Lots of people are confused about the feng shui elements. What
are they? What do they mean? How do they relate to your home?
In this article, I'll shed some light.

The feng shui elements, simply put, are the five guiding points
of your life and, when used correctly, they will create the best
environment for your home. Feng shui elements are about
centering your home and creating harmony. In a moment, I'll
give you some ideas for how to accomplish this.

But first, What are the five feng shui elements? Great
question! They are Water, Fire, Wood, Metal and Earth.

And what do the elements represent from a decorating
perspective? The feng shui elements stand for specific
character traits and, supposedly, they define the world in
which we live. Let's examine each a bit more closely:

* Water: Learning, winter, and travel. It is represented by the
color black.

* Fire: Energy, summer, and danger. It is represented by the
color red.

* Wood: Creativity, spring, and change. It is represented by
the color green.

* Metal: Business, autumn, and success. It is represented by
the color white.

* Earth: Patience, stability and the center of all things. It
is represented by the color yellow.

Now, you might be asking, "What does all this really mean?".
Here's what feng shui advocates believe. When you bring the
five feng shui elements into alignment then all is right with
your home. When the elements are out of balance, you could
experience problems. These two states are referred to as the
Productive and Destructive cycles.

The Productive Cycle seeks patterns of harmony, such as these:
wood fuels fire; fire turns to ash and covers the earth; earth
turns to minerals and metals; metals can melt to water; water
feeds wood.

When the cycle is Destructive, however, the pattern changes to
something like this: wood takes from earth; earth, to feed
itself, takes water; water douses fire; fire destroys metal;
metal destroys wood.

Okay, okay...I know these cycle definitions sound a little like
mumbo jumbo. So, let's get a little more specific and determine
how this could affect your home. First remember that the Feng
shui elements must come together corrctly to create a balance
that is essential to making your home harmonious.

So, how do you achieve a balance? First and foremost keep in
mind what each element represents. Next, remember that if a
room is dominated by one color or "element" this will be
destructive. For example, while you may absolutely love the
color green (wood), you should not decorate your entire home in
this one shade. This will ignite the destructive cycle because
the wood element will be overpowering without other feng shui
elements to
soften or balance it out.

What would be better is to use all the colors for your home.
No, you don't have to paint the walls in each room with a
different color to match the feng shui elements. Instead, you
can find splashes of the colors in accessories and accents,
such as knickknacks, throw pillows, etc.

Feng shui elements mean incorporating ideas of natural and
harmony into your home. Its principles are not embraced by
everyone. The debate span from the hardest of skeptics to the
most ardent believers to those not sure of what their opinions
may be. Whatever the truth, however, feng shui elements have a
universal idea within them--finding harmony in your life and
your home. This is something we all could use.

About The Author: Michael Holland is the creator of
http://Home-Decorating-Made-Easy.com
(http://www.home-decorating-made-easy.com). His web sites
offers lots of FREE decorating tips and ideas for decorating
your home.