Designing Your Kitchen the Feng Shui Way

Kartar says the requirements for balance at a particular location come into play in decoration.

"That can be the tiebreaker when we pick colors for a kitchen," she says. "If I see a kitchen needs fire, well, hey, maybe we can have a red kitchen. If it needs metal, maybe we'll keep the kitchen white or gray."

Here are some tips for hiring professional designers from Janice and Kartar:

Check credentials. Stay away from "someone foolish enough to think they can learn feng shui completely from books," Kartar says. Serious prospective feng shui practitioners "seek out feng shui masters and make a financial investment in their learning."

Avoid "remedies." "It should be understood," Kartar says, "that you are not required to buy Chinese knickknacks, crystals, flutes, Buddha statues or wind chimes in order for your house to have good energy."

Use reliable sources."Schools of traditional feng shui are good sources to contact to find qualified practitioners in your area," says Janice. (To receive a free list of consumer tips for hiring feng shui consultants, e-mail Kartar Diamond at kartar@fengshuisolutions.net.)

Resources
American Feng Shui Institute, www.amfengshui.com

The Feng Shui Matrix, Kartar Diamond, Four Pillars Publishing, 2006

Feng Shui for Architecture, Simona Mainini, Xlibris Corporation, 2004

The Feng Shui Equation, Janice Sugita, www.jssugita.com/Feng-shui-e-book.htm