Feng Shui divides the world into five elements. These include wood, fire, earth, metal and water. If you have a room that doesn’t feel quite right or comfortable, a good idea is to try balancing the elements to make it more comfortable. Each element invokes a different mood, creating a customized space that’s beneficial for your personality and goals. At The Uncluttered Life, we like to incorporate principles from Feng Shui into our organization process. It helps to increase the good feelings in a space.

The following are suggestions to incorporate the idea of Feng Shui into your home.

Wood:

Wood harnesses the power of creativity and expansion while representing traits such as growth, birth, strength, flexibility and intuition. Too much wood can make you feel overwhelmed, rigid, stubborn and inflexible. However, too little wood can show up as a lack of creativity or even depression, ambivalence and stagnancy.

When designing with the wood element, use shapes that mimic the shape of trees. That means, the vertical, column-like structure and the softness of leaves and flowers. Like the leaves and sky, wood’s colors are green and blue. Think about incorporating the following types of objects: fresh and silk flowers, plants and trees, cotton and other natural fiber, and wood furniture.

Fire:

Increase enthusiasm and leadership skills by maximizing the fire element. Fire in design is used to encourage expressiveness, inspiration and boldness. When there’s a lack of the fire element, it can show in behaviors such as emotional coldness, lack of vision, in-expressiveness and a lack of self-esteem.

Earth:

Earth affects physical strength and order. It also generates an overall feeling of grounding, balance and stability. When there’s an overabundance of earth in a space, people will often notice a heavy sensation. They may also experience more boredom, sluggishness and seriousness. When there is too little earth, people can feel disorganized and chaotic. To bring in the element of earth, consider anything in earth tones which include brown, green or sand; square and rectangular shapes; low, flat surfaces; images of landscapes.

Metal:

Metal affects mental clarity and logic. The presence of metal within a room can be felt in personal characteristics such as organization, focus, and analytical abilities. When surrounded by too much metal, you can be seen as chatty, overly critical and prone to speaking without thinking. When there is too little metal, you may notice a feeling of quiet, cautiousness and a lack of focus. To add metal to a space, include round or oval shapes, rocks and stones and white, gray, silver or light pastel colors.

Water:

Water’s domain encompasses spirituality and the emotions. A balance of water brings about inspiration, wisdom and insightfulness. Too much water can create the feeling of unbalanced transition and the sense that you’re drowning emotionally. It can make you feel overwhelmed and overly social. When there’s too little water, you may experience a lack of sympathy, loneliness, isolation, stress and pettiness. To incorporate the water element in your home, include the color black or any deep, dark tones; reflective surfaces, such as mirrors and gazing balls; wavy, free-form or asymmetrical shapes; water or water features, such as aquariums and fountains.

Try incorporating elements of Feng Shui.

Try incorporating some or all these elements into your home environment to see the effect they have on you. Check to see if you feel more comfortable in a space, or if your mood changes. Work with the elements until you find the perfect balance.