Stay put or sell up?

Alan wanted his 4-bedroomed detached property to be more homely and was debating whether to stay put or sell up and move. As always I recommend the best way to get clarity is to stay in the now and work with the existing property. For a start there were two entirely empty rooms that needed some energy flowing into them.

I immediately felt the house was not ideal for Alan. For a man on his own, his would become overwhelmed in the size of the property.  However, with good schools and countryside on the doorstep and with easy access to motorways, it would make a lovely family home. In doing Feng Shui together a house move looked even more likely to be the answer. Before and after photos illustrate ….

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Lost in space

“I moved into my current brand-new property in Surrey 18 months ago having lived previously in a beautiful house overlooking the Irish Sea.  Being single, some people expressed surprise because the new place was much too big for me but I’d anticipated entertaining my three grown up children and grandchildren there.

“This house has never felt like home to me. I was unsettled. I procrastinated . I become indecisive, particularly with the purchase of furniture, designing the garden, keeping everything neat and tidy. I had little incentive to mix in the local community because I felt I wouldn’t remain there very long.”

Further conversation prompted his desire for more privacy, perhaps with views of the sea.  The Feng Shui brief changed and we focused on improving the flow of chi generally while making simple, inexpensive enhancements to attract a buyer.

“On speaking to Mary for the first time she convinced me that whether I stayed put or sold up either way it would be a good idea to organise the house better.  Firstly this would reduce the stress I was experiencing.  Secondly it got the house ready for a possible placement on the market.   When we met we moved from room to room, systematically discussing how each could be improved.

“She was an absolute delight to work with.  Very happy to listen, very positive, never judgemental, inspiring and intuitive.  I made notes as we went along, from which I produced an action list.  Where we could affect immediate changes we did.  Mary even helped to move furniture around to demonstrate the instant impact this would have.”

Start with the basics

The outstanding snagging issues that accompany a new home could not be ignored.  While the builder had been snail-slow in addressing these, they would continue to bug Alan, distracting his energy which could be used in more constructive ways.

While Alan was unhappy with the house frontage, he was obliged to leave it alone until two years had passed. The house sat in a meandering cul-de-sac with grass borders extending to the road with no pavements.  The boundaries of his footprint were weak and passers-by were taking advantage. The best solution would be a small, picket fence along the boundary but this would be for the next owner to decide.

Mouth of chi

Our attention moved to the front door to define the entrance better.  Two pots of mixed purple flowers and evergreen shrubs were placed either side plus a door mat and made all the difference.  The effect of the purples and greens would be cooling and enriching for an entrance that received uninterrupted morning sun.   The pheasant on the mat gave a sense of abundance and carried through imagery to the place mats on the dining table.

Bright hall effect

In the hallway we added an occasional table under a beautiful vibrant painting; this area sits in the Career/Path in Life area of the Bagua and the glass corresponds to WATER element.  A lamp was placed on the table to provide spot lighting and moderate the flow of chi through the hall.  A vertical mirror (also WATER) was hung at the foot of the stairs – both for a practical purpose and to direct chi up the stairs.

The house exuded a lot of the METAL element (whites, greys and chrome) as many modern houses do.  The building itself was constructed from brick (EARTH element) and in Five Elements terms we say that EARTH feeds METAL – ergo more METAL.

In order to control the effect of all this METAL we would accessorise throughout the home by introducing the FIRE element, FIRE being the control of METAL.  This is achieved by introducing the colours (reds, oranges, yellow), the placement of candles throughout, conveying the presence of people and creatures (with heart) in artwork or ornaments – hence the pheasant at the front door.

Working from home

Of the two empty rooms, one was the downstairs study. This was an important room to home stage with so many people working from home and up until then Alan had been working off the kitchen worktop.  It literally sat empty except for papers and files on the floor.  We used a catering table to create a sturdy, spacious desktop that could also accommodate both the laptop and printer.

The files on the floor in the empty bedroom could now relocate to the study, revealing just how big the fourth bedroom was when empty.  The third bedroom (a mini gym) also contained paperwork which could relocate to the study too so that all the paperwork was in one place.

Kitchen not a study

The paperwork spread over surfaces in the open plan kitchen could be tidied away too. This left the table clear except for the runner to which we added a large colourful bowl of fruit in FIRE colours.  It was evident the table could now seat 6 – 8 people – a good selling point for a family. To complete the kitchen reshuffle we re-positioned the messy hot drinks-making area that was very visible when entering the room.

After – back patio, reclaimed missing corner

Missing corner, missing relationship

The house had been constructed with a ‘missing corner’, creating an “L” shaped footprint at the back of the house, visible through the patio doors.  This missing segment of the Bagua corresponded to the RELATIONSHIP corner and its absence weakened the possibility of a love relationship surviving.

This section was already demarcated by paving slabs. We added an outdoor dining table, a barbecue and tomatoes in tubs but even so it was crying out for a proper extension to resolve the ‘missing corner’, increase the family’s living area and leave plenty of room in the safe enclosed garden.

Wealth corner enhanced

Alan was not happy with the layout of the lounge.  One of the sofas didn’t face the TV and sat opposite the other in a confrontational way which could result in family discord.  The solution was simple.  To swing one sofa around and reposition the rug and coffee table.  We moved two standing lamps and re-positioned a plant to achieve balance and harmony and avoided having to move the TV and trail wires.

The beautiful painting of flowers still retained pride of place attracting attention as you entered this room , also visible from the hallway – a perfect placement for this room; it sits in the WEALTH corner of this room and the house, which appropriately corresponds to the WOOD element.

Harmony in the bedrooms

The master bedroom occupies the WEALTH corner upstairs.  The bed in its current position produced a “split view” for a couple sleeping in it: one would face the wall, a chest of drawers and a picture.  The other view looked straight out of the window.  To create balance, we shifted the bed and rearranged the furniture so the reading chair now also provided a view of the trees through the second window.

The one bedside lamp was dispatched to join its partner in the guest bedroom and two new matching WEALTH-exuding lamps were purchased.  We added FIRE cushions to lift the whole room.

In the guest room we replaced the duvet colour with one that resembled a water colour painting and found two cushions to match.

The outcome

“The whole experience has had a very positive effect on me. I no longer feel like I’m having to work this out on my own.  It has given me a sense of purpose and an incentive to get on with things, to declutter and improve my life in many different ways – not just confined to the four walls surrounding me. The Feng Shui process has confirmed my desire to sell up and move.  I am now anticipating this positively, even considering building my own home.”

And the progress so far?  When the Estate Agent came around to value the house he said that the house looked stunning, just like a show house.  That houses in the area were still in high demand and Alan should market his at the top end  – £60,000 more than what he paid for it 18 months previous.

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Mary Nondé

Mary is an Intuitive Feng Shui practitioner and passionate about ensuring we create our living and working environments mindfully.  She has trained in the Western School of Feng Shui and with Denise Linn, USA and has been working in homes and offices since 1995.

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