Can You Design Happiness?

Guest User July 29, 2020

Anjie Cho was featured on Business of Home

For many designers, the link between living spaces and well-being is intuitive. A thoughtfully designed, personalized space sets you at ease, whereas a poorly planned one can bring on stress or blues. But what that actually looks like can vary widely: Some people feel most at home among rich hues, ample texture and low lighting; others prefer clean lines and sun-splashed minimalism. And while experts have reached certain points of consensus—like that greenery can boost mood—other topics, like how much symmetry matters in design, aren’t so clear-cut.

The good news is that design’s connection to mental health is garnering growing interest and resources, which means we’re likely to see plenty of new insights in the future. In the meantime, here’s a look at how beautiful spaces affect our brains, how art and nature can act as feel-good tools, and how color and light might influence our emotions. One thing’s for sure: In this ever-evolving realm, it’s worth keeping an open mind about how design choices can elevate (or inhibit) well-being.

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

How the Feng Shui Bagua Map Works (and Why It's No DIY Project)

Guest User July 22, 2020

Anjie Cho was featured on PureWow

For many of us, our interior design skills are based on instinct: We arrange our furniture, art, even the books on our shelves based on what looks good—and, if we’re being honest, what will fit in any given space. Sometimes that works, sometimes it’s…a cluttered jumble that we hope we’ll fix someday. But for practitioners of Feng Shui, there’s an art to placing every item in your home—one that can affect the flow of energy, or Chi, throughout each room. “The intent is to create an environment that nourishes you holistically,” writes Anjie Cho in Holistic Spaces: 108 Ways to Create a Mindful and Peaceful Home.

One of the primary tools to achieve just that is through a Feng Shui Bagua Map, which essentially divides a space into eight areas that can boost different types of energy in your life, be it relationships, wealth or spiritual growth, just to name a few. The center of the map, which forms the ninth section, is considered a neutral zone. It represents a sense of balance and of being grounded.

Once you have a reading of where those areas are in your home, you can arrange the things you own—according to the principles of Feng Shui—to encourage abundance in those areas.

But! Before you click print on the map below and dash off to use it, there are a few things to know first.

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

15 Lucky Plants According to Feng Shui & Where to Put Them in Your Home

Guest User July 15, 2020

Anjie Cho was featured on mindbodygreen

Houseplants add a beautiful touch to any room—and according to feng shui design philosophy, their benefits are more than just aesthetic. If you want to add more greenery to your home, here's everything you need to know about how to do it the feng shui way.

How plants can affect energy.

Feng shui, a practice originating in ancient China, is all about balancing the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Houseplants are associated with wood energy, and they "add vitality, kindness, human heartedness, and flexibility" to a space, notes feng shui expert Anjie Cho.

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