A feng shui kitchen is a harmonious cooking space. When your kitchen is balanced and has a positive energy flow, life is better.
Feng shui is an Asian interior design practice with a rich history, dating back over thousands of years.
According to the Society of British and International Interior Design (SBID), “Merging the theories of feng shui with contemporary interior design can curate intuitive interior environments that are not only aesthetically pleasing but mindful of the user’s lifestyle, aspirations, and emotional experience of the space.”
The feng shui practiced today is a New Age Westernized version of the Chinese practice. In the 70s it became popular in the US. Purists feel that it has strayed far from its original roots.
If you’re not familiar with a feng shui kitchen layout, that’s not a problem. The Asian interior design practice doesn’t require you to be an expert. You can study feng shui interior design or hire a feng shui expert to help create your cooking space.
Let’s take a look at some of the hottest feng shui kitchen designs today. With each example, we’ll show you why they’re unique.
A soft color like light blue creates a pleasant feng shui kitchen layout. This modern kitchen is an example of how positive qi can flow freely based on color and openness. The light blue walls serve as a backsplash for this rustic farmhouse look.
Feng shui kitchen design emphasizes the geometrical relationship among vital kitchen areas. This is an important element of healthy feng shui. In this example, simplicity and accessibility are the priorities.
Geopathogen zones are the equivalent of qi energy. Negative colors impact the effects of geopathogenic zones on human activities.
The wrong color causes irritability, insomnia, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and diminished immune functions. In this example, the cream colored countertops create a soft and inviting kitchen.
In feng shui, the fifth celestial cure is color. The fastest way to transform a room with bad energy is to change its color. Be aware of all-white exteriors and interiors as they drain energy and signify morning. When you add splashes of bright colors like cherry or red. Cream is preferred over white in feng shui.
Environmental psychologists view qi as a form of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). When viewed within this framework, qi becomes easier to measure. CFD theories and calculation procedures include studies of indoor airflow patterns in various conditions.
One rule with feng shui kitchen design and CFD is that the oven should not be next to a door. Outdoor wind currents could impact an oven’s temperature. In this example, the oven is tucked away in the middle and protected from unwanted drafts, both indoor and outdoor.
Decor and color are balanced in this feng shui kitchen. Orange, along with red, are closely associated with the joys of eating. These colors work better in a feng shui kitchen in smaller, yet impactful, doses.
Good feng shui kitchens avoid black in the kitchen, due to its somewhat depressing effect and ability to visually shrink a space. Black is also very dramatic, but in the kitchen, drama can often feel cold and isolating.
Some modern kitchens are black and white; feng shui recommends that these stark contrast kitchens would benefit from accents in red, whether a tea towel or a teakettle or even a bowl of red apples on the countertop.
Feng shui recommends, however, avoiding altogether a black and white kitchen. Instead, pair a black countertop with earthy tones such as taupe or tan, or even olive, to lessen the contrast of color and increase the warmth and friendliness of the kitchen.
Along with earth tones, these soft, muted golds and yellows work beautifully in a feng shui kitchen. They evoke feelings of relaxation and comfortable intimacy (coziness), along with safety, security, and happiness. These are the colors of gathering and bonding, which is ultimately a dream kitchen’s, well, dream.
Your kitchen needs enough space for food storage and preparation. This modern feng shui layout is open and airy.
There is enough space for everything. Cooking and cleaning up after the meal preparation are ways to illustrate a person’s desire to have positive qi.
The kitchen is the second room destination every morning. Keep the space as cheerful and “sunny” as possible. Exposure to sunlight affect us, as serotonin and melatonin production is stimulated and mood improved.
Keeping appropriately sharp kitchen knives to maintaining cupboard doors to close all the way to easily opened drawers, works together for the good of the whole kitchen. Chipped bowls should be replaced, and chipped paint should be touched up.
Common sense will tell you that a well-maintained kitchen is a reflection of good character. Kitchen design is no exception to this rule. This example is all about positive qi.
As a significant feng shui symbol of wealth, the stove is a powerful appliance and requires particular respect. Keep the stove clean and in excellent condition. Rotate through the stovetop elements (burners) to distribute the energy evenly and draw positive qi into your space and life.
