After helping clients house hunt, remotely or in person, a decision is finally made. A home is purchased or a lease is signed. The next question is: Should I do the full consultation before the client moves in? Or should I wait until the client has moved in with all their furnishings and décor items? There is an argument in favor of either, with individual circumstances being the tie breaker.
If I advise the client before they move their possessions into the new location, I can make recommendations for where things should go. Who wants to move a heavy item to another location if they don’t have to, right? The truth is that most people place their furnishings and décor in ways that make sense and end up being “perfectly fine feng shui.”
Often, people have an instinctual understanding of what will be the best qi flow and a comfortable setting. For example, most people will place a headboard of a bed against a solid wall and only place a bed against a window when there really are no other choices. This could happen in a small room, where there are doors and closets on the other walls and the only wall wide enough for a bed and night stands is the windowed wall.
This is also something we discuss in the house hunting process if I have a floor plan to comment on. Then again, sometimes clients only contact me after they have found their new home. The choice of where to place a bed in a room might boil down to one of two options, with personal best directions being the tie breaker.
As well, some people have to place things in certain rooms or use certain areas for defined functions, just because there is a limit on space. Few of my clients have 6+ bedrooms where we can discuss in advance which room will be the home office, which will be the exercise room, which room will be the guest room or which room will be the “Cat Room.” And in fact, with those people who do have a lot of choices of where certain furnishings can go, we can decide that in advance before the move. This is because I have the flying star chart for the house and have already gridded out the distribution of the energies on the floor plan.
Sometimes I have worked previously with a client and I am already familiar with their furnishings, décor or artwork. For instance, one client comes to mind who has about a dozen bronze statues. We could discuss in advance which areas of the house need the metal element and which areas might be undermined by having metal in them.
Doing the consultation, remotely or in-person, after they or family moves in is also good timing. I am often wading through boxes and things still left unpacked, but the big pieces of furniture are usually not changed after they have been placed. I can see what the client has in terms of furnishings made of metal, wood, glass or other materials. I can see their artwork and note whether or not it makes a difference if certain colors are dominant in the artwork. On that note: if a client wants to paint the interiors, they will do that before moving in and that could be an important reason to have the consultation before that happens.
Colors on the wall or ceiling might change the energy of a room if those colors are saturated and dark. For example, a light minty green could be harmless anywhere, but a hunter green wall will resonate some of the wood element. That may be good or bad depending on the location.
There can be other “move-in” protocols that are best discussed in advance. The Move-In date is one of the more popular Date Selection requests, as people who know about this will want to move in on a day that is good for them personally, good for the head of household, or good in general according to the current calendar. Many of us have recall of past moves that went smoothly, compared to other moves that were stressful or even involved having things damaged in the move, or worse, valuable items lost in the process. We have that saying, “getting started on the right foot,” and it applies here as well, to the timing of a move and initiating new energy with new occupants.
After decades of consulting, in all ranges of calm or chaotic circumstances, the only time I refuse to do a feng shui evaluation is on Move-In day. This is a day full of distractions and obligations for the new occupant, so it ends up being counter-productive and I need the client’s undivided attention when I am there.
Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®
From the Frequently Asked Questions Blog Series
