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Ever feeling like your living room layout could use something, but you don't know what? Sometimes the best thing to do is rearrange your layout with the same furniture, instead of buying new furniture altogether.
But how do you know if what you’re doing is causing more harm than good? Well, with the art of Feng Shui, you don’t have to second guess anymore!
Mary Lee Smyth, the interior designer at La-Z-Boy Kingston, has some knowledge of the art of Feng Shui “I may not be an expert on it, but I certainly use it as a rule of thumb when I’m feeling stuck on a living room layout with a client.”
So, what are some things that can help you with your living room, and how does Feng Shui help with that?
Key Takeaways:
- Feng Shui arranges furniture to create balance and harmony in a space.
- Mirrors can help with making your room feel more open, allowing more natural light in and helping with positive energy.
- Plants can also help create a positive environment with natural air filtration and being one with nature indoors.
- Colours like green and blue are calming and can help with creating a soothing environment.
In This Article…
- What is Feng Shui?
- Identify the Command Position
- Emphasize Balance in Your Room
- Use Mirrors Strategically
- Choose Accessories Thoughtfully
- Choose Calming Colours
What is Feng Shui?
Before we delve into the tips and tricks for creating a Feng Shui living room layout, let’s get familiar with exactly the art of Feng Shui.
According to National Geographic, Feng Shui is an ancient art originating from China that promotes arranging objects and buildings to bring out harmony and balance in a given space.
Curiously, the translation for Feng Shui is “Wind-Water”, and in ancient times, these two elements were once thought to direct the flow of the universal Qi (cosmic current), through places and structures.
Nowadays, Feng Shui is still used to promote harmony and balance, and it is shown time and time again to help optimize the arrangement of people’s homes.
5 Tips to Create a Feng Shui Living Room Layout
Now that we’re familiar with Feng Shui a little bit more, let’s take a look at some key factors to consider…
1. Identify the Command Position
One of the biggest tips you’ll find when looking at any Feng Shui guide is to figure out where your command position is. But what on earth is a command position? This crucial seating spot helps with giving a clear vantage point of who is entering or exiting your space.
If your sofa is in the middle of your room and is not facing your main doorway, you might not have your furniture in a command position. Instead, Mary Lee says placing your sofa against a wall can help see who is coming and going from your space at all times. “This is especially true in a corner,” she says.
2. Emphasize Balance in Your Room
According to Mary Lee, Feng Shui is all about creating balance in a room. After all, having a natural flow within your home is how you’ll eventually get there.
When it comes to creating a natural flow, the main thing to remember is to have some essential elements in your home–these essential pieces being:
- Large Windows
- A Door
- Wood and Upholstered Furniture
- Mirrors
- Warm and Calm Colours
Some of these options we’ll get to later, but the main point of these crucial elements is to encourage a natural setting and to create a cozy living space.
Large windows, for example, help to let in as much natural light as possible. And with wood and upholstered furniture, finding the right balance between these two pieces also helps with creating a natural environment.
Mary Lee also states that curved furniture is favoured over harsh sharp edges. Luckily for La-Z-Boy, we have many furniture options that include curved edges, so no need to worry about our furniture creating an unbalance in your Feng Shui living room layout.
3. Use Mirrors Strategically
Mirrors are one of the most important tools you can use in your house. Not only are they great decor items to help open up a small space, but they also help with letting more natural light into your home.
As we’ve said before, natural light is important for Feng Shui. Adding a mirror can help bounce that natural light around the room simply by adding it opposite to a window.
Mary Lee also says that placing a mirror next to your front door is also good for Feng Shui since it also helps with letting some natural light in. Plus, if your front door is in a tricky spot, you can see who's coming in with the help of your mirror!
4. Choose Accessories Thoughtfully
Feng Shui is all about balance, and this also means curating your living room with carefully placed items that help serve a purpose in your room.
For example, you might want to add certain knick-knacks that you love in a room, you can certainly do that, but they can’t be spread across all willy-nilly. There should be a proper place to add them like on a fireplace mantle, or a coffee table, or even a bookshelf.
Items in a room can also help with adding a defined colour theme to a room. For example, if you have a lot of blue-coloured items, you can help create a space that centres around the colour blue. These types of decisions can help create balance in your Feng Shui living room layout.
5. Choose the Right Bagua Colours
Speaking of colours, our last point focuses on adding calming and/or warm colours to a space. Depending on the type of space you want to go for, there are many colours you can choose, according to Feng Shui’s Bagua Map.
The Bagua Map, though not only used for colour, is a Feng Shui tool that helps interior designers assess energy in a certain area. For example, if you’re trying to create a room centred around wealth and abundance, you might want to pick a purple and green colour scheme, since this is what the Bagua Map recommends.
The Bagua Map also takes into consideration what direction your room is facing. For example, if your room is facing south, you might want to choose warm colours.
However, within any interior design context, it’s best to not use these colours too much in your room, or else you risk overwhelming your space with harsh colours that don’t need to be there.
What's Next?
Now that you have a better understanding of how to arrange your living room with the help of Feng Shui, you’re ready to arrange your furniture at your heart’s content! With that being said, if you’re looking for new furniture, why not shop at La-Z-Boy Ottawa?
Although there may not be any specific examples of furniture pieces to choose from when it comes to Feng Shui, Mary Lee says a lot of our frames encourage Feng Shui and are not sharp-edged at all.
That being said, visit us at a local Ottawa and Kingston La-Z-Boy location to view our selection in person and take a sit test. You can also schedule an appointment online.
Our sales consultants are always eager to lend a helping hand. Additionally, consider taking advantage of our interior design services and working with an interior designer to see how our furniture could fit in your Feng Shui design.
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