Stress Less with These Colors

Anjie Cho December 2, 2020

Photo by Dayvison de Oliveira Silva on Pexels

Feeling stressed? Get this: Your decorating color scheme can help you keep the chaos of your to-do list in check and the weight of the world off your shoulders. In BTB feng shui, colors are one of the simplest ways to shift the energy of a space.

Set aside some time to grab a paint brush and coat your walls with a soothing, stress-busting hue of calm from the following list:

Cool Blues

Is there anything more relaxing than gazing up at a clear, blue sky, other than, perhaps, watching rippling blue water? It’s no wonder blue tops the list of stress-free color palettes. Take your pick from soft, watery shades to muted blue-gray hues for a tranquil, peaceful, and calm environment. In feng shui, blues also relate to the wood element.

Go Green

Evoking the tranquility of nature, green can relax the body and the mind. Stick with muted, natural shades in green-beige tones and muted yellow-green. You want to select colors found in nature, as supposed to the louder, bolder, brighter hues. Complement this wall color with décor made of natural materials. In feng shui, greens also relate to the wood element.

Think Pink

Although you’ll want to avoid its more saturated, bold cousin “red,” peaceful pink can promote balance. Look for pale dusty hues while avoiding the hot-pink and bubblegum shades. Not ready to commit to a room full of pink walls? Use it as an accent color in a room with neutral walls. Pinks also relate to the feng shui bagua map area of relationships and partnership, it's very yin and feminine.

Peaceful Purple

Looking for strength, peace and wisdom? Decorate with violet to introduce balance and relaxation. Finding the right shade of purple is key. Stay away from shades with too much black to avoid a cold feel. On the other hand, deep, rich purples can be stimulating. Select a purple like lavender for the best results. Purples also relate to the feng shui bagua map area of abundance and wealth.

Shades of Grey

Not only is grey the trending neutral, it’s also soothing. This versatile, calm color is the perfect canvas to build upon. Paint your room grey and use the other tonal families on this list for your accent pieces. In the feng shui bagua map, greys relate to the area of benefactors and helpful people, it's a related to the elements of metal and water.

Don’t get warm

Shades of red, yellow and orange are wonderful, energizing colors; and as such, they're not the first choice for stress-busting rest and relaxation. Red, as an example, is stimulating. It’s the color we associate with passion. If you’re looking for a pick-me-up and an energy boost, red is your go-to color. If peace is on your agenda, however, it’s best to leave it out.

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Q&A Sunday: Inviting Wealth with Feng Shui

Guest User November 29, 2020

How can I create more wealth?

Feng shui practitioners talk about this a lot, because it’s a very common question. However, looking at wealth in a superficial way is more of a fast food approach to feng shui, and it’s really much deeper. To feel true abundance, we need to move out of a poverty mindset and realize that there’s really nothing that you can lose. When we start to worry and grasp tightly to things that are impermanent, we don’t feel abundant.

There’s an area of the feng shui bagua map that’s related to wealth and abundance. It’s the purple area, and it’s called xun. This area is related to yin wood, which is like a big tree. If you think about a big tree in nature, it’s very giving and abundant. If you’ve ever had a tree on your property that bears fruit, you often have so much to share, because there's more fruit than one person or one family could ever consume or enjoy. It encourages generosity, and reminds us that it doesn’t really benefit us to hoard. When you realize that there’s nothing you can lose, you can really cultivate generosity and abundance.

There’s a Buddhist practice that you can try to cultivate generosity. Take an item in your home, and see how it feels to move it from one hand to the other. How does it feel to give? How does it feel to receive?

You can also go bigger, and think about what you can let go of. It doesn’t have to be money. To tie it back to feng shui, are there things in your home that you can let go of, and offer to someone else? Can you offer help? Words of kindness? Joy? How can you become more generous and create opportunities for generosity?

Another interesting way to be generous is to give people an opportunity to ask for help. You can ask someone to lend you an ear or to get you milk for your tea, and give them the opportunity to be generous. Even if they say no, it’s still an act of generosity. You’re being generous by giving someone the opportunity to be generous to you. Or, maybe you are giving them the opportunity to be generous to themselves by saying no.

There are so many really unique and interesting ways to cultivate generosity. Whether it’s moving something from one hand to the other, letting go of an item you’re holding onto tightly, or offering a bit of your time to someone else, I encourage you to explore this area of the feng shui bagua map. How can you be giving, like a big tree? Mother nature is always giving. How can you be in that flow?

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday". If you have personal questions, we encourage you to check out Practical Feng Shui or hire one of Anjie's Grads.

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Decorating With Seasonal Flowers

Anjie Cho November 25, 2020

A bouquet of fresh flowers can add a pop of color and energy to a room. To really make a statement, however, look to incorporate hues and floral varieties that are in season. When you embrace nature’s floral decorating style as your own, you are able to take a simple bouquet and turn it up a notch.

Spring

Think first about color: spring hues include bright blues, yellows and pinks. If you’re going to reach for standard floral arrangements, stick to that color palette. If you’re ready to really commit to the season, however, think bulbs. Tulips and daffodils are spring’s floral staples. If you select potted versions of either you can try to plant them outdoors after the blooms fade so you’ll have them in your garden the following year.

Summer

Reach for something bold, bright and vibrant when selecting summer colors for your arrangements. Brightly colored gerbera daisies, zinnias, snapdragons and dahlias are big personality flowers. Mix them together or display a single variety in a fun container. Summer’s old-fashioned garden roses are a classic choice. If your green thumb extends outdoors, look to your beds. Cuttings of lavender, wildflowers and other garden favorites can make a beautiful, casual summer bouquet in the right container.

Autumn

It’s time for deep hues of red, gold, and amber. We typically associate this season with falling leaves and gardens browning up before they die back for winter. However, autumn can be bold and bright, offering seasonal flowers like the warm, dark-eyed sunflower. Don’t overlook the last vestiges of your flower beds for clippings, either. Those deep hued blue and purple hydrangeas may be tinged with pale green tones and hint at fading. As cut flowers go, those hydrangeas can make a statement!

Winter

It’s not often that we associate winter with flowers other than the traditional poinsettia. If you’re looking for something different, go for roses in rich shades of red and white. A bouquet of those two hues, especially if mixed with some boughs of holly or feathery branches of evergreen, add an elegant twist to winter décor.

Not only does incorporating seasonal flowers give your home a fresh taste of nature and a breath of positive energy, arranging your selected bouquets can be a meditation practice all on its own. Check out my experience with KADO here!

by Anjie Cho