Love Where You Live: A Beginner's Guide to Feng Shui for A Healthier, Happier, More Harmonious Home
- Erin
- Apr 30
- 12 min read
Updated: Jul 13
“Every aspect of your life is energetically anchored in your living space."
Karen Kingston
Many people associate Feng Shui with furniture placement, fountains, windchimes, mirrors or mystical superstitions. While these do play a part, the practice actually goes far deeper into psychology. Feng Shui is rooted in observation and awareness of energy. It's about opening the door to a more conscious relationship with your environment in order to create balance, harmony and sustainability.
New to Feng Shui? Start here! In this post, we’ll address the most common questions, myths and misconceptions of this timeless practice and show how it can be applied in a way practical way to modern homes and everyday living.
There's no way around it: The energy of our surroundings affects our well-being. When your space feels good, life tends to flow better too. What is YOUR home trying to tell you?
What is Feng Shui?
Feng Shui, (pronounced "fung schway”) translates to "wind and water" in Chinese. It is the ancient art and science of aligning people with their environments. arranging spaces to support one's well-being. It’s based on the flow of “chi,", "Qi" or vital life force energy - meant to replicate the balance and harmony of nature and the outdoors.
While it originated in China thousands of years ago, today Feng Shui is practiced all over the world. In chinese culture, your home is your vision board. You can choose and cultivate your space like you do your future: Everything in it is either affirming your growth, or anchoring you to the past.
If you have a goal or a desire such as improving an area of your life (career, love, finances, health, safety etc), or your mood (greater clarity, comfort, inner peace), then you can use feng shui to ensure that your space supports these intentions in a positive way.
Further reading: Feng Shui Basics
Feng shui is a valuable path to wellness in a cluttered world. It’s all about creating a space that helps you thrive.
How does Feng Shui work?
Just as blockages and poor circulation in your body affect one's physical health, the energy resulting from stagnant Chi in your home can adversely affect your emotional and physical wellbeing. If you live with others or live in an older home, multiply that further. These blocks affect everyone and can fuel stress, friction, conflict, illness and disease without you ever realizing it.
For homeowners, Feng Shui can improve specific areas of your life by adjusting how energy flows through their space. For home buyers, it can help you choose a home that feels more supportive and aligned with your unique energetic frequency.
OPTIMIZE your S-P-A-C-E
Stable & Supportive
Purposeful & Planned
Accessible & Approachable
Clean & Clear
Elementally & Energetically Balanced
What are the benefits of Feng Shui?
The many benefits and outcomes of a professional feng shui attunement include:
Increased pride of ownership
Improved self-worth
Decreased subconscious energy blocks
Cultivating spaces for healing & growth
Boosted feelings of safety & security
Enhanced creativity and productivity
Improved environmental ambiance & atmosphere
Attracting new opportunities or people
Elevated energetic quality and movement
Aligning inner and outer worlds
Done properly, Feng Shui promotes a sense of positivity and fulfillment. And who doesn't want more joy in their life?
What are the myths and misconceptions about Feng Shui?
Many people confuse feng shui with interior design or decorating when it's actually much more nuanced, complex and even spiritual.
Feng shui isn't about
major renovations or changes
strict rules
curses and bad luck
expensive decor
perfection or accuracy
instant results
quick fixes
square footage
Instead it's about
mindfulness
intuition
thoughtfulness
energy flow
balance
symbolism
alignment
intention
meaningful shifts
consistency
commitment
Lastly, because it's about energy, feng shui can be adapted for any space, including small apartments or shared homes. You can apply it to spaces as large as a festival grounds, and as small as an office desk.
The smallest, most subtle shifts can have the greatest ripple effect.
How do you know if a home has good Feng Shui?
A home with good Feng Shui feels more welcoming, even if you can’t explain why. This most often involves
an open floorplan
good natural light
natural elements
a safe and pleasant neighborhood.
Finding a home with these elements naturally results in a stronger emotional connection, which is vital when making an important purchase like where to start a family or lay down roots.
Want more? Check out this blog: The Energetics of Real Estate: The Top Feng Shui Tips & Tricks for Home Buyers & Sellers
Good feng shui is about a FEELING, not an aesthetic. Trust how a space makes you feel inside — that gut feeling is your inner compass, your energy responding.
How do you approach a Feng Shui consultation for a home?
There are several schools of Feng Shui, each with its own perspective and approach. My approach blends these traditions to meet the unique goals and needs of each client.
I begin every consultation by clarifying the homeowner or buyer’s intentions — what they want to shift, improve, or call into their life.
From there, I evaluate the energetic qualities of the space according to the Bagua, and it's corresponding earth elements. I assess how key energy centers like the entrance, kitchen, and bedroom are expressed through layout, color, lighting, décor, and flow, and determine whether or not they're in balance.
I also consider broader influences, including your elemental personality or your home’s numerology.
Once I've completed the assessment, I offer a custom set of recommendations, remedies and cures that may include:
Subtractions: Decluttering and removing items that you don’t love, use, or need
Additions: Elemental enhancements, traditional and transcendental cures
Modifications: Simple shifts like rearranging what you already have
The goal is to create a space that not only looks good — but feels good too. One that is deeply supportive, nourishing, and aligned with who you are and what you desire.
