In the past five years, Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Sway or Fung Shway), the ancient Chinese art of object placement, has been featured in many lifestyle magazines and in the home design columns of major newspapers, even on many television shows. More and more, Feng Shui and other sacred arts, such as color and fragrance healing, are being accepted as viable alternatives in the often traditional world of home design.

An increasing number of established designers and architects are tuning in to the importance of placing objects in specific relationship to their surroundings---of taking into account the energy of a building¼s site, foundation, and shape ---of using object placement to counteract nonproductive (sha) energy and enhance good (ch'i) energy. (A treatment of Feng Shui seemed a natural addition to Home Design from the Inside Out, especially on the heels of discussing space sculpting.)

Through Feng Shui, you may find answers to otherwise unanswerable questions about your home and your life. There may be dysfengshui structural problems that may be affecting your life without your knowing it, as there was in my home. You might decide, as did Sarah Rossenbach (author of three books on the topic), to think of Feng Shui as "a pair of extra eyes." Whatever your decision, Feng Shui, when used wisely, sensitively, practically, and in conjunction with other techniques in Home Design from the Inside Out, can enhance your already bountiful creative process.