To Feng Shui or not to Feng Shui

Hi Christine,

First of all, congratulations on a fantastic blog. I stumbled across it while looking for interior design advice, and you really give some wonderful suggestions. So I thought I'd ask you for your expertise. Thank you so, so, so much in advance! I run an acupuncture clinic in the DC area, and we are relocating to a bigger and nicer space. Our clientele is about 60% women / 40% men, educated professionals, ages 35-55. They're people who read the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. I want to create a space that is upscale, comfortable, and welcoming, and that walks a fine line between medical clinic and spa. An Asian theme would be appropriate as well, although I don't want to go overboard and end up looking kitsch. Our landlord is covering the space renovation, but we're paying for furniture and decor; ideally I'd like to spend around $10,000. I'm attaching a layout of the space. Here are my questions: 1) For the reception area, I was thinking of hanging three or four pendant lights behind the desk. Is that a good idea? Also, what kind of reception desk do you suggest we use? I've found a couple that I like (http://www.enetfurniture.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=3107# and http://www.enetfurniture.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=3481), but would like to get your input. 2) The waiting area - I've found these amazing wall panels that I love and have to use: http://acaciacatalog.com/lotus-leaf-wall-panels/p/51508/. But I'm completely unsure about the rest. I'm having trouble choosing a wall color, sofa, chairs, rug, etc. I also think a big pendant lamp or chandelier in the middle of the waiting area would look nice, but don't know which one to choose. What do you think of http://www.inmod.com/nova-kimura-large-pendant.html and http://www.lampsbeautiful.com/MFF2081-3GBZ.html? One idea I had was to place the seating in an L-shape with ceiling-to-floor drapes behind them in a neutral color, and the lotus leaf panels on the opposite wall (the long wall) so you can look at them while sitting. Would that be a good idea? 3) The hallway - I want to do some kind of dramatic entrance from the waiting area to the hallway. Maybe sliding shoji screen doors, or an arch? Any suggestions? And at the end of the hallway, I planned for a little lighted nook in the wall that can hold a vase or some flowers. But I'm not sure how to light the hallway - ceiling lights? wall scones? both? Also, should we paint the hallway a dark or light color? Should the doors be the same color as the walls, or a contrasting color? Any suggestions for adding texture to the walls? I know, so many questions! 4) Finally, I want the treatment rooms to feel cozy but not suffocating. I was thinking of doing them a darker color, like a chocolate brown or a dark sage green. Is that too much for a small room? Should I choose a pale color instead? If you've read through all this, you are truly a saint. Thank you so much for any help or advice you can give, and have a great day.

Julia

P.S. I read somewhere on your blog about "grasscloth wall covering" and googled it - it's beautiful! How would you suggest incorporating that into our design?--

Julia

Hi Julia,

I have been giving your place a lot of thought. I thought, what would be more appropriate for an acupuncture clinic than using a feng shui approach to the decorating?

I was reading over some of the "trouble areas" - and had to laugh...

First- you have a couple of "poison arrows". This is where the outside corner of your rooms points toward a place where you spend time. You have two of these "Poison Arrows"- coming off of your entrance to the hall- one is pointed toward the entrance... (that's not good feng shui)- and the other is pointed toward your waiting room... (that couldn't be worse feng shui!) The solution for such a situation is hanging crystals to counteract the bad flow of chi. Crystals were not exactly what I had in mind for your place... I think I would go with your idea of a shoji screen doorway- creating a more flat wall- eliminating the sharp corners.

Secondly- long hallways with lots of doors have bad chi. A good hallway would have "happy places to linger." So, "what" do you say, "is the solution?" A crystal. How do you think we can incorporate crystals into your hallway????

Third, with good feng shui, you should never have a door open to a bed or a desk. I don't know if you can prevent that in your treatment rooms, but your entrance and reception desk locations are automatically bad feng shui. However- again there is a solution- you can hang a crystal from the ceiling between the entry door and the reception desk....

There are five basic elements in feng shui- water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. These elements need to be in your room, in that order to have a good creative cycle feng shui. The order is important- as wood fuels fire (that's good)- but water destroys fire (that's bad feng shui)- however- water helps wood... see the difference between the creative and the destructive?

So- anyway- Julia, I am thinking we ignore the feng shui problem areas- what do you think? Since it was my idea- I figured you wouldn't mind. :) Really solving them nicely would mean gutting the entire place. I've determined that feng shui needs to start with the architect- not the designer. Otherwise we are going to have a lot of crystal chandeliers in your acupuncture studio. However- I will make an effort to incorporate the elements of feng shui into the design.

Come back in the next couple of days and I will show you what I have in mind.

Thanks,
Christine

PS- I don't mean to make fun of feng shui- I know it is like a religion to some- I just thought it was funny how bad the feng shui was in her layout- you know- she has poison arrows shooting right at everyone that enters the place and those waiting in the waiting room, and then they walk down a a hallway filled with bad chi to lay on a bed that hopefully is not facing the door... And yes- as a design professional- I do think it would look odd to have a bunch of crystals hanging around... I did wonder how the Swarovski store in the mall stayed in business- maybe a lot of people are struggling with some bad chi.