Feng shui recommends hanging a mirror to reflect the light and warmth of the stove. Mirrors play an important role in feng shui design. Every living space has a mirror. When you include one in your kitchen, the cooking experience is transformed with an added layer of dimension.
While a modern myth has permeated that a mirror in this position will double the wealth of the home, we don’t recommend holding your breath for that to just magically happen.
Feng shui places great importance on cleanliness, particularly in spaces that involve health. Backsplashes, walls, and countertops should be wiped down frequently. Sweep and mop the floor for a clean foundation.
Kitchen countertops are a catch-all in a busy home. This is where you put your mail, pamphlets, homework, bills, and other miscellany can quickly take up the space that you need for food prep.
A good feng shui guideline is that only things that are used often should reside on the countertops. Everything else will look and feel like clutter and should be stored in a kitchen cupboard or closet.
Feng shui recognizes that knives make people feel uncomfortable. So, while it is popular to store knives along a wall-mounted magnetic strip or in a butcher block, a feng shui kitchen will tuck knives out of sight in a drawer
So many modern kitchens easily have fire (stove), water (sink), metal (appliances), and earth (color) represented, but it often takes a proactive stance in order to ensure that wood element is represented in the kitchen.
Incorporating wood can be as simple as placing fruit into a wooden bowl on the kitchen counter, or leaving a wooden cutting board or butcher block. Even a small potted plant, or a painting of a potted plant, would easily do the trick.
Feng shui emphasizes reduction. Kitchens should only feature the things you need. With kitchen cleaning, removing items from cabinets and drawers to give them a good wipedown, constantly assess whether or not the item is used enough to warrant the real estate it requires in that cupboard.
While you’re at it, you may as well organize your kitchen items during the cleaning process. It will make your kitchen function more efficiently and satisfactorily if like items are put with like – the toaster near the bread shelf, and baking needs near the measuring cups and spoons, for example.
Dining rooms serve an important purpose in feng shui, that same purpose can be served within the kitchen. For those kitchens that are quite large layout, you may find that the best energy flows within and through the kitchen if there is a dining area within the kitchen itself.
Feng shui experts will tell you that a square home will have better qi than a long, rectangular home. With kitchens, it doesn’t matter. Once you enter the home, different feng shui rules are applied.
One popular feng shui decor idea hanging metal pots and pans from the ceiling. While the copper pots are attractive and lend an air of authentic farmhouse to the kitchen, they are not good feng shui because heavy objects overhead tend to make us feel unsafe.
Most of the original feng shui manuals were incinerated upon the orders of Mao Zedong. When the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was established in 1949, new reforms were passed and the practice of feng shui was made illegal. Mao believed the practice was based on superstitions, which meant it wasn’t real.
Cliff Tan is an architect and interior designer who makes short videos about feng shui. He has millions of followers on TikTok who tune in daily to learn how they can apply feng shui to their living spaces. Tan is from the UK and has been a professional architect since 2007.
Feng shui doesn’t follow restrictions on the location of a kitchen. The Asian design practice is gadget oriented. You can use functional remedies however you wish. Feng shui is applicable to apartments and offices, so you can use inexpensive gadgets or expensive decor items like a feng shui crystal tree.
The Form School relates to the physical composition of landscape design and urban planning. The Compass School enters on time, space, and orientation. Both schools are the two main feng shui schools of design.
Mirrors are the go-to cure among feng shui experts. Large wall mirrors are better than mirror tiles because tiles fragment images. A whole image represents harmony, while fragmented images represent chaos.
If you live in a small space that only has a front door, hang a mirror to create an artificial backdoor or energy exit. Watch how your indoor atmosphere is transformed. When you remove the mirror, you will see how your interior space feels closed.
Environmental psychologists argue that feng shui does not affect living environments. The problem is how qi cannot be detected or measured. Qi is positive energy, so its existence is questionable. However, feng shui has been around for 6,000 years. If qi didn’t exist, people wouldn’t practice feng shui.
Pale pastels are good kitchen colors. They radiate the best feng shui. If you live in a cool climate, pale peach, apricot, lemon, or pink hues will provide positive qi energy for your kitchen space.
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