Feng Shui for the Kitchen
When you eat, chi enters your body in the form of food. To make sure you introduce good energy into your body through food, you need to create a feng shui–friendly environment in your kitchen. For starters, always keep the kitchen clean, make sure all appliances remain in good working order, and light the space well throughout. If your kitchen is too small to accommodate the following suggestions, focus on the elements that you can change.
The Stove
The stove represents the element of fire in the house. (For more on the five elements, see Basic Principles of Feng Shui). The position, type, condition, and way you use your stove are all important in feng shui.
- Position of stove: Consider these three issues:
- If your kitchen has two doorways, the path through the kitchen should not pass in front of the stove.
- Avoid placing a mirror across from the stove. The mirror will reflect the stove’s chi back at itself, which can cause the fire to grow out of control.
- A cook working at the stove should be able to see the doorway and should not have his or her back facing the doorway.
- Types of stove: Gas stoves are preferable since they have a live flame rather than the heated coils used in electric stoves.
- Stove condition: The better shape your stove is in (in terms of both cleanliness and operation), the more good chi it will attract.
- Use all four burners: Sticking to just one or two burners breaks up the flow of energy.
Placement of Appliances
In addition to the stove, also consider carefully where you place other large appliances, such as the refrigerator, microwave, and dishwasher. Each of these appliances can be described in terms of the five elements:
- The stove and microwave represent fire.
- The sink, refrigerator, and dishwasher represent water.
The elements of fire and water are in opposition. Special feng shui rules apply to appliances of opposing elements:
- They should be at least three feet apart, ideally six.
- They shouldn’t face each other directly. For instance, the refrigerator door shouldn’t face the oven.
An easy way to follow both rules of thumb is to create a triangle, with the sink, refrigerator, and stove forming the three points. There should be as much space as possible between the appliances, with wood (perhaps in the form of cabinets or a countertop) placed between them.
The Dining Room or Dining Area
The key to dining-area feng shui is to make sure that your home has a distinct and separate dining area that does not overlap with areas devoted to work, entertainment, or other activities. If you live in a home or apartment that does not have a space designated exclusively for eating, use a screen, curtain, or rug to demarcate your dining space.
Dining Furniture
Follow these guidelines in deciding the type and placement of your dining furniture:
- Round tables: Round tables are preferable, as the corners of square or rectangular tables give off shar. (For more on shar, see Feng Shui for the Entryway.)
- No seat backs facing the door: To prevent diners from being bothered by drafts or being surprised by others entering the space, make sure no seats have their backs facing the door. If the room’s layout requires that someone sit with his or her back to the door, it should not be the host or the guest of honor.
- Table in the center of the room: Provide ample room for people to move around it.
- An even number of chairs: An even number of chairs is preferable to an odd number.
