Feng Shui Kitchen Cures

Feng shui cures can stop financial losses caused by improper kitchen layouts and incorrect sector locations. Fortunately, feng shui cures can lessen the effect these problems can have on finances and even health.

Kitchen Problem Placements and Layouts

Another common kitchen issue is the wrong location in the house layout. Renovations that require relocating the kitchen to another sector of the home aren't always possible. A few feng shui cures don't require renovations and may help lessen the problem.

Stove Opposite Refrigerator, Sink, Dishwasher, or Freezer

Kitchen layouts are a common feng shui issue. Many kitchens are built with the sink directly opposite or beside the stove, oven or range. Other kitchen layouts place the refrigerator or freezer opposite or side by side these fire element appliances. These represent the conflicting elements of fire and water. Moving the appliances is usually inconvenient and cost prohibitive. If you can't move the appliances so they aren't opposite each other, there are few feng shui solutions.

• Place a potted plant, such as a small herb or jade plant between the two conflicting appliance elements of water vs fire.
• A hanging plant can be suspended between the two appliances
• Hang a multi-faceted round crystal above the space between the two appliances.
• A six-hollow rod wind chime can be suspended between a stove and appliance (refrigerator, freezer) or sink.
• A live woody plant can be placed on top of a refrigerator.
• Suspend a multi-faceted crystal above the stove to disperse the chi generated by the fire element.

Kitchen in Front of House

The ideal kitchen location is in the back of your home. A kitchen located in the front of the house, especially near the front door is considered inauspicious. However, there are a couple of cures that can lessen this negative effect.

• If the kitchen has a door, keep it closed at all times so the chi energy doesn't rush in when it first enters through the front door.
• A kitchen without a door can be protected by hanging a curtain to create a faux barrier.
• A folding screen can be placed to separate the kitchen from the front entrance.

Inauspicious Shared Walls With Kitchen

There are instances when the kitchen shares a wall with another room that generates inauspicious energies, such as a bathroom. There are a few remedies for these situations that can act as a cure or have a weakening effect.

Kitchen and Bathroom Share Wall

It is inauspicious for the kitchen and bathroom to share the same wall. The negative chi is especially harmful when the stove and toilet are on opposite sides of the same wall. This means the negative energy of the waste water contaminates the energy of your food. This layout impacts the health of the family and the family finances.

Feng Shui Kitchen and Bathroom Cure

You can weaken this clash between the fire and water elements. Breaking this harmful cycle can improve financial and health concerns.

• Use wood objects on both sides of the wall to introduce the wood element. Wood weakens water while fueling the fire element. Place wooden plaques, wall hangings, sculptures, and other wooden objects on the walls.
• Paint both sides of the wall shared by the kitchen and bathroom wall a medium or light green color. Green is the color assigned to the wood element. Wood soaks up water and fuels fire.
• Separate the energies by hanging a mirror on each wall facing into each room. This will reflect the bathroom energy back into the bathroom and the kitchen fire energy back into the kitchen.

Best Cure for Water and Fire Clashes

One of the best cures for a water and fire clash with appliances is to set the stove (fire) higher than the refrigerator (water). The base of the stove/range would need to be higher than the refrigerator, freezer, dishwasher, etc.

Bedroom Above Kitchen

This inauspicious configuration can affect the health of anyone sleeping above the kitchen area of the stove, oven and/or range. You need to apply feng shui remedies to correct and lessen the negative effects.

Feng Shui Cures for Bedroom Above Kitchen

If your bed is directly over the oven, range or stove you need to move the bed. You can follow feng shui rules for a correct bed placement.

• In the destructive cycle, the earth element destroys the fire element. Reinforce the earth element in the bedroom by adding pottery, ceramics and/or crystals.
• Add a rug in an earth color of yellow, brown or gray. The rug should be large enough to extend one foot or more beyond the bed.
• Use earth colored bed linens, making sure to avoid green (wood color) since wood feeds fire.
• You can use the old feng shui cure of placing a small round mirror (symbol of pool of water) face down underneath the bed and rug.

Bathroom Above Kitchen

A bathroom above a kitchen is highly inauspicious since the energy of the waste water flows down to the kitchen. You can remedy this placement using the same bedroom cures for the bathroom. In addition, you can keep the kitchen overhead light on for at least six hours every day or use a torchiere floor lamp to shine light toward the ceiling to direct the chi energy away from the kitchen.

Kitchen Located in Northwest Sector

The most detrimental issue with kitchens is when it's located in the northwest sector. According to feng shui principles, kitchens should never be in this sector of the home. This placement is called, fire at heaven's gate.

Reason Northwest Unlucky for Kitchen Location

The energy in the northwest affects the oldest male in the household. Traditionally, this was the father in the family and in the past was considered the main breadwinner. This is the main reason a kitchen in the northwest became such a feng shui taboo. The fire at heaven's gate consumes the man's ability to earn money and is warned that he may find himself afflicted with health and financial woes.

Cures for Northwest Kitchens

There are a few cures you can try to weaken the negative impact of a northwest kitchen. The only real cure is to relocate the kitchen.

• The best locations for a kitchen are the south sector (fire) or the east (wood).
• Hang a ceramic or crystal mobile or wind chime over the stove/range. Ceramic and crystals activate the earth element to weaken the fire element.
• Place a round mirror (face down) on the ceiling directly over the stove/range to reflect and contain the fire energy.

Add More Water

Typically, you don't want to add water to the kitchen (fire element), but in this case you want to tamp down the fire element. In the destructive element cycle, water destroys fire. There are a few ways you can add more water to the kitchen.

• Add an aquarium, water fountain or water cooler to weaken the fire element.
• Place a vase or urn with water on the counter, table, shelf or floor.
• Decorate the kitchen in blue and black. Paint the walls blue or a blue accent wall behind the stove/range.

Mouth of the Oven

The mouth of the oven is defined by the direction the oven door opens toward. An oven on the southeast wall will open toward the northwest, usually an inauspicious direction, depending on your kua number.

Kua Number Auspicious for Northwest Exception to Rule

There is one exception to the northwest being inauspicious for a kitchen. If the kua number of the family breadwinner reveals the northwest is one of your best directions, then you can relax and enjoy your kitchen to the fullest. Kua numbers always trump any afflicted areas!

Other Common Kitchen Problems and Cures

A few other kitchen problems can be addressed with simple feng shui cures. Try one at a time to assess its effectiveness.

• If you must stand with your back to the door when using the stove/range, then place a small round mirror so you can see behind you while you cook.
• Hang a multi-faceted crystal over a stove/range that's located underneath a window.
• If the stove/range is in the line of vision from the front door, keep the kitchen door closed or place a folding screen to block the view from the front door.

Shapes and Elements

Each feng shui element also has an assigned shape. You can use a shape in your kitchen décor to enhance the elements that can weaken, fuel or destroy fire. You can use patterns in curtains, wallpaper, upholstery, china patterns and even kitchen towels.

• Rectangle: This shape represents the wood element and wood fuels fire.
• Wavy lines: This shape represents the water element, so don't use these in your kitchen décor unless you need to counter the fire element.
• Square: This is the symbol for the earth element and in the exhaustive cycle, earth weakens fire.
• Circle: This is the symbol for metal. Fire melts metal.
• Triangle: This is the symbol for fire.

Effectiveness of Feng Shui Kitchen Cures

You can gauge the effectiveness of your feng shui kitchen cures by the positive changes they bring to your finances and/or health. You may need more than one cure. Try one at a time then wait to see the result. If one cure works, there's no need to add others.