Q&A Sunday: Real vs. Artificial Plants

Anjie Cho May 17, 2020

Are artificial plants ok?

@coastallivingpro

Thanks for your question!

If you’re using a plant for a feng shui adjustment, it’s always better to have a living plant instead of an artificial one. If there is no light in the room, or if it’s a vacation home, you can use an artificial plant, but make sure it’s very high quality and realistic.

Otherwise, you should always use real plants. Even if you don’t think you have a green thumb, I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and try. Taking care of a living plant is a teaching in itself. It helps you cultivate kindness and open-heartedness, which are connected to the wood element. Real plants can also improve indoor air quality.

If you’re worried about your ability to keep a plant alive, start with one that’s easier to care for. There are a lot of varieties that are good for beginners, including pothos, which is one of my favorites. Pothos can thrive in a variety of light conditions, and it can also withstand inconsistent watering.

Monstera (also called Swiss cheese plant) is another plant that is easy to take care of, and it can live for a long time. I also love rubber plants, areca palms, and Chinese money plants. You could also try growing some herbs that you could also use for cooking!

Thanks again for your question--let us know how it goes!

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday". We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui questions!

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L-Shaped Bathroom Vanity Ideas, Because Everyone Deserves to Dream

Guest User May 13, 2020

Anjie Cho was featured on Hunker

As a small-home owner, there are some things I desperately covet — a walk-in closet, a powder room, a place to store my vacuum cleaner that isn't the garage. Thanks to a remodel that came before us, I do enjoy an en suite master bath — something not as common in houses like mine from the 1920s. But what I wouldn't give for a vast L-shaped bathroom vanity.

An L-shaped bathroom vanity means a couple important things. One, your bathroom is large enough for the countertop to wrap. Bless. Second, storage, storage, storage. L-shaped bathroom vanities also offer the promise of separate and distinct spaces to wash and groom, even a place to sit. With a view. Sigh. Someday.

Below, seven L-shaped bathroom vanity ideas that are pretty enough to pin.

…read full article

Dive deeper into feng shui to transform your life!

Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Create sacred spaces that support, and nourish.

Visit us at mindfuldesignschool.com

Q&A Sunday: Balancing Water in a Blue Bathroom

Anjie Cho May 10, 2020

Photo by Bence Balla-Schottner on Unsplash

I need a recommendation please. My bathroom in my new apartment is in the spirituality and knowledge area and is VERY blue - bathtub, sink, toilet, tiles on the wall. How can I counteract excess water energy there? It’s rental, so I can’t replace anything, decor only. Thanks in advance!

Tatyana Alexandrovna

Hi Tatyana,

There are a few things I want to clarify before we get into the answer to your question. First, the bagua map does have an area related to self-cultivation and self-knowledge, called gen. It’s in the bottom left hand corner of the bagua map and it’s related to the color dark blue.

Second, there are dozens of schools of feng shui and they all have slight variations. In the school I practice, BTB feng shui, water is actually related to the color black, not blue. Very dark blue that is almost black can be related to the water element, but lighter shades of blue are actually related to the wood element. This is true if you look at the I Ching as well, which is where we get the trigrams of the bagua and the five element system.

The blue color in your bathroom is not creating excess water after all. Instead, it sounds like you have a lot of wood in your bathroom. And, how do wood and water work together? Think about a plant, which represents wood: when you water a plant, the water feeds and nourishes it. Over time, the water helps the plant (wood) create more life and grow upward. Similarly, having wood energy in your bathroom can help to take the downward energy of water and transform it to upward energy. In fact, adding the wood element is a common cure for excess water in a bathroom.

Thank you so much for your question!

by Anjie Cho