The flooring you use in your home also defines how the energy, (known as chi in Feng Shui) flows there. Careful selection of materials means that you can fine-tune the atmosphere of your house or apartment. Big surface areas, such as flooring, will have the greatest influence, and it is worth taking great care of the materials you use.

Flooring plays a significant role in beautifying the look of the house. Flooring can be natural: wood, stone, wool, and earth are best. Among the natural segment flooring, we have marble, granite and slate. Marble has never been out of fashion and is available in a variety of colours. Bricks are available in different shades of red, and orange can also be used as ethnic flooring. In some parts of the world, bamboo floorings are also used which give a feel of staying connected to nature.

Better chi
Natural materials tend to carry Chi more easily than synthetic materials, and help to circulate throughout your home. An example of this is wood, where the Energy (chi) continues to flow along the grain.

Rough textured surfaces (such as a wool carpet), slow chi down, making it more yin, whereas hard, shiny, flat surfaces (such as glazed tiles), speed up the flow of chi, creating a more yang atmosphere. Feng Shui generic guideline prescribes combination of colours and floorings to enhance the chi of the place and make it harmonious. Use of materials such as wood, will help to fuel the strength and luck of a house which faces north and sits south and signifies Fire element. Shades of blacks and blues in façade and wavy pattern or designs in the front of the house, combined with floor colours of white and black tiled alternatively or more, off-white for a house facing south and representing water element. Whites represent metal, while blacks and blues symbolise water — hence floor tiles in shades of white and black or white marble, are considered good. Avoid any green colours or wood flooring, as wood energy here will exhaust the strength of the house.

For houses facing east or southeast implying Metal element, emphasising more on circles and curves on the façade with colours of white, gray and earth tones and using floor colours in marble in a variety of beige tones, are considered good Feng Shui. Earth houses facing NE or SW compass directions benefit from the use of earth-based materials like marble, ceramic tiles or granite finishes. Colours for such houses should include beige earth colours with slight hints of red hues in certain areas. However, use of greens or metallic finishes in the colours and décor of the façade should be avoided.

 Thus, if you have the luxury of building your house from the floor up, or if you have the budget to renovate, it is best to enhance the luck potential of your home or future home not just through proper adaptation and blend of Vaastu and Feng Shui analysis, but also by identifying the element of your house and aspiring to achieve an architectural design that is in harmony with its element.

The author is Master Fengshui consultant and Traditional Vaastu practitioner. He can be contacted at Email: fengshui@fengshuiserver.com
Website: - http://www.fengshuiserver.com, phone: - 91-80-25252456 or 25252109.