Feng Shui Staging Tips

Feng Shui is a philosophy that has been used in china for hundreds of years. Using Feng Shui in a home has been a popular “must” for common Chinese buyers lately, but many non-Chinese people have also began to appreciate the Feng Shui philosophy. Feng Shui which literally means “wind-water” promotes well being by rearranging how chi, or energy flows through the home. Now Feng Shui is a common philosophy used in the United States to appeal to potential buyers.

“Everything we associate with staging — from clearing the clutter to making the place smell good to sprucing up the entryway — are all feng shui strategies, she says.”(Terah Kathryn Collins, author of “The Western Guide to Feng Shui” ) A few strategic Feng Shui improvements can increase the value, emotional appeal, and marketability of your house and solve design and structural challenges, especially in a slow real estate market.   

1. Make your Entrance Inviting & Welcoming HGTV says “Energy enters your home at the front door, so invite it in! Make your door stand out by painting it a color that contrasts with your home, adding a new welcome mat and flanking the door with plants. Choose plants with rounded leaves as sharp leaves can appear aggressive.

• Also, use a welcome mat that is fit to proportion with the door and frame the doorway with matching pots of red flowers or evergreen trees on both sides for extra attention.
• Clear any trees or bushes that are blocking any windows or the front of the house, create and inviting path leading them into the house.
• Keep Lawn tidy & trimmer

2. First Impression The room of first impression is the most important room, it is where you want to direct buyers first. Have the directional flow of  the entryway point buyers toward this “first impression” room, use a large center point artwork, or a rug that leads them to this room.

• Use mirrors to reflect outdoor views.
• If the “first impression” is the living room, place the sofa in the furthers point of the room, facing the entry, creating a “open-arms welcome to the buyers”. this tells the buyer to come on in!
• You want the Positive Energy to move freely through the home, as well as the buyers. Arrange furniture so that when you walk into your living room, you don’t see the  back of a sofa.
• Buyers usually decide whether they will buy a home within the first 8 seconds after they open the door.

3. Enhance the Bagua Areas | Furniture Arrangement

This is a little more abstract tip, but bagua is an energy map of space used in Feng Shui. In real Estate, their is the career, buyer, fame wealth, and abundance areas of a home. The buyer area would be located in the “first impression” room.

• ” To activate fame chi — the center rear of the house — add a fire element like moving a fire pit or BBQ grill to the outside center of the house, or have a bowl of fiery, red apples in the kitchen” (Sell Your Home With Feng Shui (AuthorHouse, 2007)).
• Create good traffic flow to improve chi, you don’t want a potential buyer to run into the corner of a sofa, when they turn into a room, this will make them feel cramped and claustrophobic. If the back of a sofa faces the rooms entrance energy will bounce right out. “You want the positive energy” — and the buyers themselves — to be able to move freely through the home” says Jayme Barrett, author of “Feng Shui Your Life.
• When choosing artwork keep in mind that, “Nature scenes are soothing and will relax the buyers,” Barrett says”. Make sure to also put away those personal family photos and religious and spiritual icons, says Barrett.

4. Feng Shui in the Rest Room

Keep all toilet lids closed, this seems like an obvious one but in Feng Shui this serves a different reason, “Water represents money and the toilet is the one place where water/money escapes,” Barrett says” (BankRate.com). Instead, “You can place a small tabletop water fountain either at the entrance or in the back left corner of the home, which is the wealth corner,” she says. “Moving water circulates prosperity energy throughout the home.”” (BankRate.com).

•  “Place thriving plants and flowers in the corners of the room,” Barrett says. That will “enliven the home and create harmony.”
• Don’t let energy down the drain | drains take energy from a room keep drains covered when not in use 
• keep the bathroom door closed, if the bathroom is near the entrance of a home

5. No Clutter | Move furniture you spend the most time on away from beams or ceiling fans.

• Remove clutter and depersonalize. clutter prevents energy from flowing through the room. Clear out knickknacks, and other personal items.
• According to the principles of Feng Shui clutter robs a space of its Chi. 
• Care2.com suggests that, “Ceiling fans register to the reptilian brain as spinning knives overhead, and beams as a heavy object about to fall on us. Especially move beds, desks and favorite chairs away from under these, or remove the fans all-together (replace with friendlier looking blades) and cover the beams over beds with fabric”

6. Other Tips to Create good Chi

• Put away anything with sharp edges, including any butcher-block knife sets.
• HGTV suggests to stimulate your homes energy with sound by adding a wind chime to the front right corner of your house. This area of the home is considered the “buyers area” of the home.
• A large mirror in a dining room reflects the food on the table and is very beneficial, as in effect, it doubles the amount of food available.
•  A large red potted plant near the front door.
• Books represent education and should be displayed.
• A water feature in the foyer such as an aquarium or a fountain.
• In the master bedroom, place a live bouquet of flowers.
• Only use pairs in the master bedroom — two candles, two picture frames, etc.
• Open all blinds, curtains, shutters and drapes. Light attracts good ch’i.
• Make sure your home smells good, have fresh cookies baking in the oven. Or use inviting scents like apple or cinnamon.