Can anyone do Feng Shui?
Despite popular belief, anyone can practice Feng Shui. Yes, even you!
While a certified consultant can offer deeper insights and potentially faster, more dramatic results because of their wealth of knowledge, technically it's optional.
You don’t need to be from a certain culture, heritage or religion to begin. You don't need to be a master or an expert with expensive trainings or certifications. All you need to change the energy flow of your space is the ability to make small shifts and changes.
NOTE: Stay tuned in the coming months as I will be offering a video training on how everyday people can harness their innate power to maintain basic "home hygiene" through energy clearing.
At its heart, Feng Shui is about the simple awareness of how your environment affects your energy, emotions, and experiences. It starts with tuning in to your space and your life, and then setting an intention to make a change or improvement.
Not ready to commit to a full feng shui consultation?
In many folk traditions, homes are seen as having their own spirits or energetic guardians. If you're energetically attuned and sensitive, you can feel this Spirit either as lightness, warmth, coziness and comfort, or if something is off- a coldness, heaviness or restlessness.
Whether you’ve lived there for years or just moved in, it's important to nurture a loving relationship with your home’s spirit helps keep you safe and protected, as well as calling in health, happiness, abundance and luck. T
Try these simple, affordable, do-it-yourself tips and tricks to connect with the spirit of your home. These rituals can have a powerful impact on your energy and space. Experiment and see what you find. YOU have the power to transform your life, and the tools to begin.
The more you tend to the energy of your home, the more it will tend to you in return.
Initial Introductions
sit or stand in the entry of your home withyour palms against the door and introduce yourself. Repeat again on the inside walls.
Light a candle or incense and set the intention of peaceful collaboration and cohabitation:
"This is a home of peace and safety. Only good spirits and positive energy are welcome here."
Leave a small offering (food, drink, flowers, money) as a gesture of goodwill. Sit quietly and listen. Let the house speak back to you in its own way
Visualization Exercise
Stand in the center of your space, the heart of your home. Place your hands over your heart, close your eyes and picture a favorite place you love — somewhere that brings you joy or peace. Imagine it with all your senses: What do you see, hear, smell, taste, or feel?
These clues reveal your values, the feelings and natural elements you can begin to bring into your living or work space for deeper harmony.
Next, visualize yourself as an acorn, and your home is your environment. Picture yourself slowly growing from seed, to sapling, rooting down and anchoring into the ground. What do you need in your environment to thrive and grow into a big and strong oak tree? (Light, Space, Nutrients, Water)
Questions to Consider
Do you have a healthy, happy home. There are signs! Ask yourself…
When you walk into your home, what do you feel?
When guests walk into your home, what do they say or do?
Is there an area in your home you consistently avoid or “forget” to clean, organize, or decorate?
What objects are you surrounded by - those connected to identities, people and places of your past, or those you want to call into your future?
What do you feel in your kitchen? Is it a haven for health, wealth and connection, or a storage space for food?
What do you feel in your bedroom? Is it a calming sanctuary, or just another room you pass through?
What do you feel in your workspace? Does it make you feel powerful, or is it just utilitarian/convenient?
Are the people, plants and pets in my home generally happy and healthy?
Do your manifestations and intentions generally come true easilyor are there frequent blocks and hurdles?
Space feels light, warm, welcoming, and safe
Your home isn’t just a place, it’s a presence. It's a living, breathing entity. The spirit of your home is Your partner in manifestation, your co-creator in life. Bless it. Thank it. Greet it. Honor it. Respect it. Work with It.
Write A Letter
Your home is your partner in manifesting, so treat it like such. Write it a love letter, thanking it, name what you want to call in and co-create together. Think about what you want to invite more of into your life and write a short affirmation or intention for each area you’d like to enhance.
Ask for support and protection. Ask what it needs in return. Greet it every day when you arrive. Tape the letter inside a cupboard or frame it near your bed so you're always reminded of your connection.
Setting the Stage
Here’s a room-by-room set of mantras or affirmations you can speak aloud or whisper while cleaning, smudging, or simply setting intentions in your home. Each one is crafted to resonate with the energy and intention you want to call in for that space.
Front Door / Entryway: Opportunity & Protection
“Bless this threshold, strong and clear. Let luck and good fortune draw ever near. Only love may enter here, All that's harmful disappear.”
Living Room: Love, Connection, Joy
“This is the heart where joy does flow, where laughter lives and love will grow. May bonds be deep, and spirits light, Bringing warmth by day and peace by night.”
Kitchen: Health, Nourishment, Abundance
“From this hearth, all life is fed, with grateful hands and hearts well-led. May every meal be rich with grace, Health and abundance fill this place.”
Dining Room: Gratitude & Generosity
“We gather here with open hands, to share our gifts and make our plans. May gratitude live at every seat, and giving hearts make life complete.”
Bedroom: Rest, Love, Intimacy, Renewal
“In this room, may stillness reign. Restful sleep and ease from strain. Love grows deep where hearts entwine,In sacred rest, our souls align.”
