THE MIGHT OF WHITE

Had lunch with designer friend Raymond Waites the other day and he mentioned that white-on-white and all white furniture is looking fresh again as a hot new trend. I am so glad to hear it! In the 1980’s I had an all white bedroom (well, it was shades of faux painted whites/creams/pale greys) and loved it.

I painted my wood floors shades of white like this back in the 80's.

Feng Shui By Fishgirl cautions against creating sterile space with white, however. In feng shui terms white is the color represented by metal–so if you decorate a room with metal furniture and also white color everywhere, that’s literally overkill and deadens the ch’i energy of your feng shui. You’ll also find it interesting to note that people wear white to Asian funerals instead of the black we are accustomed to here.

"Pale & Interesting" shop in London.

Still, white done right can really be awesome! How to do the white-on-white trend and still have good feng shui? Use a balance of elements: wood, earth, water, metal, fire…for example, white painted wood and earthen crockery that is white; a glass table represents water but could be on a metal base or a white stone or wooden base. Adding one shot of color like the bright blue flowers above also warms up your all white room. Or use one other pale accent like seafoam or pink or pale orange to jazz it up.

Pale accents of aqua work well with all white rooms.

Adding texture to all white rooms is another must-do to keep the feng shui and visual feast alive. This can be achieved as simple as a puckered bedspread below in an all white bedroom.