Fung Shui House

[Pierrot]

Would you consider hiring a "Fung Shui master" when building a new house or redesigning your living room, bedroom or office ?

If you did, do you think it was worth it ? Did you feel any improvement in the living /working condition?

Based on my experience, I'm not that impressed. Actually, IMO it created more problems than it solved but I'm a non believer so I'm probably not very objective.

Any opinion ?

[Nampeung]

I think it's a good concept

[Tomissan]

Would you consider hiring a "Fung Shui master" when building a new house or redesigning your living room, bedroom or office ?

If you did, do you think it was worth it ? Did you feel any improvement in the living /working condition?

Based on my experience, I'm not that impressed. Actually, IMO it created more problems than it solved but I'm a non believer so I'm probably not very objective.

Any opinion ?

3,000 years of practice can't be all wrong....

Edited March 21, 2009 by Tomissan

[yabaaaa]

I think its a load of drivel just use common sense when laying out rooms. Its goes up there with fairies, pixies elves, religion and Alien abduction etc etc in my opinion.

[teacup]

Many demands from my clients for me to use the principles of FungShui - in residential design......They believe it

[Boater]

Based on my experience, I'm not that impressed. Actually, IMO it created more problems than it solved but I'm a non believer so I'm probably not very objective.

caused me nothing but hassle, the feng shui mater actual made things worse !!!!!!!!!!!

[Pierrot]

Many demands from my clients for me to use the principles of FungShui - in residential design......They believe it

So what do you do ?

[teacup]

Many demands from my clients for me to use the principles of FungShui - in residential design......They believe it

So what do you do ?

I'm an ....architect

[Pierrot]

Many demands from my clients for me to use the principles of FungShui - in residential design......They believe it

So what do you do ?

I'm an ....architect

It doesn't really answer the question. When Norman Foster designed the HSBC headquarter in Hong Kong, he hired a Fung Shui master to help him. IMO, it was more a political move but who knows ....

[teacup]

Many demands from my clients for me to use the principles of FungShui - in residential design......They believe it

So what do you do ?

I'm an ....architect

It doesn't really answer the question. When Norman Foster designed the HSBC headquarter in Hong Kong, he hired a Fung Shui master to help him. IMO, it was more a political move but who knows ....

I thought I had made it very explicit and clear enough that......

I am an architect... and I get paid in making their dreams come true - no matter how absurd they might be sometimes....as long as they are within the standard safety and scope of the building code.

What you want me to say.....NO I won't do it?.........I have bills to pay too U know

My personal thoughts?......

Well I'm not so sure it's really "fixed set of rules" though? It’s more of a sense of completion and harmony amongst your things.

I do think your surroundings and living quarter play a huge part in your life and such. Chaos around you tends to breed chaos in your life, etc.

I definitely believe there is some type of truth to it, I'm just not sure how well it really works.

Edited March 21, 2009 by teacup

[Fore Man]

It's not a matter if we Westerners believe in Feng Shui or not. I was sort of ambivalent to the whole idea myself during the design and construction of our large home built in CM over the past 2 years. At my wife's request, we hired a FS specialist to make sure the design would be acceptable to Thais. In the end, it was time and money well spent (the cost was minor); we have a more open design that accommodates FS concepts and most importantly, my wife and her family are all very satisfied that the home was designed and created in the right ways. As we all realize, Thais are extremely superstitious and violating a FS principle is not something you do here on a whim. Moreover, if we ever need to sell this home, it will be tons easier to unload than if there were a lot of FS faults in its design that would be unacceptable to most Oriental buyers.

Most TV readers live in Thailand and many have married Thai women...this brings a whole new set of obligations and expectations into the equation. I for one don't resent any of these and simply have come to accept and adopt them.

Edited March 21, 2009 by Fore Man

[Pierrot]

It's not a matter if we Westerners believe in Feng Shui or not. I was sort of ambivalent to the whole idea myself during the design and construction of our large home built in CM over the past 2 years. At my wife's request, we hired a FS specialist to make sure the design would be acceptable to Thais. In the end, it was time and money well spent (the cost was minor); we have a more open design that accommodates FS concepts and most importantly, my wife and her family are all very satisfied that the home was designed and created in the right ways. As we all realize, Thais are extremely superstitious and violating a FS principle is not something you do here on a whim. Moreover, if we ever need to sell this home, it will be tons easier to unload than if there were a lot of FS faults in its design that would be unacceptable to most Oriental buyers.

Most TV readers live in Thailand and many have married Thai women...this brings a whole new set of obligations and expectations into the equation. I for one don't resent any of these and simply have come to accept and adopt them.

I think you make two major points here, that I 100% agree with. Whatever our beliefs we are in FS country, and to go along makes everybody more confortable.

But I also believe we should also draw a clear line between what we're ready to accept and what we're not, otherwise the FS master will soon rules our life.

[pampal]

some of the feng shui principles I like, and some I don't

[Tomissan]

some of the feng shui principles I like, and some I don't

Out of curiosity, which principles don't you like ?

BTW, excellent post Fore Man

Edited March 21, 2009 by Tomissan

[Fore Man]

some of the feng shui principles I like, and some I don't

Out of curiosity, which principles don't you like ?

BTW, excellent post Fore Man

Thanks for the kudos. I also see the point made by Pierrot in having to live with our decisions to adopt Feng Shui principles. The only real difficulty I had in buying off on the concept had to do with how the front car gate would be positioned along the roadway that parallels our house. We live at the junction of a three-way intersection. The front of our home directly faces the street that forms the 'T' intersection. Our FS master strongly suggested that we could not build our driveway entrance and gate directly in the path of that oncoming street...perhaps as we would do in the West. By doing so, it would allow bad spirits to simply sweep into our home without any impediment. I was in great favor of erecting the gate so we could drive directly forward off that access street into our driveway instead of having to make a turn onto the street paralleling our home and then another turn into our driveway. Which in the end is exactly what we ended up doing. My wife was adamant that this was a 'must' in the front wall and gate design and she would not be comfortable with my original idea. The FS master said we could do it my way, but we'd need either a mirror positioned on the gate to 'reflect' bad spirits or some kind of water fixture (trough or fountain) along the wall on the sides of the gate. I acceded to my wife's preferences--after all this is her country and her culture--and after it was all said and done, I am pleased with the result. I quickly learned that having to make those two little 90 degree turns to get into our driveway is not really the nusiance I thought it would be. And everyone is satisfied, surely the most important factor.

[mahtin]

Good posting indeed, ForeMan - yours is an unusual voice in this forum

[bina]

rather interesting; my good friend has designed and built her own very small compact house based more on ecological principles (wind direction, sun direction), and also moved her front door to the side of the house-- which in israel is considered not very 'friendly'-- but it created a whole different flow to her house (which my thai husband loves, since it is with a large open family /public space, and small rooms off to the side-- and the open space opens out to a large garden and paragola -- an other thai like set up, as opposed to our kibbutz apartment which is partitioned and has no indoor/outdoor space) . my friend is definately not from the pixie/elves/fengshui set-- but anon often points out that the house is 'thai'--

bina