Feng Shui Wisdom in a Challenging Market
Builders and realtors who have enjoyed many years of prosperity have recently found homes harder to sell. They are staying on the market much longer and, in many cases, prices have been lowered as well, regardless of their size and quality. Experienced builders and real estate professionals have gone through similar cycles before, perhaps a number of them. They recognize that the cyclical ups and downs are natural phenomena. While we are going through the tough times, rather than worrying and complaining, we can use some of the wisdom that surrounds us to make our lives easier. Feng shui is one of the proven systems we can apply to new home sales and marketing.
Feng shui is best known for its guidelines in the development of new subdivisions, as well as house location, architectural designs, room layouts, interior designs, and the proper placement and arrangement of furniture and furnishings. It is a detail-oriented system used widely in creating a vibrant and harmonious living environment. Used by builders in California and other parts of the country for many years, feng shui is more than a system to improve designs. Basic techniques can be used wisely in resolving building issues, to render the site, home or building more desirable. The key is to identify the positive and negative elements and then to employ different feng shui "cures" to remedy or enhance the existing conditions. Solutions can be traditional, structural, transcendental or metaphysical.
The following is a checklist of the feng shui aspects of a living environment:
Exterior feng shui aspects of a house:
- Setting and site orientation/direction
- Surrounding natural and manmade landscapes
- Neighborhood, buildings, people and other life forms
- Location of the building or house
- Shape of the lot
- Front, back and side landscaping
- Architecture of the house including shape, size, roof, foundation and walls
- Front entrance
- Windows
- House number
- Color and color combinations
- Material and textures used
Interior feng shui aspects of a house:
- Main entrance location
- Staircase location
- Living room furniture placement
- Dining room table and chair placement
- Kitchen stove and sink placement
- Master bedroom bed placement
- Study or home office desk placement
- Family room furniture placement
- Bathroom location
- Hallway shape and location
- Colors, textures and materials used for the walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors
By paying special attention to every aspect of the building process, products will become more desirable to potential home buyers. As a result, they are easier to sell in a challenging market.
September 2007 Builder Architect Edition Issue
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