Since the concept of Feng Shui is associated with spaces that are natural and organic, it would be easy to assume that synthetic materials or representations of real things might be a feng shui no-no.

Plants: There is a popular notion that dried flower arrangements and dead plants or branches can drag down the energy and are considered “bad feng shui.” This notion has been hyped quite a bit and I am not sure how big a deal this really is. That said, I have had very few clients, out of thousands, who decorated their homes abundantly with dried flowers or petrified wood. Related– are fake plants and flowers, made of fabric or plastics. You can fake away with fake plants. They provide color and positive imagery, much like art work.

Fur: Some folks like to drape a bed or couch with a sheep skin. Others like to have an animal skin on the floor like an area rug. In this case, the “real” thing might seem more objectionable than a fake version. This has everything to do with current societal norms and less to do with the energy that a real or fake fur possesses.  That said, I have a little story to share: I own a vintage mink coat, owned originally by my grandmother and handed down through my mother to me. It’s politically incorrect to wear a real fur, but I prefer to think of the coat as the ultimate in recycling. On one particularly chilly night I pulled the mink coat out of the back of the closet and wore it outside when taking my dog out to pee. He knew instantly that this coat was something strange. He sniffed it and seemed a little perturbed. I took it off inside and he continued to smell it. Imagine: a 70-year-old coat still had a detectable smell of “aliveness” to it. The dog knew the fur was real, but confused with no animal attached to it.

Wood: Fake wood is everywhere.  Engineered wood is actually a thin layer of real wood stuck to synthetic materials, but “luxury vinyl plank” flooring is 100% synthetic. Is it bad feng shui? Of course not. Not anymore than anything else in your home that is made of plastic.  In fact, a material that is mold-proof might ultimately keep you healthier in your home than real wood or a carpet harboring all kinds of bacteria and dust mites. That being said, these synthetic floors and furnishings can out-gas for months, so I recommend using an air purifier religiously if you have a lot of synthetic surfaces in your home.

Likewise, with synthetic surfaces like fake marble or granite, you can consider these materials to be neutral in their impact.

Artificial Lighting: It’s always nice to have an abundance of natural light enter every room for some part of the day. And yet, some rooms are perpetually dim and need a boost with artificial light. This is all well and good. You can use full spectrum lighting which registers like natural light to the eyes and body, including invisible wavelengths of both ultraviolet and infrared light.

When it becomes necessary use a natural element, we are sincerely trying to change the magnetic field in a specific way. If you need water, then real water is best and just a picture of water will not work.  Nor will a lava lamp take the place of real H2O. If the feng shui consultant determines that you need another element, like metal, wood, or earth, it is much more effective to use the real element and not a synthetic substitute. Fire is the only element, which due to safety reasons, we venture into red color as an alternative to a real fire.

Author: Kartar Diamond

Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®

From the Feng Shui Architecture and Design Blog Series