Feng Shui – part 2, Kitchen Feng Shui

     For some people, the kitchen is such an important factor that it affects the decision in choosing a new home. In fact, two of the features I like the most about my own home is in the kitchen. It has a beautiful slab granite countertop and the kitchen is bright and elegant.
 
    An important guideline that is prevalent in the Feng Shui circles is that water is the destructive element to fire. Therefore, it is bad Feng Shui to place the kitchen sink next to or directly across from the stove. While I do not agree with placing the kitchen sink directly across from the stove has anything to do with one’s luck, I do think that kitchen sink should be kept at some distance away from the stove. The reason behind this is quite simple. You do not want water poured over your stove while you are cooking and you need some space between the stove and the sink for washed vegetables and meat that’s ready for cooking.
 
 

     In Feng Shui circles, nature lighting in the kitchen is usually preferable. (Nature lighting in the bedroom is usually less important.) Nowadays, there are some scientific rationales behind this guideline. After leaving your bedroom and bathroom in the morning, the kitchen is usually the first room that you set foot into during the day. Activities in the kitchen also mostly happen during day time. Exposure to natural sunlight in the morning helps regulate circadian rhythms and internal body clocks to set the tone for the day to come. Exposure to sunlight also stimulates the production of serotonin, melatonin, and vitamin D, which directly affect our mental and physical health. (For example, see: http://www.ehow.com/way_5631046_much-do-need-boost-serotonin_.html or http://reliableguide.org/breast-cancer/natural-cancer-treatment-sunlight-for-melatonin.htm )

 

     Another important way to create better Feng Shui is to put away all your knives. I recently helped to evacuate a home that belongs to a friend of my friend. This home owner has recently traveled out of the country and was unable to return to the state due to a denial of her visa. On top of this serious problem, the home owner has an ex-boyfriend who is now unemployed and refuses to leave the house. In the kitchen that I helped to evacuate, I saw quite some knives hanging on a wall-mounted magnetic strip. Knives made people feel threatened and increase tension among residents. It is not a good Feng Shui to display your knives in the kitchen. An important purpose of Feng Shui is to create a relaxed, comfortable, and harmonious home. Having so many knives within eyesight is definitely not a good way to relaxation and comfort. Imagine if you have a burglary while you are at home, you absolutely do not want the burglar to have easy access to these “weapons”.