Listen: Feng Shui for Home Renovations

The Home Discovery Show's Ian Power and I are at it again! This week we talked about the lunar new year for the Year of the Ram and how to incorporate feng shui into your home renovations. Tune in for answers to these questions and more! 

Interview Transcript:

IP: Anjie Cho is a holistic interior architect and a sought after expert in the fields of Feng Shui and Green Design. A registered architect in the State of New York and a certified Feng Shui practitioner, Anjie creates beautiful spaces throughout New York and beyond. And we reached her today in California, good morning.

AC: Good morning.

You’re on West Coast time today.

Yes, yes, I’m in California this week.

Whereabouts in California?

I’m in the Los Angeles area in Burbank.

Nice of you to join us this morning. Your new book is already a best seller on Amazon, congratulations for that, that’s quite an accomplishment. It also tells us that there’s a huge interest in the things that you do and talk about. The book, 108 Ways to Create Holistic Spaces, Feng Shui and Green Design for Healing and Organic Homes. What does that mean to the unwashed?

Well, Feng Shui is a philosophy where you can look at your environment as a metaphor for your life. So if you began to look at how your environment, which means your home, your office, how those spaces affect you, you can make positive shifts in your life. Everybody knows when you’re happy in your home and you feel like you have clean, supportive environment, you feel much more successful, and things come a lot easier in your life so that’s really what it’s about. My goal for the book was to create 108 simple tips that people could use to incorporate Feng Shui and Green Design principles in their life to create a more holistic environment that supports them and nurtures them.

It’s a beautiful book by the way. There’s a lot of comfort in holding your book, just the way it’s laid out and the look of it, maybe all of this ties in. I wanted to ask you about the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year which is February 19th, that’s the Year of the Ram, and what, if any, implications that might have on what you do.

Well, it’s interesting. I think we talked the other day Ian, we’re coming out of the year of the horse and into the year of the ram. And the year of the horse; what does the horse do? A horse just runs and runs, and sometimes they hit walls and they just keep going, and it was a very active and crazy year. So I have all these things that are finally coming to a culmination right now. So it seems like a lot of things are happening right now with my book and I started an online store and my business. So this coming year, the year of the ram, is a lot more thoughtful and slower. The ram is also the same as the sheep. The sheep like to go around in herds and they like to pass a lot of friends around them and a lot of support and they move a lot more slowly, so this year is going to be a lot more thoughtful, a lot more introspective I think. There’s going to be less hitting walls and more of people getting along and supporting each other.

That’s good news. And how do we tie that in to home renovations and/or home design and decoration?

Well, I think it’s a good time to just remind yourself if you’re in a middle of a renovation or you’re considering doing renovations, why not incorporate some Feng Shui aspects into the changes that you make? I found that most of my clients, maybe they’re not interested in Feng Shui but they’re like, well, why not? Everyone’s actually becoming so much more open to it because everyone understands that your environment is so important to you especially if you’re doing a home renovation. You want to spend probably a lot of your savings on making your home just the perfect space for you to support you and your family whether you want to entertain and have your friends over for great dinners and/or have your family come stay with you or your grandchildren... There’re so many emotions and positive things involved with renovation that why not make the most of it and add in some Feng Shui tips in your renovations?

Let’s talk about the kitchen because that’s everybody’s favorite room. What are some Feng Shui tips for the kitchen?

There’s a couple Feng Shui tips. One is the kitchen cabinet. Now, a lot of people sometimes get pre-fabricated kitchen cabinets, and that’s okay if you can’t afford a custom kitchen cabinet. But if possible, try to push your cabinets, your upper cabinets, all the way to the ceiling or create a soffit above, because in Feng Shui, that area, that gap between the ceiling and the top of the cabinet, that’s a place where dead energy can collect, and if you think about it in a practical sense, it’s a dust collector. The idea is that this is a place where energy can stagnate, and it causes problems with your health and with your prosperity in your life. So just push them all the way, either push them to the ceiling or drop a soffit or put another sort of cabinet up there. And nowadays, people also have taller backsplashes because they want to accommodate like those blenders and whatnot, so we’re not seeing shorter backsplashes anymore. So that’s one of my first tips, so push your kitchen cabinet, the upper cabinets all the way to the ceiling. 

