Feng Shui Decorating Tips for the Kitchen

According to feng-shui, the place where you cook and eat it is very important because activates the entire house with its energy. in fact in traditional feng shui Chinese, who sought the harmony and well-being of the family by following strict rules for the distribution of rooms, the kitchen was the most important room in the house.

According to Ángel García, Feng shui consultant, where was he the oven was the heart of the house and there the prosperity, health and coherence of the family were forged. It is not by chance that the word homewhich derives from Latin, originally referred to the space where the fire burned.

In current home, says the expert, the kitchen has apparently been in second place, since food is often done outside the home. And the most used room is the bedroom, because it is where you sleep, or the living roomwhere is it located the new “heart” of the home: television. Even sometimes, the bedroom and the TV room tend to do only one thing.

In contemporary feng-shuimore adapted to western needs, trying to recover this spirit of harmony with the laws of nature, creating a harmonious room that serves as a source of positive energy for all the activities that take place in the house and promoting the kitchen as a place where you work for the pleasure of eating or as a meeting point with family and friends.

Let’s see, from the hand of the feng shui expert Ángel García, cow this philosophy understands the kitchen space and how best to distribute and decorate it to promote harmony, personal well-being and the relationships that develop in it.

Elements of feng shui in the kitchen: fire and water, wood and earth

In our houses there is less and less fireUnless we have a fireplace, if the kitchen has a ceramic hob, an electric oven and heater, there will be nothing that burns with a flame at home.

It would be ideal to be able to keep a real fire for cooking, but that is not always possible for reasons of comfort, cleanliness or supply. Thus, the fire contained in the kitchen is now more symbolic, since electricity can provide a similar energy.

in a way stoves can be considered “fire element”the oven, the microwave, the fridge, the dishwasher and also the small home appliances such as blender, coffee maker, etc.

In feng shui the fire element symbolically related to the creativity and the vitalitybut should be prevented from concentrating too much.

The presence of water element in piles helps to maintain balancebut for a harmonic combination it is recommended to keep the components of each group (fire and water) separated: oven, microwave and stove on one side, water elements on the other. Neither one next to the opposite, nor facing each other.

When this is not possible because the space is small or because you have a “train type” kitchen, where the components are all in line, can be separated symbolically, for example using the elements wood (a wooden cutting board) or land (a ceramic vase or pot with real or fake plants).

To combine the elements correctly, the simplest rule is avoid excesses in cold materials such as marble, granite and hard stone or in colors such as white, gray or black.

Metal should be used with caution, as it can create a cold sensation, and may compensate combining it with soft and vivid colors that break the uniformity or with accessories that bring life.

For feng-shui the most recommended elements in the kitchen are wood and earth. For example, wood in natural tones, fired stoneware and non-synthetic fabrics in bright colors and related accessories can be used.

The best colors for the kitchen according to feng shui

In a kitchen the preferable colors according to feng-shui they are clear without reaching pure white.

The ideal are then colors not very dark earthy: sand, toasted, cakes, lemon…

Of course, other colors can also be used, but additionally, both of the range of blues and greens (which correspond to the water and wood elements), as well as the colors linked to the fire element, such as red, orange, pink or peach, both in the furniture and in the paintings, lights and accessories.

The secret here is that the use of earthy colors and materials reinforce grounding, solidity, and permanence, embodied for feng-shui in the earth element.

This reinforces the vitality of the real and symbolic fire in the kitchen, bringing warmth and life not only to the room but to the entire house and to all the activities carried out in it.

How to organize the kitchen according to feng shui

Feng-shui attaches great importance to location.

The rule of not sitting with your back to the door and especially avoid standing right in front of the door In order not to directly receive the flow of chi (energy) that moves through the spaces, activating them, it is also applicable in kitchens.

The reason is that being in the middle of the chi stream can cause restlessness, nervousness or restlessness. In the case of the bedroom, it makes it difficult to sleep; in the case of a workplace, concentration; in the case of the kitchen it can unconsciously make it difficult to cook.

Often the layout of the kitchen forces the person cooking to turn their backs Totally or partially to the door or entrance doors. But the effect can be partially reduced by strategically placing a mirror or reflective object that allows you to see behind while you are in front of the stove.

