Location, Location, Location: Using Form School Feng Shui to Make a “Good Feng Shui” Home

by llenore | Apr 30, 2014 | Uncategorized

As you learned in my last blog, location is a key factor for Feng Shui and real estate. I briefly explained the armchair position as it relates to Form School Feng Shui, or what is sometimes referred to as Landform School Feng Shui.

There are four geographic qualities needed to make the ideal “good” Feng Shui location for a building and they stem from being in a mountainous area. Unfortunately not everyone can afford living in these areas. Plus some people choose not to live in the hills. In these situations we revert to the “Four Celestial Animals” in the actual landscape design of the home.

Good Feng Shui Home – When you don’t live in the mountains, a potentially bad Feng Shui home can be turned into a “good Feng Shui” home through the use of Form School Feng Shui. In Form School Feng Shui, we use the “Four Celestial Animals” and their representation in the landscape design of the home. The front of this home shows both the “Green Dragon” energy with evergreen plants plus the “Red Phoenix” energy with red ceramic pots in front and on both sides of the entrance to this front door.

The Four Celestial Animals are: Turtle, Dragon, Tiger & Phoenix. Each of the animals have specific qualities we design into the landscape making a better feeling home with balanced energy. By using these “animal” energies we can change a “bad” home into a “good” Feng Shui home.

The mountain behind the home is known as “Turtle” backing – the back of the armchair. By adding boulders, retaining walls, raised flowerbeds or large stone sculptures in the middle back section of the property, we create the “mountain” to achieve support for the household.

The mountain that is the left arm of the armchair is the “Dragon” side. The powerful Dragon repels negative energy, protecting that side. It represents growth, vitality, health and abundance. Having evergreen plants on the left side of the home is said to bring all these qualities to the household.

The mountain that is the right side of the armchair is the “Tiger” side. Tigers are revered for their good luck, kindness and gentle nurturing qualities. Landscapes including secret gardens, meditation areas, shade gardens or anything creating a “Zen” quality represent the nurturing aspects of the Tiger.

The “Phoenix” is the last of the four animals and resides in the front of the house.  Again, think “curb” appeal. Items for this area include flowers, trees, house color, lighting and special features like bridges, arbors and interesting landscape – things which set the home apart from others in the neighborhood.

When “location” isn’t perfect, we can improve the Feng Shui of a home through specific functional and beautiful design principles.

Fun Photo Class at Filoli Today

by llenore | Apr 26, 2014 | Uncategorized

Saturday, April 26, was a fabulous day with several wonderful things happening. I had the privilege to attend an iPhone Movie class at Filoli followed by a yummy dinner at Mountain House in Woodside.

Capturing the edge of one of the tall planters as you look back toward the stately mansion where you can view one of the small ponds. Green, gorgeous and grateful for the nurturing experience for body, mind and spirit.

Many of you know I love to take pictures. It’s not uncommon for me to spend a couple hours at Filoli and take 200-300 photos, which I did just a couple of days before when I was at Filoli with Mary Botham. Saturday was no exception.

The excitement of the day was learning how to make a movie using the photos I’ve taken and doing it all on the iPhone through the iMovie app.

There were a few glitches at first when the latest version of iMovie had not downloaded, but when it finished, what fun!

I’m going to figure out a way to edit it down and make it a part of this blog some day. Stay tuned!

This is something I’ll be doing regularly since it has been so much fun to create.

Location, Location, Location! – The First Principle of Feng Shui

by llenore | Apr 9, 2014 | Uncategorized

In both real estate and Feng Shui, the main principle or influencing factor is “location”! In real estate, the better the location, the higher the price you can command. It’s the same situation in Feng Shui due to the powerful energy combination known as “The Four Celestial Animals” giving the home and its occupants the right combination of chi, or life-force energy.

Original Feng Shui is Form School Feng Shui and refers to the “Armchair” position, which is a house in the mountains with mountains surrounding it and a view of water like this lake in ZellAmSee, Austria.

The original school of Feng Shui is known as Form School Feng Shui. It refers to the formation of the land where the building is placed. The ideal location for placement is in a mountain range with a view out the front door overlooking the valley, lake, ocean or site of commerce. They call this the “armchair position” since it is similar to a chair with arms. The “Four Celestial Animals” represent the four parts of the armchair. Let me explain.

Behind the home is a mountain. This mountain is the “Turtle” and is called the “mountain backing” or “turtle backing,” like the back of a chair. It is symbolic of giving support to the building and its occupants just like the back of a chair gives support to the human sitting in the chair. This support is for both internal communication as well as outward financial support.

On either side of the home there would be a shorter mountain. These shorter mountains would be like the arms in an armchair. The left arm in the armchair is the “Dragon” and the right arm is the “Tiger.” They give each side protection. In this case it gives protection from the elements as well as any neighboring negative energies.

The front of the home is where we want the view.  It is known as the “Phoenix”. In real estate we call this “Curb Appeal.” The Phoenix represents everything in the front part of the yard that attracts good energy to the home. This would be flowers, trees, the color of the home, how clean it is and features like bridges, arbors and interesting landscape, which set the home apart from others in the neighborhood.

If the home isn’t located in the mountains with a view out the front door, then the house doesn’t have “Good Feng Shui.” Stay tuned to find out how you can create “Good Feng Shui” in the location where you do live.

“Balance, Order & Beauty: Feng Shui for the Woman’s Soul” in San Mateo

by llenore | Apr 7, 2014 | Uncategorized

“Balance, Order & Beauty: Feng Shui for the Woman’s Soul” in San Jose

by llenore | Apr 1, 2014 | Uncategorized