Although Feng Shui was traditionally most commonly used in China to determine ideal locations for tombs and buildings, it can also be applied to interior design. Outside of China, using feng shui principles in interior design has become increasingly popular since it is believed that doing so can create positive effects for the people within an occupied space.
Modern Feng Shui practitioners use several methods and theories borrowed from traditional Feng Shui practices to achieve their aims:
Bagua energy map
The bagua map (八卦图 bāguàtú) is an octagon shaped energy map that consists of eight areas around a center. It functions as an energy grid that is used as a blueprint to design floor plans for any sort of space.
In order to decorate a home in accordance with feng shui principles, the bagua map is placed over the floor plan, with the bottom of the bagua map aligned along the same axis as the front door or main entrance. This way, you can see which parts of the house are covered by each bagua area.
Each bagua area has different attributes associated with it and you can “activate” an area by bringing in its specific color, element or shape. Each bagua also has a trigram associated with it. These trigrams are ancient Chinese symbols that originated from the Yi Ching (易经; The Book of Changes). Each trigram is represented by 3 lines, and the length of the lines also determine whether the given area is Yin or Yang dominant.
Bagua maps can be layered to cover different floors, but the main room or area of a house or building will need to be done first. Each bagua area is split into the following:
1. 離 Lí
- Direction: South
- Element: Fire
- Life area: Fame & Reputation
- Colors: Red
- Trigram symbol: ☲
2. 坤 Kūn
- Direction: Southwest
- Element: Earth
- Life area: Love & Partnerships
- Colors: Pink
- Trigram symbol: ☷
3. 兌 Duì
- Direction: West
- Element: Metal
- Life area: Children and Creativity
- Colors: White
- Trigram symbol: ☱
4. 乾 Qián
- Direction: Northwest
- Element: Metal
- Life area: Travel
- Color: Gray
- Trigram symbol: ☰
5. 坎 Kǎn
- Direction: North
- Element: Water
- Life area: Career & Path in Life
- Colors: Black
- Trigram symbol: ☵
6. 艮 Gèn
- Direction: Northeast
- Element: Earth
- Life area: Knowledge & Self-Cultivation
- Colors: Dark Blue
- Trigram symbol: ☶
7. 震 Zhèn
- Direction: East
- Element: Wood
- Life area: Family & Health
- Colors: Green, Blue, Teal
- Trigram symbol: ☳
8. 巽 Xùn
- Direction: South East
- Element: Wood
- Life area: Wealth & Abundance
- Colors: Purple
- Trigram symbol: ☴
Modern Feng Shui in UK 