LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Feng Shui


Kitchens should be clean and tidy and also flooded with lots of natural light, or at least fantastic lighting options. Photo Michele Duffy

Kitchens are gathering places to create, nourish and feed ourselves, our families and our friends - but especially with fall in full swing, the kitchen shifts to being the work horse of the season.

Your kitchen should not be a downer when you are in it for a meal or even a snack. In fact, it should be where you spend your happiest moments and where you find the joy of being a family. Good food, cooking and a warm kitchen makes the house a home, so kitchen feng shui should be top of mind during this bounty of the fall harvest.

The feng shui symbology of the kitchen is unique and multilayered, revolving around increasing positive energy in the kitchen to generate household prosperity, happiness and good health. Food brings people together for nourishment, celebration and connection. Creating a bright, well-lit and welcoming kitchen with that loving vibrational will enhance the meals you create there and amplify the health and happiness results you want.

The kitchen is associated with the fire element because the hearth of the home or stove is located there. Because the kitchen and, in particular, the stove help create nourishment that allows us to have energy to work and prosper, the kitchen and stove relate directly to the home's finances.

Good stove feng shui includes maintaining and repairing any broken burners, cleaning your stove cooktop daily and keeping it spotless, as well as using all of the burners and rotating them daily. The stove, ideally, should be placed in the "commanding" position, in the middle of a center island, if there is room, to promote being in control of one's own finances.

Many people do not realize many obvious kitchen feng shui tips; if your kitchen is at odds with this list, you might possibly need a professional to help.

1) Make sure you actually use your kitchen to prepare meals to show how much you want to nourish your loved ones;

2) For the same reason, avoid having dirty dishes on counters or in the sink overnight;

3) Clean and sort thoroughly inside cabinets, the counters, floors and make the kitchen sparkle;

4) Assess what you really use in your kitchen and remove or store appliances away from the counter that are just getting in the way of an organized working space;

5) Kitchens should be well lit, well ventilated, and clutter free;

6) The placement of the kitchen should, if possible, be toward the back of the home;

7) Kitchens placed in the center of the home should be avoided;

8) Repair any and all leaking faucets, drains and refrigerators, and fix creaky doors;

9) Do not place knives on the countertops since their "sharp" negative energy weakens the fire energy associated with the kitchen area;

10) Make sure the sink or refrigerator is not directly next to the stove (water puts out fire) if you desire financial abundance;

11) The stove should be in good working order at all times and spotless to draw more wealth and positive energy into your life;

12) If possible, the stove placement should be in an island configuration or in the "commanding position" to be in control of one's wealth/finances;

13) Microwaves should not be placed over the stove, blocking the stove's positive "Sheng" energy;

14) Balance out the kitchen with all five elements. Usually the four elements of Fire, Water, Metal and Earth are already present, so add a small plant or fresh flowers for the Wood element to encourage positive and balanced energy flow in the kitchen;

15) Choose a color that corresponds to the placement that your kitchen occupies in your home and if in doubt, white shows off the vibrancy of our food best; and

16) Choose artwork that reinforces health, abundance, happiness and vitality. You don't need to prepare complicated meals to impress your family and friends. Use ingredients that are fresh for the most vital Chi from a farmers' market or your favorite organic grocer. Choose whole foods versus processed. Like elsewhere in your kitchen, a tiny bit of planning and preparation will go a long way toward preparing yummy nourishment for all.

Keep in mind that the feng shui health trinity of master bedroom, baths and kitchen all contribute to our overall feeling of sustainable wellness, nourishment and ease. Our kitchens can be lovingly simplified, restored and organized to be a clean and tidy space where we can create meals that sustain our busy lives. If your kitchen no longer feels organized or functional, hopefully these tips will inspire you to clean out the junk drawer, or make the coffee and tea station less cluttered, or organize the broom closet, or clean the stove. Wherever you start, notice how it begins to open up the space and notice how you feel.

If you feel like creating more space, then keep going. If you do even a few of the tips that I have shared, you might feel inspired to take back control of your kitchen so that this fall you continue to nourish and delight with food to feed the soul of the season.