A small decorative mirror, a shiny copper pan or steel surface that makes it easy to see when someone approaches from behind will fix this issue.

Also, when eating in the kitchen, it can be difficult to keep someone from sitting with their back to the door. This situation can be avoided by having some physical element that protects, such as a shelf, closet, etc. Or, if possible, by placing a mirror that allows those sitting with their backs to the door to see behind them simply by looking up.

In feng shui, a mirror placed so that it reflects the table where one eats is considered auspicious, because it symbolically doubles the source of sustenance, thereby attracting not only wealth and prosperity but also health.

If possible, When doing a reform or designing a new kitchen you can avoid some of these small problems through simple solutions.

one of them are passes them platesthose small windows that connect the kitchen with the dining room to move food and dishes. They allow the kitchen and the eating area to be close together without mixing the spaces or the energies of each one, and also avoid cumbersome walks from one room to another.

Another solution, only applicable when you have a large space for the kitchen, is place an island in the center where the stoves are located or the water basins. This also provides a clear work area.

The islands allow you to move in such a way that you only occasionally have your back to the door and generate a zone of fluid movement that invites you to share the space. In this way, the function of the kitchen as a meeting placenot only when eating in it but even during the cooking process.

The central island allows a kitchen closer to traditional cooking in country houses where the center was the hearth or chimney salways on, in which a cauldron with food was always kept ready waiting for the visitor, as a symbol of welcome.

And where a wide and solid table, located nearby, allowed to combine the activities of the inhabitants continuously: food preparation, snacks and children’s homework, reading, conversations…

In this way, in the kitchen was located the hearth that with its fire warmed the entire house.

The ideal kitchen: love and energy

In today’s home it is not easy to accurately reproduce this traditional kitchen model. Priorities, schedules and habits are different, but European feng-shui seeks to reproduce the feeling of settlement and welcome that a traditional kitchen produced, through the use of colors and materials, by a distribution that avoids the feeling of narrowness and by the ease of access and use.

According to feng shui, There is no ideal or perfect kitchen, but one where you work with enthusiasm and enthusiasm. most of the time. In that sense, awareness and attitude can outweigh layout and design.

On the other hand, heThe decoration of the kitchen is very determined and it does not always seem easy to transform it without expensive and complicated work. Maybe we couldn’t even choose it. For feng-shui this is not a problem, since accessories and complements can be usedto add and offset the elements and materials that we do not like or cannot modify without difficulties.

It is the energy that we put in the kitchen, with the decoration and the use, which we will later recover increased.

so we can give it an extra touch of affection, simply exposing natural elements such as fresh fruits and flowers or even lighting candles, soft music, creating an atmosphere of tranquility that allows both cooking and eating to be acts carried out with love.

Whether it is a long kitchen, a small one or a large kitchen with an attached office, what makes feng-shui correct will never be the decoration or the type of furniture, but the energy and attitude that we put into using it.

Seeing our kitchen as a living being and not just a place to prepare food or microwave something, we are changing our perception of space. Shall we try?

Open kitchens and feng shui

In the modern house, the dining room space tends to give way to the living room and an area to eat is created inside the kitchen or attached.

If the kitchen allows it, that can be very comfortable but, if it were small, make a single space Both rooms provide a feeling of openness and often more natural light.

From a feng shui point of view there are no problems with that, on the contrary: it can help to create a better flow of energy, facilitating contact between family members not only during the meal, but also during the preparation, strengthening its role as a meeting place.

A only precaution is the smells that can be generated, which can be avoided with a suitable smoke extractor.

It is also recommended that the eating area have its own space delimited by colors, materials, lights… configuring a more intimate and welcoming area.

the ubiquitous television can be neutralized by placing it somewhat away, so you don’t look like just another member of the table.

something as simple as a lamp directly on the table that allows you to turn off the rest of the lights creating an island of intimacy can make it easier for the gatherings to be prolonged in the after-dinner.

How to make the kitchen cozier

Keep the neat and uncluttered; both in what is visible and inside the cabinets. Add elements such as: flowers and fruits…