An article about feng shui and views could possibly be a very short article when common sense prevails: Good views are considered good Feng Shui and bad views are considered bad Feng Shui. What prompted my inspiration to write on this topic was a Quora question about whether or not it is necessary to have any views at all in order to have good Feng Shui. In other words, is NO VIEW okay?
First, let’s go back a little to the good view/bad view options. Given a choice, anyone would want a good view over a bad view. This is synonymous with good qi versus bad qi. We just feel better when we have something pleasant to look at out of our windows. However, some of our feelings and impressions are subjective. I can assume that most people like to have views of nature, whether it’s a body of water, mountains or even just trees and greenery.
Other views may be subjective, such as looking out your home and seeing commercial properties and people traversing down the street, which is what we expect in big cities with mixed use buildings. Some people like the view of any unique architecture or roof lines, while others might interpret that as “blocking” a view. There is a lot more which could be deemed as subjective, such as a view of flashing neon lights on the Las Vegas strip or a view of a “tranquil” cemetery.
Some views will have an influence on us even as we are unaware of what that may be, such as a view which might be stimulating, but also raise our blood pressure. What about the mixed message of a smoggy skyline? Views can affect our mood, our nervous system, endocrine system and more. When your doctor tells you that you need to reduce stress, are you even thinking about your environment or only about the food you eat and the people who push your buttons? Additionally, Feng Shui takes it to a whole other level when we include what direction the bad view is, relative to our own home. For example, a bad view to the south might affect our heart or eyes. An upsetting view to the southwest might undermine our abdominal area, digestion and elimination, with something unique about each direction.
While it is conclusive that a good view is better than a bad view, what about NO VIEW? To that, we might have to put NO VIEW in the “undesirable column,” but weigh that against any other redeeming features we could put in the “desirable” column. We also need to factor in the function of the space and how much time a person spends in the windowless room, like a bathroom or laundry room. Isn’t it interesting that most of us like a window even in a clothes closet?
If a room is spacious and light, with nice furnishings and artwork, perhaps the absence of a window is not a problem. When my son was only 6 years old, his father the architect built another room behind our son’s bedroom which had previously been the back corner of the house. To compensate for eliminating a window in the room, he added a large skylight, so that the room was always bathed in natural light. It never felt right to me, but at least it was not a dark space. Some windowless rooms can feel like a retreat or a sanctuary, as long as the room has other aspects to it that can make a person feel relaxed and comfortable. In a spa setting, a windowless room can make a patron feel more private and safe.
What I encounter more often than a windowless room in a house, are the many clients who work in a windowless office. Often, these rooms have dull lighting and generic furnishings and frankly they feel like they would be depressing places to work in all day. In fact, working in an open space with a lot of other cubicles might be better than working alone in a glorified closet.
And yet, a beautiful landscape painting or wall mural can give the illusion of outside space or at least a distraction from the otherwise blank walls. Often, a person will have pictures of loved ones or other uplifting visuals, in order to make up for the lack of outside views, even adding fake plants to help sustain the feeling of connecting with nature.
I had answered the Quora question more succinctly about how having NO VIEWS is not, by definition, bad feng shui. It’s not the ideal, but rarely do living spaces and work spaces have ALL the positives and none of the negatives. Usually we can enhance our spaces and work with what we have. No doubt, however, this might be one reason why remodeling is so popular!
Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®
From the Feng Shui Landscapes and Exteriors Blog Series
