Feng Shui & Mirrors
Utilising Feng shui practices to reorganise your home or to find the optimal placement for your mirror is brilliant for being mindful of the space you are in and the energy you want for it.
Designing your space should always be about balancing comfort, joy, and style. Feng Shui is a practice that is best used when setting intentions in your space as it promotes positivity, balance, and conscientiousness. Here at The Online Mirror Shop, we know that a mirror is the perfect tool to help make your home more feng shui.
What is Feng Shui & what are its principles?
Feng shui derived from Chinese culture is the practice of object, architecture, and interior design placements to strike balance and harmony within design. The history of feng shui has stemmed from Taoism, a religion and philosophy that reflects the need for nature to run its course uninterrupted.
Chi or Qi is described as the essence or energy that every life contains. The concept is, that there is good and bad chi in the world, and this can be directed by finding a balance between the yin and yang.
Yin and yang are representative of two opposing elements within Taoism.
Bagua is an energy map identifying the eight areas of focus within life, Bagua translates to eight areas:
- Wealth
- Partnership
- Fame
- Family
- Tai Chi
- Knowledge
- Career
- Helpful People
Commanding position, positioning yourself and your energy in a room in a way that allows clear sight to the entirety of the room and door. The idea is that by having a clear perspective on the whole space, the room will serve you, allowing for complete control and harnessing every function possible.
The five elements are fire, earth, wind, water, and metal. To achieve feng shui it is believed the elements must have balance.
Implementation of feng shui in interior design
Flow & Composition
The placement of furnishings is essential to create a space honouring feng shui, striking a balance between space, light, and functionality. When figuring out the placement of mirrors, it’s worth considering the size, shape, cost, and positioning.
Your mirror reflection is everything, we highly recommend utilising your mirror reflection to frame a unique architectural element. Alternatively, use the mirror’s reflection to refract sunlight and space inside. Hanging your mirror parallel to your front door is a great way to set intentions within the space, by reflecting good energy inward.
Positioning plays into the flow of a space, for instance, hanging a wall mirror on a wall is likely to improve the feng shui of the space, as there’s no obstruction.
Giving the mirror a commanding position in the room such as in a corner will allow for the best perspective of the space, visualising the positive energy. An alternate commanding position that works exceptionally well is within hallways, at the length of the room. This will create the illusion of a wider and longer space, whilst also giving a full perspective of the space, allowing for an all-round clear perspective as you come and go within your house.
Colour & Materials
Colour symbolism is prevalent in feng shui, the perception that colours can impact an area of life is a significant facet of feng shui interior design. Colour is one of the greatest impactors of our emotional state and the energy of a room, so it must be done correctly.
One example would be with the colour green. Green has associations with family, health, and rejuvenation with ties to the wood element. The Bagua interpretation of greens’ affiliation to family and regrowth is connected to its natural representations, i.e. trees, roots, and plants.
Green would be a great paint to use in a family room such as a living room/dining room. Using a mirror with a black or gold frame would complement the green, whilst contrasting and adding an element of cohesive stylisation.
A metal framed mirror would help balance the elements brought with each component. Bringing plants or flowers in and around the mirror will help add style and character whilst bringing in additional elements of green. Considering how to create balance and adhere to the Bagua energy map is simple once aligning personal goals with the elements that are said to improve said areas.
Replace & Fix
A good practice when re-designing your interior is to seek out broken items and either mend or throw them away. This is essential to maintaining positive energy within the room, fixing the broken furnishings promotes regrowth, whilst holding on keeps the negative chi trapped within the space.
A great rule of thumb is that older mirrors with splits, chips, or cracks, must be thrown out and replaced with an undamaged one.
Lighting
Touching upon what we briefly mentioned earlier, positioning your mirror opposite to a door or window allows for light and space to be reflected inward. This is effective at making a room feel spacious and bright.
However, it’s also worth discussing the use of shadows in interior design, in conjunction with feng shui. Yin and Yang, light and dark are represented within interior design, and in the case of light, it represents the bright and shadows. Harnessing both the light and dark is simple when using a mirror, positioning to reflect optimal light in the daytime and dressing the surrounding space with ambient lighting within the evening can help strike the balance between shadows and light.
Implementing Feng Shui practices into your interior designs is made much simpler. To rejuvenate and optimise the positive energy within your space, browse the plethora of mirrors we offer. Available in a range of styles, shapes, materials, colours, and prices.