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Feng Shui for the Home

Bob visits Emma and Jacob Josselyn in their Cape Cod-style home to see the new Vermont Castings Addison cast-iron electric stove that will warm the corner of their dining room. They also discuss ideas for design with feng shui expert Katherine Kaess of Soulspaces International. Kaess explains that feng shui is the ancient study of working with space to enhance how we live and feel in our homes. She explains that the goal of feng shui is to welcome the chi, or life force energy, and allow it to flow freely throughout the home. Soft edges, open space, smooth and rounded surfaces all encourage the flow of chi. Kaess also shows Bob the bagua or layout of the nine domains of the home that pertain to the nine areas of our lives, such as prosperity, children, career, and travel. Placing objects that relate to each of these areas in their designated zones increases well-being and encourages success in each life aspect. Kaess visits the kitchen and comments on how well balanced it is. Elements like fire and water, the stove, sink, and refrigerator, are separated. There is a nice balance between wood, metal, light, and water, and the layout is open and light-filled. Kaess also tells Bob the trick of placing a mirror behind the stove to visually double the space and increase prosperity within the home.
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Feng Shui for the Home

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" -our friends at Vermont Castings have made a gift for Emma and Jacob, the owners of this particular house and this is called the Addison. It's a cast iron stove but it's electric, and you just plug it in and it's gonna really warm the spirits of the family even though it's not gonna put out enormous amounts of BTU. Thanks, fellows, it's a beautiful little--- But Emma and Jacob, how do you like your new house? -It looks great. -It's wonderful. -The finishes are pretty cool, aren't they? -Yes. -Yeah. -Well, I know that you've spent a little bit of time lately talking with Katherine Kaess, who's also with us today. Hi, Katherine. -Hi. -How are you? -Nice to meet you. -And Katherine is our specialist in Feng Shui. -Yes, indeed. -Did I pronounce it right? -Yes, you did. -Yeah, and you guys have furniture, and have things, and have some ideas about how you're gonna live in this house. But you've been talking with Katherine about where to put stuff and how to operate in here, right? -So, where does the couch go? Where does the living--- There's more to Feng Shui than that, though.-Yeah. There's a lot to Feng Shui.-Yeah.-Actually, probably most people might not know about Feng Shui. -Uh huh.-It's the ancient art and study of arrangement of your environment to enhance your well-being."

" -Uh huh. -And this is a perfect time to talk about Feng Shui when you're moving into a new house because you can go through things you already have and start thinking about what you're acquiring."

" -Exactly. You want to--- You want it to flow throughout the house and it enhances your well-being when it does. So this is a great house. It has a nice high ceiling. You walk--- You sweep right in. There's--- This is the dining area."

" -Yeah."

" -Using a nice round table would be perfect here because we have so many angles going on. -So, do you a round table or a square one?"

" -We have a big rectangular dining room table that we just got. But---"

" -Well, that's okay. There are lots of things you can do. You can add cushions to chairs."

" -Okay."

" -And you can add plants. There are lots of things with whatever you have. You can always resort to---"

" -So, you wanna avoid these hard edges."

" -Exactly!"

" -And corners."

" -Exactly!"

" -What are some of the other forces that come into play?"

" -This is what's called a bagua. This is the diagram that is laid over the floor plan."

" -So here we've got the entry and the staircase."

" -Uh huh."

" -And we're in the dining area."

" -Exactly. Feng Shui is based on the principle that every area of our home is related to an area of our life and so you can enhance different areas when you're working on different areas of your life, some for prosperity or career success."

" -How does that apply to the kitchen, for example?"

" -Well, the kitchen, this kitchen is a great kitchen. It's a, Feng Shui wise, it's very well balanced."

" -Uh huh."

" -The thing I always look for in kitchens, and if it's not this way, I'll try to get people to reorganize it to separate the stove from the refrigerator, and also from the sink so that you separate elements. The other thing Feng Shui is concerned with is elements."

" -Fire."

" -Fire, water, metal, and this is separating fire from water, and so it's great. And also, we have a nice balance of wood, metal, water. You're on the south side. You have nice light coming in."

" -I never [unk]---"

" -So a really lovely kitchen."

" -I bet the guys at Kenmore never knew that we were gonna be applying Feng Shui principles---"

" -Feng Shui, exactly! It's great!"

" -To their appliances when we put them in this kitchen. Now, I heard something about using mirrors in the kitchen."

" -Indeed. Well actually, there's a fun trick in Feng Shui which is to place a mirror behind your stove which doubles, theoretically, the number of burners you have, at least visually, and that helps prosperity in your life."

" -Great! Katherine, thank you so much."

" -Thank you very much!"

" -Emma, Jacob, thank you."

" -Thank you very much!"

" -Best wishes in your new home."

" -Thank you very much!"

" -Thank you!"

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