Everyone loves a home with a view and that includes adherents to feng shui. The expansiveness of the view can relieve a lot of modern stress that most of us collect year after year.

Energy, which the is called “chi” or “qi” in Chinese metaphysics, can be carried along roads and streets. When the street is straight it does not do much to improve the inherent energy. But when a street winds and curves, as is always the case in hilly areas, then the chi or air currents get more powerful and positive. There is no coincidence that more affluent people usually live in the hills and not in the flat lands.

But there are also downfalls and disadvantages to being in a hilly area and some of it is common sense, following along the rules of nature. One example is a house which sits in a hilly area but near the bottom of some section, in a canyon. Homes below street level miss out on some of the good energy that winds up the hill via the street. These homes are more prone to flooding as well.

Similarly, the house which sits at the very top of the mountain, with no hill behind it for support or any trees, this is a very vulnerable home. The wind can whip around it too forcefully, often making the occupant desperate and unhappy.

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, a home should only be built on a nice spacious pad of land in the hills (not teetering off a cliff) and most definitely on solid ground. It is always a sad sight to see a beautiful home slide right down a hill because it was not built on bedrock or when provisions were not made for proper water drain off.

In feng shui philosophy, the mountain represents people and their hearts. Generally, people who live in the hills can be kind people, as compared to people close to water. Proximity to water brings wealth, but also a cunning personality. Living close to both water and mountains (i.e. Malibu) has its pros and cons.

There is a relationship between the hills, mountains and roads. Their shape and their height influence occupants nearby, as well as whether the mountains foster healthy plants and animals or not. We can describe mountains as “yin” or “yang” depending on how much energy they emit to the surrounding area. Even though homes in the hills can feel support and privacy and wonderful views, it is NOT ideal for a house to be built right into a mountain side.

Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions (R) since 1992
From the Landscape & Exteriors Blog Series