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5 Feng Shui Elements

See how the five feng shui elements can bring balance to your space and life.

By Stephanie McWilliams
Feng shui divides the world into five elements (not four, the way the Western world does). The elements are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. If you have a room that doesn't feel quite right, balancing the elements can make it more comfortable. Each element has its own qualities (including color and texture), and the theory of balancing elements can be used in a yard, home or office.

Incorporate all five elements into every room design, enhancing specific elements according to your unique goals. Each element invokes a different mood, creating a customized space that's beneficial for your personality and goals.

Using the five elements in design can be confusing, so let's get started with the basics.

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Wood
Next: Fire
Wood harnesses the power of creativity and expansion, while representing traits such as growth, birth, strength, flexibility and intuition. Too much wood can make you feel overwhelmed, rigid, stubborn and inflexible, whereas too little can show up as a lack of creativity or depression, ambivalence and stagnancy.

When adding the wood element to a room, look for the following types of objects:

• fresh and silk flowers
• plants and trees
• cotton or natural fabrics
• wood furniture

When designing with the wood element, use shapes that mimic the vertical, column-like shape of tree trunks and the softness of leaves and flowers. Like the leaves and sky, wood's colors are green and blue.



Wood

Fire

Earth

Metal

Water


Pulling It Together
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