The Fengshui rules we followed in our house (and those we didn't)
1
- Minimalist
- HDB (Resale)
- ~900 sqft
- 3 br
- Couple Living
Are you also on the fence about fengshui in houses? We were too - we're not super into it, but at the same time we felt that there were certain principles that made sense to us. So here's a post about how we selectively picked and chose specific fengshui rules to apply when designing our home (and also why we didn't follow some of the other rules). Disclaimer: We didn't hire a fengshui master through the whole process - we were scared that 1. we'd just get told upfront that the house wasn't a good house (then GGWP cos we already paid downpayment LOL) 2. we'd have to put random ornaments in random places (horror stories from friends) 3. or paint our walls a specific colour like yellow or purple or something (good for the fengshui, but bad for Duck's mental health) So all these 'rules' are based on our own research - please don't quote us we're not experts :') 
Rule #1: Having the bed against a solid wall This helps to create a sense of security and "solidness" - we think it's just because you know you can't have any burglars sneak up on you from behind your bed while you're sleeping. Anyway, there were two solid walls we could put our bed against - this current one we're using, as well as the one directly opposite. The current wall our bed is against was actually a recessed wall, which wasn't ideal for us to position the bed against because of the tiny recessed gap. We managed to resolve this by flushing the wall with an extra layer to make it entirely flat. The reason why we didn't use the other wall is because of rule number 2.... 
Rule #2: Not facing the toilet door when we're sleeping So if we had placed our bed against the other solid wall in our room, one person (Frog was nominated for this role) would have to sleep "beside" the master toilet door. This is considered a 'bad' fengshui move because doors are a source of energy, and this would make the sleeping person feel less rested and more uneasy while they were lying in bed. But also from our perspective, it's rather disruptive especially if one of us is getting ready in the morning or at night with the sounds and the light coming out from the toilet. Also being greeted by toilet smells is absolutely NOT a vibe so this made the decision pretty easy for us. Rule #3: Having a divider if your front door is facing a window The fengshui thing behind this rule says that 'wealth' you bring in from the main door will leak out directly through the window and prevent us from becoming rich(?) (Frog argues that Duck's Taobao and Shopee habits are the main reason why wealth is leaking out of our bank accounts... but that's a topic for another day). But who doesn't want to be rich right! So we built this divider to hopefully 'trap' our wealth so that we might one day be rich enough to get nicer furniture :) On a more practical front though, this divider also serves to demarcate the entryway area and also provide some privacy whenever we want to leave the main door open (for ventilation, when we're expecting guests/deliveries, etc). 
Rule #4: Avoid fire-water clashes! If you've read some of our previous posts, you'd know that we had so many problems with our dishwasher placement because of the layout of our kitchen (it was solved eventually by getting a slimline dishwasher!) But before that was resolved, many IDs we met recommended us to have the dishwasher here instead, where the oven is currently placed. They recommended us to get a tall cabinet, where we have the dishwasher below and the oven above, together with our rice cooker and air fryer, etc. According to fengshui, this would have been a terrible idea because the dishwasher is naturally a 'water' element, and the oven is a 'fire' element, so having them in such close proximity would create conflict, disharmony, etc. This seemed like it made sense, BUT a bigger reason why we didn't go with the tall cabinet idea was that there was no water point here so we would have to cut a new water point out from our bathroom behind this structural wall and then string it through the wall and get it connected to the dishwasher (TLDR: a lot of trouble). We are still very thankful that we found our slimline dishwasher and didn't have to deal with this headache (or the potential disharmony of having our oven and dishwasher together LOL). 
But those aside, here's also a quick overview of some of the rules we DIDN'T FOLLOW: 1. Sandwiching the fridge, stove and sink together creates conflict in the elements and increases fights in the family There was simply no space/other configurations that didn't entail us putting the fridge in our dining area - we blame HDB layouts and flat sizes for this. HDB why u make us fight? 2. Having ceiling fans above resting areas like beds and sofas creates an oppressive energy that's bad for the person resting Uhm... once again we didn't have space LOL. Our bedroom fan is positioned over the bed because there's nowhere else to put it without it being too close to the curtains/blinds or interfering with the wardrobe doors :) 3. Having plants in the house for good luck and positive energy We know that certain plants are supposed to bring good energy and life to the house... but with Duck's track record we will only have dead plants after a while :) So to avoid the loss of innocent lives, we decided to not have any plants at all. 
As you can tell from this post, we have an awareness of fengshui but practicality still comes first! We implement fengshui rules only if they make sense to us and have some sort of practical, functional element to them that doesn't disrupt our lives or make cleaning/living in this house any harder than it should be. For us, the most important thing is that we have a home that suits our needs - happiness and positivity comes when we're comfortable and secure in a space that we love. But we gotta admit that the fengshui thing does come in handy when explaining certain reno choices and decisions to our parents... ... and also giving our friends something to blame when they come over to play mahjong and end up not winning as much money as they want to HAHA. What are some fengshui guidelines you've followed in your home! Let us know :)
- 6 hours ago
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