With the help of a little custom design, the calming effects of a feng shui office layout are surprisingly easy to integrate into your home office space.

We all need a comfortable workspace that makes us happy and ensures work remains an enjoyable part of our lives—or, at the very least, minimizes our stress during the workweek! Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese philosophy that seeks to bring people into harmony with nature and their environment, does this by aligning the objects around us to reflect and improve our inner world.

Those who practice feng shui swear by it, as it helps them to be more productive and work more efficiently. Related to Taoism, feng shui states there is in an invisible life force or energy flow called ch’i, which is related the male and female polarities of yin and yang. The idea is that, by balancing ch’i energy and cultivating its flow around you, you can invite better health, prosperity, and happiness into your life. With the help of a little custom design, feng shui office ideas are surprisingly easy to implement in your home office—and the results are inevitably beautiful and incredibly serene.

Your Desk is the Heart of Your Home Office

Above all else, feng shui is practical. Begin by focusing on what your home office is for and identifying the key items the room needs. Try eliminating furniture you don’t use and adding custom closets for papers and clutter. That alone should give you room to breathe easier.

The most important piece of furniture is your desk. This is your home base and your primary workstation. Firstly, make sure there is a wall at your back, or at least a high-backed chair. This will ground you and give you a feeling of being emotionally supported. Position your desk so that you are looking at the door, and not with your back facing it. In feng shui, this is called the power position. Psychologically speaking, if you are seated so you can easily view all members of a room, you will feel empowered. For more information on what direction your desk should face to bring you the greatest amount of success, find out your Kua number. Your Kua number will tell you what directions are auspicious for you specifically, and which directions to avoid for your feng shui office desk layout.

Finding Balance with the Five Elemental Forces

In feng shui, there are four directions and five elemental forces of nature: metal, earth, fire, wood, and water. Each element has its own related color, as well as its own energy. If you feel that you are out of balance, try adding decorative elements made from the corresponding material that represents the spiritual energy you are lacking. Or, try decorating with the color that represents that element.

The five elemental forces represent:

• Metal (white or grey): Mental clarity, logic, and critical thinking skills.

• Earth (light brown or light yellow): Strength, grounding, stability, and tenacity.

• Fire (red, yellow, orange, purple and pink): Leadership, boldness, self-expression, and self-esteem.

• Wood (green and brown): Growth, flexibility, and the ability to adapt to change.

• Water (blue and black): Creativity, inspiration, wisdom, and insight.

Using Elemental Ch’i to Energize Your Home Office

What kind of work do you do from your home office? Is it analytical, managerial and social, technical, or creative? The design of your office, including the shapes and colors around you, should facilitate the kind of mental work you’re doing all day long.

Here are a few examples of how to select the right decorative item to give you the ch’i energy you need.

• Do you need to remain alert? Try adding a metal accent piece such as a picture frame or pen organizer to gain the powers of logic and the mind.

• Do you need to develop leadership skills? Add the element of fire to your space. You can add it literally with decorative candles or an electric fireplace, or symbolically with red or orange accent pieces.

• Do you need to relax? Try adding a flowing water sculpture. The energy of water will improve creative thinking while its sound will calm you.

The Beauty and Energy of Shapes

As you decorate with feng shui, notice how different items make you feel. By implementing feng shui practices, your work day should start to run smoother. Remember that, though functionally it may feel quite separate, your home office is still a part of your home, and should give you a feeling of order and peace. You can take these principles further by adding shapes that represent the elemental energies your space needs. Not only will this bring good ch’i, but lovely shapes can please your aesthetic senses.

• Metal: Round

• Earth: Square

• Fire: Triangular

• Wood: Rectangular

• Water: Wavy

For example, say you want your home office to help you add stability to your home life through working in the home. Feng shui can help you mentally and spiritually prepare for these challenges by adding the element of earth to your calm home office. Try adding a light brown or light yellow table to your space, and to optimize the earth energy, get one that is square in shape.

When you look at decorative pieces be sure to pay attention to shapes. Wavy-patterned drapes or blinds can add the creative element of water as you daydream and gaze out the window. A rounded coffee mug can heighten your mental clarity with the energy of metal. The shapes around you should be in harmony with the colors you have selected, and you can remove items that disrupt the elemental ch’i energy (such as wavy metal or triangular wooden objects).

Customize Your Home Office for the Ways You Work and Live

The layout of your custom home office and the items you choose can be an expression of your personality, style and by using feng shui, the spiritual energies you connect with. By applying these design principles, your beautiful, newly organized space will help improve your productivity and efficiency.

Ready to find inner peace through custom design? Closet America’s design experts are eager to help you balance your ch’i and improve the flow of your workspace. Contact us for a free in-home design consultation anytime!