The Executive Office - (Part 4) - Applying Feng shui to the Design

In my previous post I discussed the process of finalizing the custom furniture designs for "JLT's" office.

Because of my personal interest in some of the world's older civilizations and traditions, one of the disciplines I like to integrate into my design process is an ancient practice known as Feng shui.

What is Feng shui? In simple terms Feng shui is an ancient art and science that first developed in China over 3,000 years ago. It is a complex body of knowledge that provides guidelines on how to balance energies in any given space to assure the health and good fortune for the people inhabiting it.


Feng means wind and shui means water, and in Chinese culture wind and water are associated with good health. Thus, good feng shui has come to mean good fortune, while bad feng shui means bad luck, or misfortune.

Feng shui is based on the Taoist vision and understanding of nature, particularly on the idea that the land is alive and filled with Chi, or energy. The ancient Chinese believed that the land's energy could either make or break the kingdom. With that in mind the theories of yin and yang, as well as the five feng shui elements, are some of the basic aspects of a Feng shui analysis that come from Taoism.

Although the actual process of determining whether a given space has good Feng shui is rather complex, there is a list of parameters that are considered essential to optimizing the positive flow of Chi in a modern executive office.

First, on the design of the desk itself a kidney shaped desk is considered to be ideal, since the rounded corners are most conducive to the free flow of Chi.

The desk should be positioned in the corner farthest from the entrance to the room, thereby giving the person sitting at it a “command” position of the space;

When sitting at the desk you should not be in direct line with the door, as you will be in the path of negative energy;

DO keep your back toward a corner or a wall for support. If a post protrudes from the corner or wall, either reshape it to hide the protrusion or correct it by covering it with a hanging plant’s draping foliage;

DO sit with a tall building behind you to provide the support of a “mountain” if your back is to a window;

DON’T face away from the door if you are conducting business from home. Business will symbolically come to you through the door, so don’t turn your back on it;

DON’T arrange your workspace so that you look straight out into a corridor or see the stairs, storage rooms, closets, elevators, escalators, or toilets;

DO put your computer in the North or West area of your office to enhance your creativity. Place the computer in the Southeast if you use it to generate income;

DO place an aquarium or tabletop fountain in the East, North, or Southeast. A small aquarium with black or blue fish in the North area of your desk or office will activate your business and career success. Guppies or a single arrowana are ideal for an aquarium made of glass and metal;

DO place a safe, which is usually constructed of metal, in either West or Northwest, which both represent the metal element. The safe symbolizes the prosperity and financial security of a business;

DO have a good balance of yin (female) and yang (male) energies when decorating your workspace. Balance light and dark colors, soft and hard surfaces, and smooth and rough textures in your choice of window treatments, furniture, and flooring;

DON’T have any mirrors in your office, as they can reflect negative energy from clients to other people in the room. You should always maintain control over the energy in your office;

DO treat the files in your office with respect. They represent your past, present, and future business;

DO keep the cords to your office equipment well hidden. This elimates clutter and allows for the free flow of chi;

It was early in the discussion phase of the furniture design process that I suggested to "JLT" that he consider his space from a Feng shui perspective. Although he acknowledged and seemed politely receptive to the idea, I didn't sense enough of an interest to pursue it further - so I let it be.

Nevertheless, as the design of the space came together I remained curious as to how "balanced" it was shaping up to be from a Feng shui perspective. What I discovered was pleasantly surprising.

On the basis of the 14 simple "DOs" and "DON'Ts" listed above, "JLT's" office is consistent with 13 of them. The only element missing for a perfect score is having an aquarium or fountain in the space.

With that in mind I wonder if a scotch bar could be considered a fountain - especially if it had a seltzer bottle?

It's just a thought....

Next: The Executive Office - (Part 5) - Let the Furniture Making Begin!

The Executive Office - (Part 3) - The Renovation Begins

In my previous post I described the initial site meeting with "JLT" to discuss the parameters of the furniture designs for his office.

Shortly after this meeting took place the actual renovation work began.





In the photo above you can see the aluminum studs in place for the extended wall section going in. The big screen television will back onto this wall.

"JLT" and I both agreed that the desk and credenza should be set into the far back corner of the space - between the windows. There is a funky piece of wall angle bridging that corner which seems to be hiding a conduit of some kind. This will be integrated into the final design so that it all but disappears from view.

At the opposite end of the space a private washroom (with shower) is being installed. To achieve this the concrete floors had to be cut to allow for the necessary plumbing to be brought in. To the right of this photo you can see a small niche space that has been created to house a built-in cabinet for storage. In addition to general storage this cabinet will also be the "brain centre" that holds all the electronics for audio, video and lighting control systems.

By this stage the overall dimension of the room were mostly determined, which made it possible to clarify the approximate size, location and shape of the desk, credenza, storage cabinet and motorized television cabinet. The inclusion of a scotch bar was not yet a certainty, since a suitable location for it had yet to be determined.

As the details of the furniture designs were being clarified, "JLT" worked with his interior designer to finalize the selection of carpet and wallpaper for the office. Based on these samples we narrowed our range of wood finish options to Chestnut Ribbon Sapele, Macassar Ebony, Madagascar Rosewood, Ipe and East Indian Rosewood.

Although "JLT" really liked the Chestnut Ribbon Sapele sample we showed him, I cautioned against it because of how the Chestnut stain would likely "bleed" into any inlays such as mother-of-pearl we might use.

Macassar Ebony was deemed to be too dark, and the flitch sizes too small, to work successfully on large surfaces such as a desk top.

Madagascar Rosewood was rejected because the colour and grain texture simply didn't work.

The Ipe looked magnificent, but I was concerned about a random "splotch" that appeared in the actual test samples we made. While this discolouration may have been a natural element of the wood itself, it would end up looking ugly if it appeared unexpectedly on the top of the desk. Therefore, I decided to err on the side of caution by insisting that we not use Ipe.

Of all the woods under consideration the East Indian Rosewood looked best of all. In its raw state it almost seemed too purple in colour, but once a finish was applied to the test panels a depth and richness appeared that worked perfectly with the carpet and wallpaper samples.

"JLT" concurred with this assessment, so based on his approval we decided to go with this for the furniture.

The design of the furniture was now starting to gel, and in my mind's eye I could actually see what the finished office was going to look like.

We were now at the defining moment of the design of this space, and it is here that someone like "JLT" actually becomes a dream client for a studio furniture maker such as myself. Although he is always very clear on what he likes and dislikes, "JLT" does manage to curb his veto power enough so that doesn't smother the creative process. In fact, it would be appropriate to say that he actually participates in the creative process enough so that collectively the ideas end up manifesting in a manner that is not only effortless but almost intuitive in some cases.

Although this last part is difficult to articulate, hopefully I can illustrate it better in the next post. That post will evaluate the resulting furniture designs and office layout from the standpoint of Feng shui , which is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetic that is growing in popularity in North America and around the world.

Feng shui is ultimately about flow and balance, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well the final design of the office melded almost perfectly with those principles - especially since very little conscious effort was made to do so.

Next: The Executive Office - (Part 4) - Applying Feng shui to the Design.