Bathroom: Cleansing & Release
“Water wash and spirit clear, Release all that’s heavy, old, or fear. Let this space be pure and bright,A portal back to peace and light.”
Office or Creative Space: Success & Inspiration
“May focus, fire, and purpose stay, Bring new ideas every day. Let success and passion be my guide, with courage and clarity at my side.”
Closets & Storage: Letting Go & Space for the New
“What I no longer need, I release with grace, Making room for blessings to take their place. No clutter here, just space to grow, with sacred order and gentle flow.”
Hallways: Flow & Movement
“Through these paths let energy glide, with ease and flow on every side. No block shall stay, no dream delay, Momentum grows here every day.”
Windows: Vision & Clarity
“Let light pour in, let vision shine, Clear the view, within, divine. May clarity guide what I choose to see. Through these windows, I am free.”
Affirm: “I am living my dream life, in a space filled with love, laughter, joy, community and connection. My home is a sanctuary of peace, protection and possibility. I am ready to receive what this sacred space holds for me.”
Declutter With Care
Clutter is simply stuck or stagnant energy. Unfortunately it's not harmless - it is quietly draining your focus, increasing your stress, and blocking the flow of inspiration, ideas, opportunity and abundance. When you have a clear space, you have a clear mind!
Get rid of clutter by evaluating every item that surrounds you, asking
"Do I need, use or love this?" If you find that something doesn't bring you joy or that you're keeping it out of guilt or fear, let it go.
"Does this represent a past that I've outgrown, or my future that I'm growing in to?"
Remove everything that is broken, chipped or crack. Also, if it belongs to the past version of you that you're not proud of - situations when you've made mistakes, settled or tolerated less than what you deserved, or played small to stay comfortable. When your space is filled with items with heavy old energy, it quietly blocks future expansion.
Bless it. Release it.
Where to Start
Your Entrance. This is the mouth of Chi, where all energy (ie opportunities) arrive and enter.
Your Bedroom. This reflects everything from your health to relationships. It's where you recieve, rest, and rise!
Your Kitchen. This represents your health and wealth. Make it count.
Dead Zones. These neglected areas (shelves, drawers, closets ) often mirror what you’re avoiding or resisting emotionally or spiritually in your life.
Stop anchoring yourself to old timelines and past versions of yourself. Stop holding onto things that don't represent the energy of the future, the person you want to become.
Concentrate In the Corners
In Feng Shui, the corners of your home are known to trap the Chi. This stagnant energy that can subtly weigh you and your space down. A simple ritual like this helps refresh the flow, invite clarity, and create space for new opportunities.
Think of your intention: what you want to cleanse, release or unblock in your life
Sound clearing: Ring bells, chimes or clap into the corners to shake up the energy
Smoke clearing/smudging: Burning sage or palo santo
Wipe down all corners with a warm cloth with lemon or orange, repeating a mantra with intention
"Clear the dust, release the past,
Welcome peace and joy that lasts.
Love and light in every space,
Harmony now fills this place."
Move 27 Things
A traditional cure to clear stagnant energy: simply move 27 items in your space. It can be big or small — shifting a vase, moving a lamp, rearranging a shelf, or switching out art, pillows, or linens.
“𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴.”
Deepak Chopra
Activate Your Space, Activate Your Life
There are so many simple ways to attract and welcome new energy into your home:
Opening doors and windows for 9 minutes
Baking bread or cookies
Simmering herbs and spices
Diffusing citrus, lavender or eucalyptus oils
Decorating with fresh flowers or plants
Rearranging furniture
Wiping down front door
Walking in a figure-8 shape in rooms
Mopping or dusting
Cleaning mirrors
Deep cleaning countertops and closets
Changing bedding
Adding a plant to entrance, both inside and out
Adding a candle, mirror or crystal in your Wealth Gua
Swapping in seasonal decor
Release what no longer serves you so that you can make room for what does.
Wrapping It Up
Feng Shui isn’t about following rigid rules or turning your home into a museum of lucky charms — it’s about creating a space that supports who you are and most importantly, who you want to become.
Whether you’re a curious beginner or simply seeking more ease and clarity at home, Feng Shui offers accessible tools to shift energy and invite harmony. It's also about the bigger picture: creating a better world, promoting collective healing and universal peace and prosperity. We must preserve this wisdom for generations to come!
Working with a skilled feng shui consultant can help you tailor your space to your unique energy and goals. They bring wisdom from various schools and real-world experience from former clients to give you grounded, personalized guidance — no guesswork needed.
I am a IFSG Red-Ribbon certified Feng Shui consultant based in Asheville, specializing in creating balanced, welcoming spaces for homeowners, renters, and anyone in transition. It is an honor to be part of your space and your story.
Read more about feng shui attunements here, and book yours today!
“Our contribution to the progress of the world must consist in setting our own house in order.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Erin is a certified feng shui consultant, energy healer, wellness coach and holistic growth strategist.
SUBSCRIBE or FOLLOW below to receive short & sweet tips for intentional interiors, sustainable systems, and high-vibration, low-impact living - straight to your inbox!
Comments