Q&A Sunday: The Best Feng Shui Colors for a Kitchen

Guest User March 7, 2021

What are the best colors for a kitchen?

The short answer is: it depends! I encourage you to go back and read my philosophy on color. The most important thing to take into account is what colors you are drawn to, and how they make you feel.

I do have some ideas to share as a starting point, if you’d like some guidance. One principle of feng shui that can guide you in choosing colors is the five elements system. Knowing that your kitchen is a room where you might spend a lot of time, this can give you some ideas about how you want to welcome colors into this part of your home.

The five elements are earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. I recommend reading the descriptions of each below, and seeing if anything resonates with you. Then, think about how you can bring colors into your kitchen with intention. You can do this through the food you cook and eat, your dishes, a new coat of paint, or even something as simple as napkins.

Here are the colors associated with each of the five elements, and what qualities they can bring into your home:

Earth: Brown, yellow, and neutrals

Earth element is great for nourishment, stability, and growth. This makes it a supportive element if you’re struggling with anxiety or if you want to focus on self care.

Metal: White, metallics

Metal is thought of as one of the more ideal colors for a kitchen because it’s related to cleanliness and purity, which is important for the food we earth. We want clean, healthy, pure food with vibrant life energy.

Water: Black and dark midnight blue

Water can help to support wisdom and flexibility. It strengthens our ability to go with the flow and to be less rigid. It can also represent our social connections to other people.

Wood: Green, teal, blue

Wood represents vitality and healing. It’s a great color if you need a healthy boost of qi. Wood is also connected to kindness and open-heartedness.

Fire: Red

Fire symbolizes how you show up in the world. It’s your vitality and passion for things, and how people see you. Fire is a great element to work with if you would like to be more visible.

Maybe one of the qualities of the five elements spoke to you, and you can find a way to bring this into your kitchen. It doesn’t have to be a big change—you can try out something small like a napkin or a mug. As you introduce a color, work with the intention of bringing in the quality of that element that you want to invite.

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday". If you have personal questions, we encourage you to check out Practical Feng Shui or hire one of Anjie's Grads.

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Sweater Weather & Feng Shui

Guest User October 7, 2020

In feng shui, we work with the five elements. Each element is related to a season, and the season of fall is connected to the metal element. Metal is also connected to metallic colors, white, circular shapes, and the bagua areas of benefactors and competition. It has the qualities of righteousness, contraction, and joy.

The five elements also work together in cycles of creation and desctruction, just like they do in nature. In feng shui, metal creates water. Think of drops of water condensing on a metal pipe. Metal also overcomes wood - think of a metal ax chopping a tree.

As we move into metal season, we can find that our metal qualities are more pronounced. Too much metal can look like being very rigid or overly focused on efficiency, speeding through things, or talking a lot without thinking. We’re all susceptible to these things, though it may be especially noticeable for people who naturally have a lot of metal energy to begin with.

If you do have an overabundance of metal, add water to deplete metal, or fire to melt and refine metal. To add more water, you can walk near bodies of water, wear black, or have undulating shapes around you. To add fire, add the color red, triangular shapes, or candles to your home.

It’s also possible to not have enough metal. If this is the case, you probably don’t talk enough and may have a hard time standing up for yourself. You can correct this imbalance by wearing white, bringing white or circular shapes into your decor, or adding metal objects, like wind chimes, to your home. You can also add more earth, which produces metal, by bringing in earthy colors or objects from the earth like natural crystals.

When metal is in balance, you are able to speak for yourself and what is right, appropriately and with thoughtful clarity and certainty. Metal also helps us to be more efficient and attract helpful people into our lives.

Do you feel that you have too much or too little metal in your life? What steps could you take to bring things back into balance?

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Find Feng Shui Balance with the Five Elements

Anjie Cho September 30, 2020

In feng shui, we employ the five elements, a philosophy used to describe the cycles of nature and how they work together and seek to always be in balance. The five elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Wood and Metal. Five element theory is also utilized in traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese astrology and martial arts. A great way to create balance and harmony is to include something that represents each of these five elements in your space.

Earth

The element of Earth is related to earthy colors like brown, orange, or yellow and the feng shui bagua areas of Abundance, Health and Knowledge. Earth also has the qualities of stability and nourishment, like “Mother Earth”. The Earth element creates metal, because metal ores come from the earth’s core. Earth overcomes water as the banks of a river.

Some examples of Earth are objects with a square shape, orange, brown or yellow color or composition from the Earth such as a large stone sculpture. A stone statue or large natural stone such as Jasper is a great example of how you can add the Earth element. It's heavy and from the earth, providing stability and support. A big, heavy wooden desk is another Earth element, as it is brown, earthy in color, squarish and has weight to it.

Water

The element of Water is related to dark colors like black and very dark blue and the feng shui bagua area of Path in Life. Water also has the qualities of fluidity, wisdom and intelligence. The Water element creates wood, because water supports plants and trees as well as all life. Water overcomes fire as it extinguishes the flames.

Water items include wavy shapes and, of course, anything with actual water. A water fountain or fish tank are both simple and beautiful ways to add water to your space. Mirrors are also water element and can visually expand your space. Water represents knowledge and can assist with positive cash flow.

Fire

The element of Fire is related to the color red and the feng shui bagua area of Recognition. Fire also has the qualities of explosiveness, passion and heart-feltness. Fire element creates earth, as ashes transform all back to the earth. Fire overcomes metal as it causes metal to melt into a liquid.

Fire is red and triangular in shape. In Feng Shui, fire elements improve passion and recognition. You can add fire into your home with the color red. I especially like using the Mars Yantra for fire adjustments. The fiery colors and triangles are fire element all the way!

Wood

The element of Wood is related to the colors green and blue and the feng shui bagua area of New Beginnings and Abundance. Wood also has the qualities of flexibility, life, and kindness, and symbolizes growth. Wood element creates fire, like the logs in a fireplace. Wood overcomes earth as the roots of a tree push through and takes nourishment from the soil.

Wood objects to add to your space can be vertical or expansive, such as living plants. Green living plants also improve the indoor air quality and add life energy to any space.

Metal

The element of Metal is related to the metallic colors as well as white and grey and the feng shui bagua area of Benefactors and Completion. Metal also has the qualities of righteousness, contraction and joy. Metal element creates water, as drops of water condense on a metal pipe. Metal overcomes wood, such as when an ax chops down a tree.

Metal is associated with circular shapes and the physical element of metal. Metal assists in efficiency and attracting helpful people to your office. Ways to add the metal element to your space include adding metal wind chimes or other natural metal objects. You can find metal Buddhas to balance the five elements in your space as well.

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com