Feng shui may be embraced as a modern design trend, but it’s important to remember that this ancient Chinese traditional practice is a philosophy. Chinese geomancy embodies the elements of earth, fire, water, wood, and metal. When these elements are balanced within a space, they create a sense of balance by harmonizing a person’s energy to that of their surroundings.
When we think of feng shui, it’s easy to focus on a minimalist approach to achieve balance. However, it’s also important to acknowledge that the definition of feng shui is to simply arrange your furniture and furnishings in a way that creates balance. While a cluttered home may create a sense of chaos, that doesn’t mean your interior design must be limited to subtle colours and modest furniture.
Let’s incorporate feng shui principles into some 2023 design trends.
- Find Balance through Colour
The lucky colour of the year is Forest Green, a rich hue that evokes balance in a bold way.
Such a deep, dark color may seem counterintuitive to the light, however, incorporating the weightlessness essence of feng shui design; complimentary colours like pink, blue, and red can work in harmony to sustain balance.
These lucky colours may attract positive energy and good fortune when integrated throughout your living and working spaces. For those who follow the Chinese zodiac, Forest Green is a lucky color for people born in the Year of the Rooster.
- Bring Earthy Furnishings in Your Home
Sustainability is a trend that will likely continue for years to come. This trend impacts every element of an interior design: from the new or upcycled pieces that are purchased, to the ways in which a homeowner repurposes their older furniture. Naturally, feng shui is a philosophy that fits perfectly within this trend.
Considering wood and metal, two principles of feng shui, you should first envision how you can renew or refresh your existing furnishings. For example, refinishing or repainting a wooden coffee table can give it a reenergized appearance without adding an additional object into your space.
If you decide to replace old furniture with new pieces, consider what materials are used in its construction. Incorporate natural elements as opposed to plastics or synthetics to help maintain your home’s balance.
- Keep Earthy Tones in Mind
Don’t forget that feng shui seeks to harmonize all elements of a space, including its structure. Look beyond furniture and furnishings to see how your walls can help sustain balance. Although, bold statement colours will make an impact in 2023, so will earthly tones. These brown and beige colours are ideal for incorporating a neutral colour into your home that isn’t white. It’s an especially convenient set of colour options for those looking to replace their gray walls, a colour that is going out of trend in 2023.
- Combine 2023 Trends with Bagua
The bagua, or feng shui energy map, is a powerful tool to use in your interior design and decoration. There are dozens of small and large trends entering the home in 2023, such as micro-luxury materials, nostalgic features, and dedicated spaces for relaxation and creation, like craft and reading rooms. Bagua needs to act as the blueprint for not only your interior design, but for your inner harmony. Whether you lay your bagua out over your entire home or in a single room, it creates a foundation for integrating a 2023 interior design trend.
For instance, consider how integrating curved features, as opposed to straight lines and hard edges, can activate your bagua. If your kitchen is the bagua map area where family-core and health exist, these curved shapes can create a sense of flow. Adding forest green, 2023’s lucky colour, as well as living plants or flowers and wooden accent pieces can work collaboratively to create a space that fosters care.
5. Consider Your Mental and Spiritual Wellbeing
Whether you’ve included feng shui design in the past or this is your first time designing your home around the ancient practice’s principles, take a moment to acknowledge how this change will impact your mental and spiritual wellbeing. You can embrace a contemporary trend without disrupting the harmony achieved in previous feng shui arrangements. Before you commit to full paint jobs or expensive décor, discover how small, meaningful changes can have the same impact.
Nick Dauk | Contributing Writer
