It is halfway through November and we are in the midst of a housing demand wave, be it BTO launches, VTL led surge in renters, or offshoot clamor for private homes- Its home hunting season!
Feng shui has become a greatly contended topic that surpasses the boundaries of the eastern world, popularising in many western countries as well!
We thought we would continue from our first article on basic feng shui for an average HDB home layout (https://honeycombdesign.sg/bto-feng-shui/) , with a short guide to picking a home with exemplary feng shui attributes!
Do take a look at our previous article as we lay out the ground rules and common beliefs in feng shui to facilitate your understanding of this article!
The most obvious point when it comes to looking out for feng shui for your home is to take a good, long look at the environment, this is the reason why homes in selected prime areas could fetch up to a high price.
As mentioned from our previous article, elements like wind and water are greatly appreciated traits for bringing in prosperity to a home, thus this makes seaside waterfront homes such a commodity- just take a look at the recent waterfront Punggol houses!
On the opposite spectrum, no one wants to live in a home where you are surrounded by gigantic skyscrapers that cast heavy shadows onto your home and block off any possible movement of air- your spirits will be crushed every single day!
If you want to dive even deeper, pick up a good ol cartographic map and find out even more details like rivers or landlines.
Another point would be the presence of noise pollution since Singapore is such a hustle and bustle city state.
Noise can seem feeble in the overall attractiveness of a home, but as we have discussed, nervous energy generated by such noise pollution can have a psychological impact on the long run.
If you do live near a MRT track line, highway or even just a simple bus stop, the sound of zooming vehicles every single day might affect your state of mind on a day to day basis.
Last of the geographical category, we look at the direction of the home to the sun. This has nothing to do with how hot the morning sun would make your home, but it is greatly encouraged not to pick a home that can furnace up easily unless you like the heat.
The aspect of geographical direction parallels more towards the four general cardinal directions: North, South, East, West that feng shui relates to prosperity and fortune.
Typically we would say a south-eastern facing home gets most of the morning sun and a north facing home gets cooler side of the sunshine.
An interesting and beautifully thought out way to increased prosperity is to custom make doors that could facilitate in your home accessing the best cardinal directions, such as doors built slanted to reach the full tilt of a south eastern flow!
Now that we know our environment is perfect, we will take a closer look at the micro-environment of the home. This relates to all interior factors of the home in relation to the geography of the building.
The first factor that most Singaporeans would look at in terms of house hunting is the height of the flat. However, this has more to do with the logistical issues that can come with a flat that is situated at a lower level.
A higher storey home is generally favorable because it is quieter with increased privacy from others, windier and decreased chances of household pests, as well as the absolute annoyance of dripping laundry from neighbours.
In feng shui geomancy, there are three main Qis, Heaven Qi, Earth Qi and Human Qi. These are forces that regulate between the five elements and yin and yang, making a balanced harmony really important for healthy, prosperous living.
This means that the higher level you are from the ground, the further away you are from Earth qi, and this really affects those who don’t go out often, especially during the pandemic where people are on home stay.
In communal HDB layouts, rubbish chute sites are one to look at because you do not want to have your door facing the rubbish chute. This is unlike older HDB flats where the rubbish chute is built into the kitchen.
As mentioned in our first article, the door is where the source of feng shui flows inwards and you really are what you feed into your home. This would make doors facing rubbish chutes one to definitely not have because you are inviting bad luck.
Furthermore, it is not advised to have a regular interaction with the rubbish chute on a communal basis, such as passing by when returning home, as opposed to coming out from your home to go to the rubbish chute. It has the same unfortunate detriments.
As mentioned earlier on the aspect of Qis, Human Qi is an important factor that comes close to home, quite literally. And apart from your housemates or family, your neighbours are vital in your home selection.
Provided that most people would not know their neighbours before purchasing a BTO flat, this is much more different when it is a resale flat- take a look at our guide to purchasing a resale home!
A good neighbour will make your home a pleasant place to return to after a day of hard work and they could even potentially be your friends that you hang out with often.
However in feng shui terms, homes that have doors facing each other can result in Qis intertwining and this creates tension and discombobulated exchange of energy.
There is so much that goes into the feng shui of a home environment and we barely scratched the surface with the previous article. This time round we will point out the absolute no nos when it comes to feng shui geography.
We did a fair amount of discussion on water's impact on a home’s feng shui but it is good to note that we should not have a toilet or kitchen located right smack in the middle of a home, as much as it sounds like you are “saving your good luck”.
This essentially means that you are consolidating your prosperity in the middle and not allowing it to move around, which counteracts the philosophy of feng shui being an ever moving flow for balance, you do not want to harbour bad luck like a bad rash.
The center of a home should be the stability point where people feel safe, and this contradiction with the flowing elements of water and fire can create just the opposite.
This would also mean that you should try not to have an oddly shaped unit that may result in the lack of regulation or circulation of air because your prosperity will not be able to spread properly!
If you are more of a visual learner, simply take a look at the home and imagine how the wind or light can be spread around the home, and if you feel a downcast or stagnation, it is probably not right too.
This problem, however, can be solved with ingenious ways of interior planning to smooth out the rough edges. This also does not mean that you should avoid corner homes because you are afraid of having too many sharp edges in the house- in fact most corner flats are the ones with the best exposure to sunshine!
A subset of irregularities of a home layout, but this directly relates to the source of our prosperity- the door. If you do have a home layout that is unique with asymmetry involved, do avoid having sharp corners of false walls or decorations pointing directly at the door.
This would mean that you're applying a sharp and dangerous energy directly to your source of prosperity, potentially bringing danger to your home!