Sure. What about the stove? I know that’s an important part of Feng Shui.

The stove is really important. When we look at the three most important areas or objects in your home,  the first 3 are your bed, your stove and your desk. So the stove is really important because this is how we nourish ourselves, we cook, we feed, it’s a modern hearth, right? Everyone gathers around the kitchen now, especially with these open kitchens where we have the island. Where the stove is located is really important for the prosperity in your life because how well you nourish yourself relates to how well you can work in the world and bring abundance in your life. So if you are in a place where your stove, for instance, is not facing the door so your back is facing the entry door or you can’t see what or who’s coming in to the room, that actually puts you in a position of stress and fear, and you actually can put that energy into your food where you’re cooking and that doesn’t help you. So if you’re going to renovate your kitchen, if possible, it would be great if you could position your stove so you can see the entry towards the kitchen where most of the people are coming in so that when you’re cooking, you’re in command of your space, you’re not in a place where your back is exposed, where you don’t know what’s happening so you’re in full control, you’re happy, you're stress free and you’re relaxed while you’re cooking and nourishing yourself.

Makes sense.

And if that’s not possible, you can set up a mirror or say even like a mirror teapot on your stove so you can, it’s like a little cheat, that you can see behind you like what one of those convex rearview mirrors…

Right.

So then consciously and subconsciously, you know that you could still see behind you if you heard someone coming.

Sure. Just want to move along Anjie, just because we’re just about at time and I want to make sure that I get this in, because I think one of the easiest things to do and certainly affordable things to do is to create a more inviting entry, and I want to know how and why that’s important to Feng Shui.

In Feng Shui, your entry represents your space in the world and especially, unless you're retired, most people want to have the best relationships come to you, the best opportunities come to you, and if your entry is not inviting then it’s hard for that energy or that chi to find your front door and come in to your life. So one thing is to push your entry out beyond the space of the home, that would help because it actually adds more space, more energy to that entry area. You also should really make it stand out and attractive and easy to find. There’s so many times where I see front doors hidden behind a bush or you park your car but you have no idea do I go left, do I go right, how do I get to the door…

You know what Anjie? I’m going to have to leave it there just because of time but you know what? The rest of the answer is in 108 Ways to Create Holistic Spaces, Feng Shui and Green Design for Healing and Organic Homes by Anjie Cho. Look for it online at holisticspaces.com. Anjie, we’ll get you back, we’re going to talk about college and other things the next time you join us on the Home Discovery Show. Thanks for your time and we’ll be back on the Home Discovery Show from the Corus Radio Network.

Click here to listen to my other interviews with the Home Discovery Show. 

by Anjie Cho

From the leaky faucet upstairs, to an entire back yard overhaul, when it comes to projects around your home, the advice you need is heard weekly on Vancouver’s CKNW Home Discovery Show.

Join Ian Power every Sunday from 10 to 11 am PT as he’s joined by experts on home renovations and upgrades, plus the latest tools and tricks from the trades.

Happy New Year from Holistic Spaces!

WOW, I seriously cannot believe how fast this year went. I am glad that the year of the Horse is coming to an end…it was great but very fast and busy. Just like a horse, the energy came galloping in and it is finally slowing down a bit now. I love that I can celebrate New Year's twice each year. First for the western calendar on January 1st, then for the Lunar Chinese New Year (more on that in the next few weeks!)

The January 1st new year is what most of us are familiar with here in the west. Traditionally, we make a list of “new years resolutions." Some may argue that resolutions are not effective, as many fail to make it past a couple of weeks. But it doesn’t have to be that way! I believe the new year is a great time to set an intention and stick to it. I’ll even give you some feng shui tips to provide support.

If you take a look at the feng shui bagua map to the left, please take note of the green and white boxes, New Beginnings and Completion. These areas of the bagua relate to how you start and end projects, tasks and even your New Year's resolutions in your life. Some of us have a challenging time with starting and ending our New Year's list, so activating these areas in your bedroom can give you that extra help you need.

How do you activate your New Beginnings and Completion areas? First, make sure you can locate the areas correctly in your bedroom. Stand in the doorway of your bedroom and face inside. The middle left is New Beginnings; the middle right area is Completion. See here for more info on the feng shui bagua map. (Note: if your bedroom is not square or rectangular, this is more complicated, and you’ll need special guidance.)

