Posts Categorized: Sense of Space

The Japanese have a remarkable knack for creating entrancing entrances. Their capacity to use space intelligently and to create balance is such that even small spaces can take on an inviting air. With their traditionally small homes, they can face many challenges in integrating functionality together with aesthetics, but their capacity to bring life to any space is clearly visible even when walking around busy areas.

This traditional restaurant in the Toranomon business district of Tokyo is surrounded by modern highrises, but this mainstay of the area continues to occupy a main corner surrounded by lush plants, whereas its neighbours are all steel, glass, and concrete. The varied forms of the plants, together with their life-enhancing (which includes oxygen-producing) properties, literally breathes life into the area around the entrance. The angled sign and entrance, differently coloured landing, and hanging curtain that moves in the breeze all contribute to this wonderfully inviting entrance.

The entryway of your home or business is what attracts attention and therefore energy (in the form of customers or circumstances) into your life, home, and work. Personalize and optimize it to make it truly inviting.

Nature expresses itself instinctively, without any restriction other than its innate form and state of being. Flowers are a marvellous way to bring such uninhibited expression and freshness into the home.

This gorgeous arrangement in my cousins’ country home in Sweden is so beautifully appointed and expressive: the simplicity, colours, and varied forms add richness to an already lovely view. Colourful flowers and lush plants raise the energy of a room and are essential for a warm, welcoming space. Additionally, the non-linear shapes help to compensate for the straight lines required to make our homes practical and liveable, bringing a truly lived-in and integrated feel.

Flowers and plants love you back without a price tag (provided you water them well) – align and freshen up your space with natural life!

Airtime for Super Bowl advertising in 2017 has been estimated at between $5 and $5.5 million for a 30-second spot – which means companies will pay up to $183,333 a second for access to your brain through your eyes (plus the actual production costs of the commercials themselves). Why are they willing to pay so much? Because what people look at influences how they think – and advertisements are crafted to create associate desired states of being with a product in order to increase sales.

If what you see in a commercial for seconds is so valuable, then what about the things you’re looking at for weeks, months, and years in your home and work environments? Your brain isn’t only receptive to programming from television or print advertising: you are always being imprinted by what is around you, very often subconsciously (especially when looking at things for an extended period of time). What you see forms your thinking, and not necessarily in the ways you anticipate.

Contemporary Feng Shui offers insight into the silent conversation you engage in with your environment. Choose images and objects that you not only love but that also inspire the state of being and the self you aspire to experience. Vibrant plants, beautiful art, favourite objects, varied colours and materials, and inspiring displays help you cultivate a whole-hearted expression of your deepest self in the world.

The pictures we choose to display speak to us louder than we might think. Images of the past that are shown in the home have presumably been selected because they represent important life events and relationships. But if photo arrangements are not regularly updated with newer images alongside the older ones, we can start thinking our best moments are behind us.

Pictures of children when they were younger not accompanied by more recent images can lead to offspring believing that they are being treated as if they were still kids. Wedding and honeymoon pictures that are not placed alongside more recent depictions of the happy couple might lead to that couple feeling less than happy in present time: any emotion around the difference between their imagined future at the time the photo was taken and their actual current reality will come to the surface in the relationship dynamic.

It is not a problem to feature images of friends or relatives that have passed on. Surround them with images of people they knew and those who they may never have met – this will help one’s entire family and community of friends feel more appropriately connected to the past and to the evolution of relationships and life itself.

Another note: don’t display family pictures in the bedroom. You don’t want your relatives watching you in bed, do you?

The pictures we choose to display speak to us louder than we might think. Images of the past that are shown in the home have presumably been selected because they represent important life events and relationships. But if photo arrangements are not regularly updated with newer images alongside the older ones, we can start thinking our best moments are behind us.

Pictures of children when they were younger not accompanied by more recent images can lead to offspring believing that they are being treated as if they were still kids. Wedding and honeymoon pictures that are not placed alongside more recent depictions of the happy couple might lead to that couple feeling less than happy in present time: any emotion around the difference between their imagined future at the time the photo was taken and their actual current reality will come to the surface in the relationship dynamic.

It is not a problem to feature images of friends or relatives that have passed on. Surround them with images of people they knew and those who they may never have met – this will help one’s entire family and community of friends feel more appropriately connected to the past and to the evolution of relationships and life itself.

