Tag Archives: mobile art

Photo: Luxe Magazine

The 5 elements of feng shui are: Fire, Earth, Wood, Water, and Metal. Balancing those elements successfully in a room–and the overall home–takes some thought and planning. The room in the picture here is from the featured “Art House Del Mar Mesa, CA” in Luxe Magazine. Click here to see the rest of the home.

How are the elements covered in the room above? Obviously the fireplace represents the fire element, but so do the red/orange accents in the art and the cushions (so if you don’t have a fireplace at home, you can still add the element through color and even a red candle). Wood is surrounding the window frames, the floor is wood, and the side table is a tree stump–it doesn’t get much more woody than that!

Earth is in the plants as well as the brown leather sofa and chair. We can see the gleaming metal table stands but metal is also represented by the color white. Without the successful blending of the other elements, this room would have too much metal and feel very cold and uninviting.

Take a moment to see if you can discern where the water element is. You might have said the blue painting. But it is the glass table tops and the large glass windows that represent water and also the color black. In your own home, you can add water element through color, through pictures or paintings of water, through actual water features, or use of glass and mirrors.

In addition to successful element balance, the feng shui harmony created in this room can also be attributed to the use of yin-yang shapes (some round yin shapes and some square yang shapes). See if you can count how many of each in the picture. For example, the fireplace is yang but the sculpture over it is yin.

And last but not least, the art itself is great feng shui. From the vibrant colors in the painting to the wonderful curved yin shapes in the sculptures…but also notice the Calder kinetic piece hanging from the ceiling. Mobile art lifts Qi (ch’i= energy). Adding a mobile to a corner of your ceiling where energy seems dead is a good way to correct that and get some movement going in your environment. Can’t afford a Calder? Go to any museum store and find inexpensive paper mobile sculptures or create your own.

This ultra modern home has a very warm cozy feel to it. Bringing in the feng shui elements, softness in yin yang balance and use of fabric textures, and incorporating living plants throughout create that feel.