REVITALISE YOUR HOME FOR THE YEAR OF THE WOOD DRAGON
In line with the lunar calendar, this year marks the ‘Year of the Wood Dragon’ – the most powerful creature of the 12-animal Chinese zodiac, which, when combined with the wood element, encourages evolution, improvement and abundance towards rejuvenated beginnings and long-term success.
Australian Interior Designer and Feng Shui Expert, Maddison Clarke from Maddison Interiors has shared valuable insights with Harbour on how homeowners can create harmonious environments which inspire wellness. At a time when the home has become a pivotal sanctuary for many, the Year of the Wood Dragon stands out in Chinese astrology for its potent qualities of transformation and growth.
According to Clarke, 2024 is the start of a new “cycle of luck” meaning a new life force, energy, and influence commences. The key principles of Feng Shui are understanding the individual ‘flying star chart’ of the home and looking at the positive and negative energies to see how they can be enhanced or dispersed using the five elements of water, metal, earth, fire & wood.
A flying star chart is completely unique to each home and determined by the building’s age and its directional orientation on a Feng Shui compass. Its role is to dictate the placement of the above mentioned elements in the home to ensure maximum benefits from the ancient Chinese art. Only an experienced Feng Shui consultant can determine the effectiveness of this practice and manage the seamless flow-through inside and outside the home.
Feng Shui is as much about the energy outside your home as it is about the inside, meaning your garden and outdoor living areas can be used to influence prosperous energies. It’s important that our indoor and outdoor decorating work harmoniously together to amplify prosperity and balance,” said Clarke.
Clarke says that the connecting principles between Interior Design, Decorating & Feng Shui can be combined to promote prosperous energies in the home while dispersing the negative.
These include:
- Grounding Energy: Placing heavy pieces of wood furniture, screens or columns can ground prosperous energy inside and outside the home. In places of the home that require an earth element, using natural stone such as travertine within the furniture or decor is perfect.
- Harmony Between Indoor and Outdoor: A seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces utilising the five elements ensures that decorative and functional elements complement each other and create a unified energy flow.
- Details Matter: Clarke recommends a colour scheme of green, brown, indigo, and grey. To enhance the wood elements in feng shui, she suggests decorative items like books and plants
- Home vs. Work: When looking at Feng Shui in the home, Clarke prioritises the mental and physical health of the family first over wealth. For a workplace, she looks at wealth first to keep the business going. If your home is your workplace, it’s important to find a balance between the work and home life energetically so that the two can work harmoniously otherwise the mental and physical health can be impacted.
Recognised for curating organic spaces, Harbour Outdoor has handcrafted furniture for almost 50 years focused on form and function. The family-owned Australian business integrates sustainably harvested teak, recycled aluminum, earthy fabrics and natural stone into all of its collections, representing feng shui elements.
“It’s important that interior design and decorating go in-in-hand when it comes to feng shui in order to maximise its impact. Bringing together different elements which complement eachother not only creates the most warm and inviting space but also looks after your personal wealth and wellbeing,” concluded Clarke.
The Pure Teak Root Coffee Table is the perfect addition to add feng shui to your home.