Today’s Feng Shui Friday Question:
What is the difference between Interior Design and Feng Shui?
Answer:
The quick answer to that question is that Interior Design is about Aesthetics and Feng Shui is about Energetics.
As someone who has worked professionally for many years as both an Interior Designer and a Feng Shui Consultant I feel it is important to correct the misconceptions and more clearly explain the differences between these two very distinct disciplines.
The main door for example is one feature that would be approached very differently by each professional.
An interior designer would determine what the stylistic elements are of this door, making sure it fits with the architecture and overall look of the home. Aspects such as materials and most notably the color would also be important design decisions.
When it comes to the main door a Feng Shui consultant would first determine the facing direction of the door based on a magnetic compass reading. Another important consideration aspect would be to determine what directional sector or energetic area of the home this door is located in and what is the energy signature of this area. A Feng Shui consultant would also look out through this door to see what features in the exterior environment are impacting this door like roadways, water or trees.
So what about color you ask, isn’t this both a design and Feng Shui aspect? While color does certainly have an energy of its own, it is a very weak energy when compared to other factors such as location, direction, external environment and the Flying Star energy activated by the door. In terms of Feng Shui color is like the sprinkles on a cake, it’s the cake and icing that determine the taste not so much the sprinkles. When it comes to color I say use the color what makes you happiest.
When it comes to the difference between Design aesthetics and Feng Shui energetics it is generally the difference between what is seen and what is unseen. Design focuses more on visual aspects and what is seen in environment whereas Feng Shui often deals with unseen energy that has an impact on our lives. If you think unseen energy is not as important as seen energy try using your beautiful mobile phone without a signal or without wifi. At the end of the day it is often what is unseen that has the biggest impact on our lives.
As a professional in both disciplines I say why not have the best of both!