Accounting for about 70% of our bodies and the Earth’s surface, water is one of the most plentiful and beneficial elements on the planet.
Its nourishing liquid not only brings us health and life, but its flow and connecting networks are the keys that open up the possibility of growth and wealth.
This is why water has been a powerful symbol of prosperity and abundance for millennia all over the world, in particular, in ancient China and the art of Feng Shui.
Water is the strongest yin energy of the five Feng shui elements. It’s a passive force that flows and responds effortlessly, but it can also be aggressive and generate incredible amounts of force.
The art of Feng Shui allows us to harness the energies and qualities of Water in our homes and lives. Specifically, the Water element helps cultivate tranquility, wisdom, intuition, and wealth—physically, spiritually, and financially.
Discover how to incorporate and balance the Water element in your spaces using our following interior design guide that includes its main colors, shapes, and materials.
Feng Shui Water Element Decor Colors
To bring the Water element into your home, one of the easiest things you can do is consider your color choice. Water’s colors are related to cool tones and light aquatic shades, but they also include strong blues, blacks, and grays.
Blue Feng Shui Color Meaning
Blue is clearly the color most associated with water. If you want to add the light and fluid qualities of Water into a room or space, the easiest way to do so is with touches of blue.
The Water Element can be expressed by any shade of blue. However, the deeper and richer the blue, the heavier and more lethargic it may feel. The lighter the blue, the airier and cooler it will feel.
Black Feng Shui Color Meaning
Black is a very powerful color in Feng Shui and thus it is recommended to use it sparingly. The color black embodies power, majesty, strength, authority, and elegance. When used too much, black can make things feel overly solemn and serious.
For instance, too much black in the bedroom can take the passion out of the room or pull you too far into sleep. The color works well in rooms associated with water, such as the bathroom and toilet, as well as in accessories and accents in the kitchen.
Gray Feng Shui Color Meaning
Gray is often considered one of the most neutral colors in Feng Shui. As the intermediate color between white and black, it is ideal as a secondary or auxiliary interior design color.
When you want to bring out Water qualities without being too overt, gray is the answer. Take note that as a yin color, too much gray can stagnate energy and suck it out of a room. The right shades and balance can bring lightness as well as the precision and clarity of the Metal element.
Feng Shui Water Element Decor Lines & Shapes
The fluid forms of the Water element are not limited to the bodies of water. They can be seen all around the natural world, including clouds, rolling hills, flowers, animals, and leaves.
In an architectural and interior design context, the Water element is represented by rounded objects, curved, soft, and less distinct edges, fluid forms, and wavy patterns. The antithesis of the Water element is square, rectangular shapes, sharp, jagged corners, and vertical lines.
Water-shaped objects support the idea of fluidity and cohesion. They seek to merge with their surroundings, rather than contrast and stand out. This is why softer and less distinct edges, as opposed to sharp objects, activate Water qualities in a space.
Feng Shui Water Element Decor Products & Artwork
Water is the epitome of impermanence. It is constantly moving and never adopts only one form. When bringing Water into the home or another interior, the idea is to promote this sense of motion, fluidity, and interconnectedness.
If heavy, rectangular objects add stability and grounding to a space, light, circular objects bring levity and movement into a space. Such objects tend to be fragile and delicate, such as glass items, textiles, and mirrors, but they can also be solid and strong such as fountains, black furnishings, and Water imagery.
Here are a few ideas for activating the Water element in your spaces:
- Black, blue and gray decor, fixtures & furnishings
- A round coffee table with a glass covering
- Round bowls, cups & plates
- A glass vase of flowers
- Mirrors, particularly round ones or two facing one another
- Figurines and delicate, breakable items, especially blue antique glass
- An aquarium, fountain, or water feature
- Images, prints or patterns of water including lakes, seas & oceans
Feng Shui Water Element Decor Principles
Each of the five elements in Feng Shui are not separate independent things, but rather interconnected stages or phases. Each element is a part of the same whole and is broken down by and brought into being by another.
In Feng Shui, the ways in which the five elements interact with one another are explained by three main cycles: The Productive Cycle, The Controlling Cycle, and The Weakening or Destructive Cycle.
To balance the Water element in your spaces, you need to know what nourishes, feeds, or creates Water (The Productive Cycle), what Water is controlled by or heavily affected by (The Controlling Cycle), and what exhausts or drains Water (The Destructive Cycle).
- Water is nourished by Metal. Metal feeds water through condensation. You can feed the Metal element by introducing Water-energy furnishings and accessories into a space.
- Water is controlled and destroyed by Earth. Too many Earth-like qualities, including clay and pottery, can dry out Water. In the same way, too much water can extinguish Fire and dampen out passion and energy.
There are many ways to use these three cycles and the above tips to help balance the Water element and bring fluidity, levity, and prosperity into your spaces. 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 help infusing your spaces with wisdom, harmony, and balance? Book your free consultation with Leslie Close, our Principal Designer & LA-based Feng Shui Interior Designer.
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