Feng Shui your living room

The horizontal lines of bookshelves, called 'strangle lines' (chiao ssu), can also disrupt chi. Glass-fronted bookshelves will prevent this problem; otherwise, just move books forward so they overhang the edges of the shelves, to interrupt the strangle lines. Alcoves, such as the spaces around a fireplace, can collect pools of stagnant chi, but their edges form poison arrows.

Try to avoid having seats in alcoves because the chi can make people feel lethargic. To get the chi moving and to break up poison arrows, place broad-leaved plants in the alcove, if the pa kua sector allows, with some of their branches extending beyond the edge, and hang mirrors on protruding walls. Other possible solutions, if they suit the pa kua sector, are uplighters, water features, lava lamps, TVs and music systems.

Protecting windows
Check the windows for poison arrows outside your home, such as the corners of buildings, which could direct harmful chi into your living room. To deflect the energy from a poison arrow, hang vertical blinds. Alternatively, you can place protective objects on the window sill, facing the poison arrow.

Dogs are a great source of protection, so if you have a dog you could put his or her picture in the window. Clear quartz crystals are also an especially good remedy, but if you prefer you could use a crystal bowl or decanter.

Balancing colours
Generally, strong colours balanced by more neutral ones are ideal in a living room. Bold splashes of colour in cushions, rugs, curtains and pictures work very well, giving the room life. The more vivid the colours, the more rapidly the chi will move. Mid-toned, bright colours produce more yang energy; very pale or dark colours give off yin energy.

If a colour is wrong for a sector, or the right colour doesn't suit your decor, you don't have to redecorate. Just put a piece of furniture, rug, cushion or plant in the correct feng shui colour on top of the wrong one. In feng shui, this is called 'placing the bandage'. The energy from the item on top overcomes the energy of the underlying colour.

Beams
Wooden beams symbolize chi pressing downward and depress the energy of anything (or anyone) beneath them. Try not to have seats right under a beam. If you can't avoid this problem, you can take various steps to make the beams feel 'lighter' and less oppressive.

If the beams are small and you don't mind disguising them, you can paint them the same colour as the ceiling to make them blend in. Otherwise, you can lift the energy by using a picture or other object that symbolizes upward movement.

A traditional remedy is to attach open fans or bamboo flutes to beams, but this can look really out of place in modern homes. Instead, you could use pictures of birds in flight or of hot-air balloons rising. Large plants under beams work very well, as do uplighters or spotlights pointing up at the beam.

I remember using the wooden propeller from a vintage aeroplane along a beam in one house. It looked magnificent!