Being Home With Hunker is a podcast where each week we chat with designers, artists, and creatives in the spaces that express and shape their identities: their homes.
Want to boost family harmony and stability at home? Consider using feng shui, an ancient Chinese art and philosophy. Feng shui consultant Kristina Hollinger says that there are things that everyone can do in from of design and decor to help elevate the Family area of the home. On the Being Home With Hunker podcast, Kristina shared some easy, actionable tips to try. Here is an excerpt of my conversation with Kristina, slightly edited for clarity.
Laurie Gunning Grossman: So you said there's a family area [of the home]. Where is this area on the [bagua] map if we're walking through the front door?
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Kristina Hollinger: I want to do my best to explain this because I know we're talking all about family today, which is such a significant area that you just can't overlook it because the family area represents stability and finances and it represents your lineage and healing generational trauma or old limiting beliefs that may have potentially plagued you for years. We've all heard money doesn't grow on trees. And so when you start to have these limiting beliefs, that's major healing that goes down through the lineage. So family represents many different things.
And in order to locate this area, bear with me here, when you walk into your front door, the far back left area is the wealth and the front left area of your home is wisdom and knowledge. And in between those two spaces in the left center, that's where the family area is.
Laurie: So are there very specific cures or things that you would recommend people do in the family area to bolster that energy to zhuzh it up?
Kristina: Absolutely. So the foundation of feng shui, the very first thing you want to do is just mindfully and intentionally clean it out. I think it would be really interesting for your listeners to actually go to the family area and just take a quick assessment of that space. Do you spend time in that room? If you have an attached garage, it could potentially be in your family area. Do you spend time there? Is there a lot of clutter? Are there mismatched pieces of furniture that don't really speak to you anymore? Is there natural lighting or could you add another lamp to that space? Is it inviting and welcoming?
All of these questions are really going to help you to see a mirror. When you're looking at that space, how are you feeling perhaps about your family area? And the great news is you just need to edit the space first and clean it, even simply vacuuming it, sweeping it, dusting it. That alone is going to get the energy moving in the space and could literally attract miracles into your life. You're done.
But of course, I like a beautiful space and I think it's fun to apply the elements to a space. I like to go shopping and pick out decor that is going to be activating this space. So for your listeners who want to decorate as well, what you could do to activate the family area is really to intentionally place things that represent the wood element because the wood element activates family.
I set my intention that I want our roots with our immediate family and our bond to just grow deeper as the years go on. And when I look at those photos, I know subconsciously there's something going on.
Kristina: So the wood element can be represented in three different ways. You can add something that is a vertical rectangle, the shape of a vertical rectangle. So you can envision a tree growing upwards. You can activate it with colors of green and then also wood furniture, shelving, pieces like that would be amazing in this space.
Kristina: This area is also activated by the number three. So what I've done, here are just examples: I've taken some family photos that are really meaningful and I placed them in vertical rectangle frames and I made a collage of three in that space to activate the space. And of course, always setting your intention.
Kristina: And I set my intention that I want our roots with our immediate family and our bond to just grow deeper as the years go on. And when I look at those photos, I know subconsciously there's something going on, but it also brings me so much joy and it uplifts me so very much.
Kristina: And then to actually add the wood element, we also have a little money tree is great there because it has the wood element and it's going to really enhance stability in finances.
To hear the full episode, listen to: Being Home With Feng Shui for Families (Kristina Hollinger, Feng Shui Expert).
LEARN MORE ABOUT KRISTINA HOLLINGER
- Website: KristinaHollinger.com
- Instagram: @kristina.hollinger
- Manifest With Kristina: 12 Month Manifesting Journey
- Podcast: Feng Shui With Kristina Hollinger