Regardless of whether or not you can pronounce it, Feng Shui can help promote a more peaceful and relaxing home environment. This ancient Chinese practice deals with transforming a dwelling’s layout to foster harmony, balance, and positive energies. It may sound complicated. And yes, mastering the many methodologies of Feng Shui would take years. Fortunately, there are a few basic practices anybody could easily apply to their home straight away.
Here are four tips to help residents achieve total zen (or at least feel more relaxed) in our Gainesville apartments! Looking for apartments by UF? Contact Contemporary Management Concepts, LLLP, to learn more about our communities!
According to Feng Shui, a cluttered home means a cluttered mind. Take a walk around the apartment, look for any belongings that are no longer necessary to keep around. Then, pitch them; get rid of them. Don’t merely hide them away in a drawer, closet, or under the rug. Feng Shui teaches us that knowing clutter is still present, albeit tucked away, will do nothing to lift the negative energy associated with these belongings. Also, residents should remove any obstacles or clutter from their apartment’s walkways. A home’s walkways are like it’s veins, and clearing debris will help a space flow. Ultimately, promoting a happier, healthier home.
Replace harsh, fluorescent lighting with bulbs that emit a soft, incandescent light such as LEDs. Doing so will promote a sense of warmth and comfort throughout the apartment. Also, whenever possible, try to rely on filling a space with natural light. Open blinds and clean windows regularly — allow as much of the sun’s cheerful energy to make its way inside as possible. For students in particular, who spend their days inside studying, allowing sunlight in can help to stave off stress and anxiety. Many of our student apartments near UF feature large, picturesque windows for this very reason!
There are five elements residents should attempt to have represented within their apartments — earth, wood, water, fire, and metal. For fire, simply placing some candles here and there will suffice, plus they smell pleasant. Plants can help channel earth and wood, not to mention, freshen a home by filtering air and producing oxygen. Consider adding metal ornaments, such as little bells, on plants as well. As far as water goes, who wouldn’t love to have a big, beautiful fish tank? Of course, it can be hard to represent each element in a home. So, instead, try representing the elements with their respective colors throughout the house. Use yellow, tan, or brown for earth, green for wood, black for water, red for fire, and white for metal.
The command position is one of Feng Shui’s more widely known aesthetic philosophies. It consists of placing the main furniture of a room — such as couches, beds, and desks — in a central position and facing the door, not aligned with it. Doing so will foster a more positive atmosphere. In particular, beds should be positioned with the head against a solid wall, to promote a sense of security. Also, mirrors are believed to reflect energy. They should only be positioned to reflect pleasing images, such as plants or artwork. Ultimately, furniture and decor will need to be placed in a way that is conducive to the space they inhabit. Play around with it, find the layout that brings you the most joy, and have fun!