Got an uninspiring home office, a dingy living room or a cluttered entryway — but don't have a huge budget to redecorate?
Cliff Tan, a London-based architect who runs dearmodern, a design account on TikTok with nearly 3 million followers, has some ideas on how to upgrade your living area — without spending a lot of money on new furniture, renovating or moving house. These ideas are inspired by the principles of feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of designing spaces to promote harmony.
When decorating, you want to consider the flow of energy in your home and create "an environment that makes you feel good and supports whatever you're doing," Tan says. That might mean rearranging your existing furniture, being intentional about the purpose of each room and adding more light to your space.
Tan, author of the 2022 book Feng Shui Modern, shares simple, low-cost ways to transform your home environment.
1. Keep the entrance to your home unobstructed
"The front entrance is the most important part of the home," says Tan. And it's often people's first impression of the house — not just for visitors but for yourself as well.
In feng shui, the doorway is a gateway for life energy, or chi. And you can do a lot to affect how energy flows through it, says Tan. One way is to make sure the doorway is as unobstructed as possible.
Examine your entryway. Is there a lot of clutter around it, like shoes, coats, bags or umbrellas? Or "a pile of recycling bags that you have to kick every time you open the door?" says Tan.
Find ways to keep the area clear. Put items back in the shoe rack or the coat closet where they belong. Or repurpose a table or bench from another part of your house to neatly store your recycling (in a cute bin if you can find one) and your keys.
2. Handle the ugly things first
So you're gazing around the house, an ongoing list of projects dancing in your head. Where should you start?
"With the ugliest things in your life," says Tan. "Deal with the worst things first. That's where the impact is greatest. There's no point in creating a cute shelf in the kitchen when every time you walk in, you see this shoe rack and it makes you angry."
If one bad element is ruining your harmonious feelings about your space, "fix that first," says Tan. It will free up your energy to make more balancing adjustments.
Put the shoe rack somewhere else — or if you want to leave it in your kitchen, "make it nice," says Tan. “Paint it pink, build a curtain around it." The way you problem-solve can turn an annoyance into a statement piece or even a favorite part of your home.
3. Spend your time in the nicest part of the house
Walk through your house and ask yourself, "Which is the nicest part?" says Tan. The most pleasant areas are usually by a window. As a source of light and natural ventilation, they can help circulate light, air and energy.
That's where you want to spend most of your time. "This sounds like common sense, but you'd be surprised how often this is not done," says Tan.
For example, some people who work from home tuck their desk away in a dark corner because they don't want to be reminded of work when they're off the clock, says Tan. "Even though they spend eight hours a day working, they'd rather have their empty couch in the beautiful sunlight."
So move your desk by a window and "let the light shine on your face, which can also give the impression that the room is much brighter," says Tan.
4. Create an energy that makes you feel safe and comfortable
When you're at home, you want to feel safe and secure, says Tan.
In feng shui, you can achieve that by placing yourself in what is called the "command position," he says. Whatever is behind you should be nice and sturdy and make you feel in charge of the space.
In a bedroom, always put your bed against a solid wall, and try not to point your feet toward any openings in the room, says Tan. Too much energy comes through doors, and that can make sleepers feel vulnerable. And don't put your head next to a door. "I will do anything I can to keep my head safe from all that movement."
5. Use multiple lamps to create warmth and consistency
According to feng shui, supplementing any natural phenomenon (like light) must be done with care.
To mimic the varying lights and shadows in our natural environment, use multiple sources of indirect light to illuminate a room, says Tan. A big, overhead light glares "down the floor" and casts strong, unnatural shadows. Table lights and spotlights, however, create depth by giving you more control over the direction and quality of light. Use these smaller lights to highlight areas of focus, like a piece of artwork or a reading nook.
To create a sense of warmth and consistency in your home, "make sure all your bulbs are the same color temperature," says Tan. He recommends bulbs between 2700 and 3000 kelvins. They offer a cozy, relaxing glow.
6. Consider a room's dimensions when picking out furniture
Social media can be an exciting place to find interior design ideas, but what might work in one room may not work in another. That's how you end up with a beautiful round table that looks lost in your long, rectangular dining room, says Tan. "It's too fat, it's too short and it doesn't fill up the space."
When designing a room, the goal is to optimize flow, says Tan. You want to keep energy from moving too quickly through the space, but a room that's too stuffy or cumbersome to navigate around can also feel stagnant.
So pick furniture that interacts well with the room. You don't want a coffee table so large that you're always barking your shins when you try to get up, and you also don't want two small armchairs in a zone that would be much better for a full-size couch.
"Nothing beats working with your space," says Tan. Your furniture should showcase the best qualities of the room and "make the space as good as it can be."
This episode was produced by Sylvie Douglis. The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
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