`If there is harmony in the house, there is order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.’
Chinese proverb
If you have a house on the water, a terra cotta tile floor or a color scheme that makes you feel harmonious, you have a home with elements of “feng shui.”
Practitioners of the 5,000-year-old Chinese philosophy of placement to achieve harmony and balance believe it can lead to good things, such as health, wealth and an improved love life.
Feng shui (pronounced “fung shway”) means “wind and water.” It evolved as a mix of Taoism, Buddhism and Yin-Yang theory of balance and oneness with nature.
“Some religious people don’t believe in it, but I’m Catholic and I believe in it,” said Alice Hui, a mortgage banker with Beverley Hills Funding Corp. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and a Realtor-associate with ERA Macken Realty in North Miami Beach. “It’s a philosophy, not a religion.”
Feng shui is becoming popular in the United States as books and magazine articles focus on the philosophy. The American Society of Interior Designers conducts seminars on feng shui at its national conventions.
Jami Lin, a licensed interior designer who lives in Miami, has been using elements of feng shui in her projects for several years. She aims to “increase the flow of good ch’i-the energy or spiritual force-throughout the home,” she said. “This can be done by rearranging furniture, adding mirrors or unblocking entrances.”
While fairly new to the West, Asian people have taken feng shui seriously for generations. Many won’t buy a house or rent office space without consulting a feng shui expert.
Last year when John and Elaine Chan were considering buying a house in Pembroke Pines, Fla., they asked James Shu Ji Zhang, a self-described “feng shui fortune teller” to check it out.
Zhang told the Chans that the layout of the master bedroom matched their birthdays and predicted they would live in peace in the house.
The driveway, however, was not good. It was on the right side of the house, which means money may be lost. Since moving the drive to the left of the house was out of the question, “I said plant a small tree at the end of the drive (near the house) so money can’t leave the property,” Zhang said.
The Chans’ real estate agent, Tini Hui of Century 21 Allstate Realty & Investments in North Miami, handled the sale of the house.
“Some of my clients know a little about feng shui, but they have strong cultural likes and dislikes aside from feng shui,” Hui said. “For instance, a lot of Chinese do not like a kitchen in the middle of a house. It’s like a fire in the middle of your heart.”
Zhang, 62, moved to Miami resident from Shanghai eight years ago. He said feng shui “is different from what the American designers are doing. Chinese feng shui is a very deep, very ancient practice.”
An electrical and mechanical engineer, Zhang said he began to study feng shui after losing his factory during the Chinese cultural revolution in 1966-76. He finds real estate a “very good business” in South Florida, which has an estimated Chinese population of 10,000. For $300, Zhang does a “life reading” according to his client’s birth date, then goes over the house that the client is considering buying.
“People may live in a house that’s not good for them, but it may be good for someone else,” Zhang said. “American people buy a house for five, 10 years. Feng shui is no good for these people. Chinese people live in a house a long time, and think about leaving it to their grandchildren, so it’s very important for family closeness and good feng shui.”
Bad feng shui can be corrected. Zhang may advise a client to soften sharp corners with a partition or screen. Planting trees can do the same outdoors. Color, such as red, which represents money, is a favorite for the front door among Chinese homeowners.
Another easy way to bring good feng shui home is to hang a ba-gua-a five-element color octagon sold in Chinese markets-above the front door and in every room of the house. Zhang makes his own ba-guas, embellishing them with a plastic pearl that he says gives off energy.
Alice Hui, Tini Hui’s sister, recently returned from a visit to Hong Kong. There, she said, “everybody consults a feng shui specialist before opening an office or to see if they are in line for a promotion. Banks will consult specialists before opening a branch.”
Miami residents Sylvia and Chien Lee, who have real estate and furniture import businesses in the Miami Art & Design District, are from Hong Kong and Canton, China, respectively. They say they aren’t fanatics about feng shui, but figure “it can’t hurt” to respect the beliefs of their ancestors. So they plant red flowers in front of their house and have dining chairs and bar stools upholstered in red for good luck.
“Chinese like to see through the house to the back when they step into the house,” said Sylvia Lee. “They want bright, sunny houses, so evil spirits can’t hide. They place foo dogs (statues of fierce-looking dogs with a lion’s mane) at the front door to ward off evil.”
The new house the couple bought last year in the Bay Point neighborhood of northeast Miami practically shouts “feng shui.” The entryway eases into a meandering hall that opens to a large, sunny kitchen/dining/family room with sliding glass doors opening on the pool and patio. Thus, they see water and garden the minute they open the front door.
Bringing the soothing effects of water-whether ocean, lake, canal or patio fountain-into the home can be done with mirrors, says designer Jami Lin. She also recommends placing a mirror above the stove to bring unexpected wealth. A mirror in a desk drawer at the office offsets negative energy that might be directed your way by a supervisor.
“All of the ancient designs had to do with spiritual matters,” said Lin, who has recently completed a book, “Earth Design: The Added Dimension,” that covers Chinese philosophy and metaphysics as well as her own belief in designing according to natural laws. “We need to bring home the spiritual in order to be harmonious in our space.”
When June and Richard Beard took Fort Lauderdale interior designer Barbara Van Voast to see the oceanfront home they were considering buying, she found it needed a big dose of feng shui.
“This house turned its back on the ocean, and the garden was a jungle; you couldn’t see the water,” Van Voast said.
The jungle was cleared away and the living/dining room opened to the water view with an expanse of glass doors. The staircase was mirrored to reflect the water.
The original white brick fireplace has rounded corners-“curves channel good energy,” Van Voast said. When she changed the divider between the entry and the dining area, she added a curving wall.
The entry courtyard has its own soothing feng shui, with both a fountain and waterfall providing a soothing sound of splashing water and a walkway that meanders through the entry garden. A mirror on the entry wall reflects the garden.
Because the “rainbow spectrum contains healing colors,” Van Voast brought several printed fabrics in a mix of turquoise, pink, yellow, white, green and orange for the couple’s choosing.
The Beards haven’t delved into feng shui themselves, but they love the results.
“We’ve traveled in the Caribbean a lot, so these bright, cheerful colors appeal to us,” said June Beard. “As for the mirror, I just thought it common sense to have mirrors all over to bring the water in.”
