Feng Shui and Your Front Entrance!
The quickest way to improve every aspect of your life is to improve the first impression you have when you enter your space: your home, your office, and your room. The feeling you get when you come into your space will set the tone for the flow and health of the energy feeding you and into your life while you are there.
What Is the First Thing You See When You Come into Your Space?
That first item you see, whether it is something that you are certain you no longer even notice or not, will ignite an energetic response in you. The goal is to come home and feel like we’ve been embraced by a beautiful, gentle, safe and sacred place. If you don’t notice any object, move things around, switch out or replace objects near the entrance for a while and see how the energy changes.
Airport Test to Feng Shui Your Entrance
When I’m looking at a space for the first time, I think of a plane coming in for a landing. Sometimes it has to circle around, then it makes the approach, the landing and the taxi to the gate before you can happily return to greet your friends and relatives. Think about your entrance in the same way.
The Approach
Feng Shui would first consider your approach. How does one get to your entrance? Is it a steep hill or a busy street, a hidden cottage or a winding path? With the goal of inviting healthy and positive energy into your space, act like a visitor and examine your entrance. For best results:
- Ensure the address is visible from the street.
- Keep pathways clear and easy to navigate.
- Allow for lighting that greets evening visitors safely.
- Remove dead plants and empty pots.
- Have a doorbell or knocker that works nicely.
- And add a welcome mat that actually welcomes.
The Landing
Once inside the space, Feng Shui regards the objects and colors and light. Do you feel welcomed and comfortable or do you feel crowded and rushed? For best energy flow inside the entrance:
- Ensure the door can open completely without hitting anything (including a carpet).
- A mirror to the side of the door provides healthy chi, one directly across from the door can send energy right back out, which may be desirable if there’s too much energy rushing in.
- Entry tables or drop tables near the door are prime places for objects that will prompt the feelings you wish to evoke, have one key conversation item that sparks emotion.
The Taxi
As you move into the space, the Feng Shui goal is for energy to move about gently and evenly. Traffic directed towards a particular area is helpful if that is where you genuinely wish to have them congregate. If not, stage the area to direct visitors and all that healthy, helpful energy towards where you want it to go.
- A direct shot from the entrance to the back of the room or house is undesirable. In this case, place a piece of furniture, a room divider or plant or even hang something along the path to disperse the energy more evenly.
- If you have to quickly turn right or left as you enter, facilitate this happening smoothly with artwork that directs the eye and thus the energy in the direction of it needs to go. You can even use the pattern of your entry mat to accomplish this.
- Stairs just inside the entrance can be abrupt for energy. Stairs leading up will greet visitors with a challenge even if they don’t have to go up. The visitor will feel energy rushing down the stairs and pushing towards them. Stairs leading down will greet the visitor with a feeling of unease as they feel their energy immediately drawn down. Direct lighting, artwork and plants in such a way as to minimize the feelings caused by stairs at the entrance.
Arriving at your Destination
What space do people enter into when following the natural flow from the door? It’s been suggested that a kitchen right at the front entrance will lead to a focus on food and kitchen related activities for the household. Pretty cool if you’re intention is to be a world-class chef!
Follow the energy into the space and feel where it leads you. Once you’ve arrived at an endpoint, ensure that your energy and that of visitor’s energy has a desirable place to gently rest and enjoy the space.
Safe Travels!
This article originally appeared on Salvatore Manzi’s page, about mindful design.
