Feng Shui as a Process

Feng Shui as a Process

As part of my Feng Shui trainning, I had to be a Feng Shui client. Just as any psychology student would resist seeing a professional psychologist, I was hesitant. However, the experience was priceless. Not only do I have a better understanding of my clients, I have a better understanding of myself. I also have a greater understanding that Feng Shui is a process.

My practitioner was Karen Conti and she did an excellent job. If you are in Florida and would like a consultation, her email is kconti@bellsouth.com. Now, please keep in mind that these practitioners had only 10 minutes to do the consultation. A consultation that I would do for a client could include as many as 27 suggested changes. These class consultations could only have 2 or 3.

Her suggestions, based on my desires and the plan below were :

1. relocate the TV from the small den to the larger living room

2. use one of the cabinets in the kitchen to the left of the kitchen table to catch the clutter that falls on the table.

Intial Results

When I moved the TV to the cabinet in the living room, the den no longer seemed to have any purpose. As my husband had talked about going back to school (but had not yet acted), I decided that this should be his office. I rearranged the furniture to support his schoolwork. I moved our existing kitchen table in for a larger work space.

Karen's suggestion to use an existing cabinet in the kitchen for the clutter was a good one, but did not function with the existing elements in the kitchen. Had it been a longer consultation, I'm confident that Karen would have offered another alternative.

I love our kitchen table, but it seemed too large for our dining area. After moving the table into Kevin's new office, I relocated a smaller, countertop-height breakfast table that was in the basement. The countertop-height and smaller surface area made the kitchen feel larger. The before and after photos are on the home page of this web site. The smaller size also forces me to clear any clutter more often than before.

Shortly after these changes were made, my husband began working on his master's degree.

"Second Consultation"

If I had been working with Karen in a true Feng Shui Consultation, she would have scheduled a follow-up appointment after all of her instructed changes had been made. When she returned, I would have told her how delighted I was that my husband had finally gone back to school. When she probed further, she would have discovered that both my husband and I were unhappy when each of us was working in our seperate offices, and that we wasted a great deal of time visiting the other in his or her space.

However, because I am a ceritified Feng Shui Practioner, I was able to look past my own "I need my own space" issues, and converted Kevin's office into a shared office. My office then became the "meditation room". The meditation room houses the futon, a chair, and two bookcases that hold the surplus of the books that did not fit into our shared office. Currently, this space serves as a quiet reading room. When the time is right, the bookcases and chair could be relocated to the basement and replaced with a crib.

In fear of exciting our parents too much, we are now much closer (CLOSER moms and dads, still not quite ready yet) to beginning our own family. I can now visualize how a baby could fit into our space and our lives.

I have chosen to share my own Feng Shui experience rather than a client's consultation because the information discussed during a consultation can be extremely personal. These results were my results. Your results may differ. My hope is that this example demonstates the importance of obtaining an impartial opinion to start your Feng Shui experience, and that Feng Shui is a dynamic and always evolving adventure.

Interior Design and Feng Shui