for reputation but I did find from reading my feng shui book this week that part of my career area was missing - a mirror later and voila! I'm not completely hooked but at least I am keep the house neat-ish for a change.

That is excellent news jan , well done .
Hope it leads to other things !

The one thing I try to do is every time I buy a new book, I give two to the charity shop. It does not always work.
Yorkshire feng shui: A house should have a regular shape, with no missing pieces and not too many jutting parts. This goes against the English love for rambling country houses, with wings everywhere.
However, for those of us who live in box-shaped houses, it is good news for once!

I have looked for that book Jen for my niece in Yorkshire but no joy. If you ever see a copy anywhere can you let me know thanks

Authors Carole Chui and Angela Brereton.
Published by Chalice Vine (never heard of them) in 2001
ISBN0-9538396-0-5
Cannot remember where I bought it, but we had a guest house in York for ten years, so was probably there.