More than once I have had a potential client schedule a 
consultation with me, only to cancel before we meet. They get cold feet because someone has filled their head with erroneous preconceived notions about what goes on in a feng shui evaluation.
Unfortunately, some people get the mistaken impression that if they bring a feng shui expert into their home that they will have to move a bunch of their furniture around. For many, this justifiably strikes them as impractical, especially if they have a small space to work with and the furniture, like a bed in a bedroom, can only be positioned one way.
And yet, this is hardly ever what happens in an authentic, traditional feng shui audit. Why? Because most people have common sense and they place their furnishings in a way which naturally caters to good “qi flow,” accessibility, circulation and ventilation. Otherwise, a person might have some furnishings placed awkwardly, out of necessity, and that is something which I don’t personally dwell on. For example, I once went to a client’s home where the two daughters shared a small bedroom. It placed one of the single beds directly in alignment with the room’s door. This has the potential to cause sleep problems. It was not even mandatory to move one of the girl’s beds because there was enough room to create a protective “footboard” at the end of her bed with a little toy shelf.
The times when I have recommended a major change in the function of a room and the movement of furniture is so infrequent, that only one instance stands out in my memory from decades ago. I had a client with a three-bedroom home. One extra bedroom served as her office and one was a guest bedroom that she hardly ever stepped foot in. I explained to her that the guest bedroom had much better energy for business success, while the room she was using as her home office was quite the opposite. And she confirmed that her business was not doing well. For her, it was a challenge to plan the room switch, primarily because she would need extra electrical outlets if her guest bedroom became her office. If she had absolutely resisted changing her office, I would have proceeded with recommendations to just make her current office as positive and productive as possible.
More so than not, I do not ask clients to remove or reposition furniture in their home. Instead, what I encounter almost exclusively are spaces that are devoid of some natural elements, which can easily be add to a room. In fact, I do believe I have a reputation for offering practical, affordable, and inconspicuous solutions. And what “elements” am I referring to? In traditional Feng Shui, we use “Five Element Theory” to enhance or diminish energies and those elements are Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal.
I have pdf files on my website dedicated to each of the elements with photo examples. One recent annual update client needed to place a water feature, like a fountain, in her living room entrance for three different reasons. Water in that particular area of her home could help her music career, attract more romantic opportunities and prevent lower back or leg problems. In other words, she did not have to purchase a whole new living room set, change the function of the room, or reposition what she had in the room. The area was simply deficient in a needed element. The determination of what elements are needed is a non-obvious process and it includes calculations based on when the structure was built and its compass alignment. What happens if I come to your home and discover that your bedroom needs the metal element and every piece of furniture in the room is made of wood? I might suggest storing some inexpensive metal items under or behind the existing furnishings. Easy!
Another client cancelled at the last minute because she had heard that I might suggest a whole different décor theme to her home. She loved her home and did not want to make any changes. Feng Shui theory has no opinion about “style” or “themes” to a home. We do pay attention to color however. If you love some bold color on the walls and I see that as a potential problem, there are usually counter-measures which can be inconspicuously added to neutralize the influence. In fact, I usually don’t have to do any hard selling on a change recommendation because most clients confirm they have already experienced the predictable outcomes I allude to. And if there is any general code of ethics that someone in my field should honor, it is that the occupant should never feel forced to do something they don’t want to do. It’s your home; it’s your castle. I get it.
I should say that there are times when I factor in the personal compatibility my client has with their living space, based on their birth data. If I end up suggesting a different desk position or different areas of the house to dwell in more than another, these are just that: suggestions and not mandates. As well, I always explain WHY I am making a recommendation. The client has their own priorities in regards to health, relationships, or career, and they will follow through with changes that are important to them.
Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions
From the Frequent Client Questions Blog Series