Another note: don’t display family pictures in the bedroom. You don’t want your relatives watching you in bed, do you?

You don’t see straight lines in nature. If you’re looking at a straight line, it means that a human being has been there. (Take a look at a map.) The things we see as ‘straight’ in nature – tree trunks or limbs of the body – are actually not straight, but have a subtle irregularity to their shape. While there is a benefit to having a flat surface to a floor or table – it’s nice not to trip while walking or to have your pen roll off your desk – too many sharp edges and corners can create a harsh environment.

These long, straight, hard lines remind our nervous system of other things that are straight and manmade: the blades of knives and swords, things that are sharp and can cut. Is it any wonder that when living our lives in modern society we feel ‘on edge’ or ‘stuck in a corner’, whereas we feel less so when in more natural environments?

While straight lines can provide clarity and discernment, balancing them with varied forms helps to soften their inherent sense of division. Fill a corner with a plant, a lamp, speakers, or other decorative objects. Brighten the area or add something that moves to stimulate the corner. Varying the forms in your space can help you integrate discernment with creativity.

The colour red symbolizes fire, which illuminates – like when you’re in the spotlight. This colour catches our attention and makes our heart beat a little bit faster. Used well in the right place, it can help attract attention.

The back centre of your home relates to Fame and Reputation – just plain being respected. Imagine where the sun would be on the horizon when standing in your main door looking into your home. Red flowers, artwork, cushions, throws, and objects will stand out and catch your attention – just like you want to catch others’ attention.

Without the red art or throw in this living room, it was drab and washed out. No wonder the person living there was struggling to get an interview for a job: like the sofa in front of that wall, he just blended in with other applicants and didn’t stand out. As soon as we brightened it up, he was called in for multiple interviews and within two weeks had to choose between two jobs (he opted for the highest-paying one he’d had to date).

Don’t go overboard with red, however, or your home might end up looking like a Chinese restaurant. Start with one object or image and slowly build until things click into place.

How do you see yourself? The mirrors in your home reveal a lot about your self-image. If you can’t see yourself fully and in relation to your surroundings, you could be having trouble seeing yourself fully and fitting in. If the mirror is placed too low, you could be putting yourself down: the slouching posture you need to adopt to see yourself hardly speaks of confidence. If it is too narrow, you might be concerned about fitting in (all of my clients with eating disorders have had extremely narrow mirrors).

Tiny decorative mirrors that reflect less than your face and torso can lead to disconnective, reductionist thinking and over-analysis – I suggest using them horizontally as trays instead. More than one mirror on a wall can lead to second-guessing (why do you need to take a second look?), while mirrors on more than one wall in a room can lead to disorientation and confusion.

Your mirrors should be large enough to include your head and torso. Place them high enough to reflect everyone living in the home (or those you would like to have in your home, if you’re looking for a taller partner…). Have them be wide enough so you can see yourself fitting in with your surroundings. Keep the surfaces clean, so you see yourself clearly. Reflect your true brilliant self fully and with clarity!

Your closets reflect your self-esteem. They hold what you use to present yourself in the outer world, and the condition of the closet speaks to how you value yourself. Having your closet be functional and organized while also being aesthetically appealing helps you to feel more capable of accessing your inner

Matching hangers are one of the greatest things you can do to organize your closet. All your clothes will hang evenly and brings an inherent sense of order and structure. A designer client of mine wrote that waking up in the morning and seeing the ordered closet helped him start the day with a more focused mind.

Things frosty in your relationship? Need to heat things up in the bedroom? Cool blues set the thermostat so low that it takes a lot of energy to heat things up in the bedroom. While the odd blue object or shade in artwork is absolutely fine, you should avoid blue walls, sheets, and curtains in a bedroom if you want to avoid feeling blue yourself.

Elizabeth Taylor famously battled depression and had challenging romantic relationships. The frosty tones of her bedroom certainly didn’t help matters. The room, as seen in Architectural Digest, is a Feng Shui nightmare, with a colour palette extending from a painting of a wintery scene she had painted at the age of 16, which ends up setting the emotional tone of the room. The pictures of her parents by the bed don’t help matters much either.

If you want to heat things up in the bedroom, ditch cool watery tones for warmer hues. You want something that will accent your skin colour and get your heart beating a little more quickly.

Image from Architectural Digest