Once you’ve located the correct areas, you can take a piece of red paper with your list of resolutions and place it in the New Beginnings area. This will help you to start taking action on your resolutions. Then take another red paper and write a corresponding list of where you will be, or how you will feel, after you’ve achieved these resolutions. This will support your ability to reach the completion for each item. Keep your list to only three things. Select only the most important things, but not necessarily the easiest!

What is on my list?

  • A more consistent morning meditation practice

  • Cook a healthy meal for me and the hubby, once a week

  • Do something FUN every day!

What's on YOUR list?

by Anjie Cho

2014 the Year of the Wood Horse

Yasha Jampolsky was kind enough to speak to me about what we have in store for us in the year of the Wood Horse in 2014.  This is looking specifically at how the energy of the Horse year affects us all.  Last week I also posted about the influence of the Horse year on each animal. Read about your individual Chinese zodiac animal and the relationship with the year of the Wood Horse here!

AC:  Please tell us about what we have in store for us in this new Wood Horse year and how it compares to the previous Snake year.

YJ:  To begin, I’d like to explain the difference between the Lunar New Year and the Solar New Year and how they are used for two different purposes. The Lunar New Year is generally celebrated by most Asian communities. It's usually the first New Moon of the year and the date can vary as much as 3 or 4 weeks from year to year, as early as mid-January or as late as mid-February. This is the official New Year celebration that most people are familiar with. The Solar New Year is the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It’s based on the agricultural or farmer’s almanac. In ancient agrarian times activities were entwined with movements of the sun. They became very good at observing the sun and created an almanac calendar for when to plant and all the various tasks that had to do with growing food. Similarly, it is believed that all the chi on the planet comes from the sun initially. For these reasons, the solar calendar is very important and often used for all types of astrology and calculations that have to do with the natural world. In 2014, the lunar new year was January 31st and the solar calendar began on February 4th at 6:21 AM.

And so...we came charging in to the year of the Horse! Almost everyone I know could feel the impact of the Horse as soon as it galloped in. There's such a contrast between the energy of the Horse and the Snake. The Snake is much slower moving and is related with submerged energies, what goes on beneath the surface and introspection. The Snake is a sign of wisdom, whereas the Horse is a sign of action. The Horse is about forward movement, so whatever we learned from the year of the Snake, can now be put in to effect. Go full throttle and head on with everything that was learned. As long as we come from a place of integrity, we should do really well. 

So what about the qualities of the Horse year?

Amongst the qualities of the Horse is optimism, so this will be a year of optimism. Of course optimism affect everything. It affects the economy, our personal choices, and our daily lives. When we have an optimistic approach, things turn out better. So, we have the optimistic nature of the Horse helping us this year. The Horse is not subtle, so things become very obvious. Pretty much, what you see is what you get and not very much is hidden.

The Horse is also powerfully charismatic, so charisma and attraction are powerful forces this year. We will feel drawn to certain things, almost irresistibly and often find ourselves doing things that we normally would not be doing this Horse year. For example, associating with people from the past that we haven’t talked to in a long time. Perhaps they are rambunctious and not the everyday friend type. We might attend many celebrations and joyful events because the Horse is the "party animal" of the zodiac. We can expect to have a lot of partying going on, so choose wisely, so as not to burn ourselves out.

The Horse is interested in academics and the pursuit of knowledge. Horse people tend to always be studying something, so this is also an excellent year to catch up on some of the courses that you’ve been thinking of taking to expand your career or simply your own personal curiosity. Even if you’re not studious nor enjoy attending classes, this year you may feel very energized by the pursuit of knowledge.

The Horse is also relentless as far as goals are concerned. All the goals, dreams, the things that you’ve been doing and planning, this year you have a green light to go ahead and go forth. It is very likely that if you persist, you’ll succeed in almost anything you undertake. Watch out to not speed through, because the faster you travel, the more likely you will run into obstacles. Even though you have the green light this Horse year, you also have to learn how to navigate through any of the challenges that may come up. Anything in your path is a lesson to be learned. It’s worth taking the time to stop for the moment, learn the lesson and then proceed. This will guarantee a greater amount of success.

