Designing Your Kitchen the Feng Shui Way

Homeowners planning to build or remodel their kitchens might not immediately think of following a New Age design trend that believes health and happiness can be determined by how a house is sited and where its rooms are placed. (Not to mention the astrological aspects at the time of the home's construction.) But homeowners concerned about creating just the right "feel" in the room where they cook, snack and socialize are increasingly turning to the Chinese practice of feng shui to make their kitchens as inviting as possible.

"When I see a kitchen laid out in an area associated with communication and just a lot of happy energy, I'll ask the owners, 'When you have a party, do people sit on the counter here and refuse to budge?'" says Kartar Diamond, author of Feng Shui for Skeptics and The Feng Shui Matrix. "And they say, 'Yeah, how did you know?' Sometimes it doesn't even make sense, the kitchen is a little cramped to begin with, but people just gravitate to that good energy."

So how can feng shui principles channel that energy for your kitchen?