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NYC Feng Shui Kitchen

By Tiffany Smolick

3minutes

Beautify your NYC Kitchen with Feng Shui

November 23, 2011

As a practice intended to create harmony by balancing the energy contained within living spaces, Feng Shui is a philosophical perspective invented several thousand years ago in China and based on Daoist understandings of nature. In Chinese, Feng Shui means “wind water”, a phrase referencing the power of the wind and water found in their “chi” or intrinsic energy source.

Recently, the principles of Feng Shui have entered the home decorating field. Individuals living in NYC have recently begun searching for ways to enhance their mental, physical and spiritual levels by integrating Feng Shui elements. Many people are finding this formula alleviates stress and provides a genuine peace of mind.

Feng Shui Principles
One basic principle of Feng Shui is decluttering the area in which you live, in addition to repairing broken items and strategically placing mirrors in places that attract more illumination. Followers of Feng Shui believe that disorder and clutter trap and deplete beneficial energy, something that negatively affects all aspects of your being. Having old, broken and trivial items lying around in jumbled heaps is thought to cause feelings of fatigue, lethargy and anxiety.

Eliminating junk from the home, according to Feng Shui, discharges antagonistic emotions and generates positive vibrations instead, leading to the development and attainment of one’s potential. Not only do Feng Shui practitioners believe clutter, dirty spaces and dimness prevent people from achieving goals but professional organizers affirm this as well.

Feng Shui in the Kitchen
The kitchen symbolizes prosperity and nourishment according to Feng Shui principles. How a kitchen is constructed and decorated is supposed to affect your health and ability to prosper in life. When renovating a kitchen complying with Feng Shui guidelines, some important tips to remember are:

General appearance of a kitchen should be spacious, airy, well-lit, clean and comfortable.
Simple kitchens without the presence of gadgets depleting the chi are Feng Shui friendly.
Declutter as much as possible. Put things neatly away. Allow as much light as possible to filter through the kitchen.
Keep fresh flowers in the kitchen as well as baskets of fresh fruit. Organic items contain rich amounts of positive energy.
Shades of yellow are considered the best colors for a kitchen, according to feng-shui guidelines.
Consider installing a “cooking island” in the center of the kitchen. In addition to allowing you to view the entire room, a cooking island permits you to talk with guests who are sitting in another room or watch children while preparing dinner.
Windows are important components of Feng Shui and are considered the “eyes of the chi”. Room windows have the ability to influence mental focus and concentration. Smudged, dirty windows cause irritation, anxiety and depression, especially when sunlight is blocked due to griminess. Clean windows thoroughly or replace old, cracked windows with new, clean ones for optimal energy release.
A Feng Shui kitchen should be triangular, with the stove, sink and refrigerator constituting each of the triangle’s points. Feng Shui adherents say that each appliance should be placed around six to eight feet apart from each other.