Another thing that the Horse is known for its impulsive nature. Part of that impulsive nature may have to do with spending. Therefore, it is a good idea to set up a budget and look at what is your earning potential as it is now, not as will be. It may increase this year, but don't plan that way. There will be many baubles and interesting things that you want to buy but have some restraint. If you end up with some extra money at the end of the year, celebrate and buy yourself something special.

The Horse is obvious, loud at times and makes no bones about announcing intentions. Again, this is an aspect of the Horse where what you see is what you get. The Horse will let you know exactly what is happening and that's the nature of what life will be like this year. You won't have to figure things out as much because they'll be coming right at you. They'll be on the media, in things that you read. Your friends will come and deliver the same message. In this way, we have a lot of clarity as to how proceed. Things become obvious and very apparent and it’s one of the reasons that people really enjoy the Horse year. There’s no mystery. Should I do this? Should I do that? You'll receive strong messages all around. And if you’re paying attention, rather than having to choose, you may have the opportunity to be able to do both.

I like the sound of that! 2014 is the year of the Wood Horse.  What does this mean?

One of the specific qualities of the Wood Horse is rigidity which is related to the element of wood. When you encounter challenges, don’t expect the world to bend to get out of your way. It's up to you to negotiate around things because the energy of the Horse is not negotiable. The energy is fairly rigid and set in the direction that it chooses to go. So again, this requires attention and mindfulness so you’re acting according to your own principles. Things will be moving so quickly, you may find yourself in an unplanned situation. This may be a pleasant surprise and more fun than you ever anticipated. But in other cases, you may find yourself in hot water or a situation that’s not too easy to back away from. Mindfulness and attention is very, very important this year. But whatever you do, enjoy yourself! This is the year of encouragement, celebration, enjoyment and fun. The more fun the attitude, the easier it is to deal with almost anything that may be come up.

Although it's the Wood Horse year, the Horse is related to the fixed element of fire.  How does this affect us this year?

The Horse is related to the fixed element of fire, so it has an easily inflamed nature. It doesn’t take very much to upset the Horse, even though it is generally a happy creature. When contradicted, its fiery temper can flare up. It’s always good to read the ambient energy in an inflammatory situation and not contribute to the inflammation but rather assist in the cooling off process. Because of the intensity of Horse energy, we need to pay attention in situations that are easily inflamed and not encourage conflict, but rather try to be a peacemaker and cool things down. 

This is also true in our own physical bodies in terms of health. During Horse years, inflammation seems to be rampant and happens a lot more easily so we should take much better care of ourselves such as the kind and quality of the food that we eat. Eat plenty of anti-inflammatory foods with turmeric and cumin, as well as a lot of fresh organic vegetables which aid with inflammation especially cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts. Asparagus is an especially wonderful anti-inflammatory vegetable. We want to guard our bodies against inflammation. Of course a good amount of exercise, especially outdoors, is recommended as well as centering activities like meditation and yoga. If you have regular meditation, spiritual or yoga practice, this is a really good year to step it up because we will be out there so busy and active. There will be a much a greater need to come back and do some kind of restorative relaxing work to bring us back to center. It's highly recommended that if you have a practice to step it up a little bit and if you do not, take something up to help you to balance the year.

Finally, what is something we should remember for this Horse year?

The one caution during Horse times we’ll find ourselves going from one project, to the next to the next...whether it’s professional or personal. This year time will seem to fly by and we may to feel like nothing has been accomplished. So, it’s really important that every time we come to the end of the particular project or activity, we take a moment to pause and connect with what we’ve actually accomplished. Give ourselves some time to appreciate and pat ourselves on the back for the good work that we’ve done so that we don’t end up doing a lot of things and then end up feeling as if we haven’t accomplished anything. 

Thank you so much Yasha!  I'm excited to see what this Horse year has in store for all of us!

by Anjie Cho

Yasha Jampolsky is a nationally recognized advisor, author and teacher of the Asian Art of Four Pillars Astrology.  He has appeared on national Radio and Television and has been a contributing writer for local and national publications. His research and innovations have made Four Pillars more accessible to students and clients alike and allowed the possibility to use Four Pillars as a powerful modern healing modality.

For more information, please visit: http://fourpillarshoroscope.com