In feng shui, designing with a foundation in the Earth element is considered one of the most balanced ways to create a space or home. After all, the Earth is the foundation upon which we build our homes, relationships, and our lives.
A mixture of both yin and yang elements, the Earth element is highly adaptable and blends well with all the other feng shui elements: Fire, Water, Wood, and Metal. Earth enhances the center (tai chi) of a space and helps create a sense of balance and unity that is absolutely essential within any home, living space, or workplace.
Earth is particularly effective in shared spaces, bedrooms, and areas of rest and reflection. The feng shui element represents stability, health, calm, nourishment, and steadiness.
If your spaces or home feel scattered, ungrounded, and without a clear center, incorporating the Earth element is the way to go. With that being said, Earth can also be dry, dull, unimaginative, and depressing, and so it is important to know how to work with it properly.
The following feng shui Earth element decor principles will help ensure you find the right colors, shapes, and materials to design a calm and stable space or home using the Earth element.
Feng Shui Earth Element Decor Colors
The colors of the Earth element tend to be light and subtle yellows and soft browns or oranges. However, they also come in darker tones, such as terracota, deep browns, and even grayish blues.
Yellow Feng Shui Color Meaning
Apart from very bright and pure yellows that represent Fire, all shades of yellow represent the Earth element. Yellow has relaxing qualities that foster happiness, cheerfulness and optimism.
Some of the more popular yellow colors for bringing out the Earth element are soft and muted, such as pastel yellow, soft lemon yellow, muted mustard, and dark gold.
Brown Feng Shui Color Meaning
As the color of soil, wood, and sand, all shades of brown represent the Earth element. The color is associated with resilience, dependability, and stability.
As brown is closely linked to the Earth, darker tones can have a heavy presence and weigh down the energy in a space. Lighter browns, including beige, light chestnut, and taupe can infuse a space with Earth qualities without stagnating the energy.
Orange Feng Shui Color Meaning
Similar to yellow, orange can represent the Fire element when it is bright and pure. However, most shades of orange activate the Earth element and are associated with support, loyalty, and strength.
To activate the Earth element in your spaces with orange, you can use deep bronze colors and rusty oranges as well as lighter peach and apricot tones.
Feng Shui Earth Element Decor Lines & Shapes
When you look up at the sky you see endless space but when you look over the horizon you see a long (almost) flat line. In the same way, Doaists saw this and believed the Earth was represented by a square and the heaven by a circle.
Squares, cubes, and flat rectangular surfaces are solid, supportive, and perfect for constructing with—whether it be a life or a house. In architecture, squares and rectangles are some of the most common shapes, from skylines to city blocks to central plazas.
Earth-based homes should also look like they naturally fit into their environment. Rectangular windows and doors, flat roofs, wooden beams, and rectangular terraces all invoke the Earth element.
Feng Shui Earth Element Decor Products & Artwork
Combining Earth colors, shapes, and materials in your home decor is a powerful way to activate the Earth element in a space. Wood is particularly effective (only actively growing plants and wood represent the Wood element).
Here are a few ideas for activating the Earth element in your spaces:
- Stones and bricks
- The soil in potted plants
- Clay, terracotta, ceramic, and other pottery
- Square or rectangular furniture and decor made from wood
- Pictures or artwork depicting landscapes
- Artwork in earth element colors (muted yellows, browns, earthy oranges)
- Wood sculptures and heavy, solid objects
- Natural textiles and art pieces made of natural materials
Feng Shui Earth Element Decor Principles
Each of the five elements in Feng Shui are not separate, independent things, but rather interconnected stages or phases. Each is a part of the same whole and is broken down by and brought into being by others.
In Feng Shui, the ways in which the five elements interact with one another are explained by three cycles: The Productive Cycle, The Controlling Cycle, and The Weakening or Destructive Cycle.
To balance the Earth element in your spaces, you need to know what nourishes, feeds, or creates Fire (The Productive Cycle), what controls Earth (The Controlling Cycle), and what exhausts Earth (The Destructive Cycle).
- Earth is nourished by Fire. When wood burns, it turns into ashes that eventually nourish the Earth. Incorporating the Fire element with Earth is important to help turn the Earth element into an active and positive force in your life.
- Earth is controlled by Wood. Too much Earth energy in a space can cause too much stability and hinder change. Wood dishevels the Earth and helps to bring a more active and transformative energy.
- Earth is extinguished by Wood. Wood depletes the Earth by taking away its resources and stability to create new life. Too much wood can cause a space to feel unsteady, uncertain and agitated.
There are many ways to use these three cycles and the above tips to help infuse feng shui Earth element decor and infuse your spaces with stability and calm. The main thing is to be able to assess what a space needs and to be aware of how each element interacts with another.
Need expert guidance to infuse your spaces with the wisdom, harmony, and balance of Feng Shui? Get in touch to book a call with Leslie Close, our Principal Designer and California Interior Designer based here in Los Angeles.
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