Positive energy: watch your sales flow with these feng shui design tips

Pool & Spa News, July 25, 2005 by Tabitha Miller

In my practice, business clients desire their retail environments to project an overwhelming aura of comfort and style. They want customers to feel good while spending money in their stores. Retailers in various industries find that feng shui is one way to achieve this comfort level and many design principles impact today's showrooms.

Based on a 3,000-year-old Chinese tradition, feng shui (pronounced "fung schway") is the art and science of organizing space. It helps improve balance and flow, and creates harmony. According to the philosophy, feng shui affects every environment, from homes and office buildings to retail stores.

By incorporating various aspects of physics, geography and design elements to influence well-being, feng shui can help bring prosperity to your company. Here are five tips to help get you started:

1 Make a strong first impression.

Entrances represent how the world meets your organization. They also symbolize how opportunities come to your business. For that reason, special attention should be given to your store entry--even if you don't have much foot traffic from the general public.

Ask yourself, "Does my entry have smooth and easy access, or is it a challenge to get to the front door? Is there an odor of chemicals or a stale smell? Is it narrow or dark?"

To benefit from feng shui principles, entrances should include fountains, artwork, lush plants, aquariums or a clean, subtle fragrance. For example, incorporate a pure essential oil chosen exclusively for your businesses' needs.

2 Go with the flow.

According to Chinese tradition, all things are interrelated by a life force or subtle energy called "chi." The principles of feng shui suggest that when the flow of chi through our space is blocked, weak or misdirected, our relationships, cash flow, creativity, health and careers can suffer.

Energy and customers are in constant motion, so make it easy for them to coexist. Enable both to flow unimpeded visually and physically by leaving aisles and exhibits clutter-free. Take care in the placement of shelving and other displays. There should be no pockets or dead ends that can trap chi.

Also, avoid long, straight aisles and cover up sharp protruding corners. People should be able to see to the back of the store. The best way to accomplish this is to angle the aisles and vary display heights.

3 Let there be light.

Lighting has psychological significance. Try to incorporate it at varying levels in your showroom. By making some areas brighter than others, you create multiple points of interest and the customer feels drawn to different locations within the store.

4 Learn the art of proper pacement.

Another valuable tool of feng shui is "bagua" ("ba" means eight and "gua" represents area), which is an energy map. It is traditionally shown as an octagon, with eight sections surrounding a central area. The map can be used to place each item according to its basic element or association.

For example, a retail store may want to put waterfeatures in the water energy section of the bagua map, or lighting displays where fire energy is located.

The cash register or financial office should be placed in the building's wealth spot. Traditional feng shui uses a compass and the year of construction completion to find this spot. But you may also think of the left diagonal corner as a favorable position for any important activity.

5 Utilize the five elements.

Feng shui proposes that the world is comprised of five elements or energy types: earth, fire, wood, water and metal. As a retailer, your showroom should reflect the basic element to which it belongs. A pool and spa store naturally would belong to the water element. A jewelry store, on the other hand, would possess a metal energy.

Once you've established your store's energy type, you can then select the color for it. For instance, you can use shades of blue and black if you own a pool store (water energy). Metal nourishes water, so you can also incorporate metallic colors (bronze, silver and gold), and shades of gray and white.

ShowTime

Who: Tabitha Miller

What: "Feng Shui for Retail Stores"

Where: 2005 International Pool & Spa Expo, Orlando, Fla.

When: Wed., Nov. 2, 8-10 a.m.

Seminar will teach the fundamental design principles of feng shui and how to apply them to retail showroom floors.

APSP Certification: CBP, BLP; 200 Level, 2.0 Business Credit Hours

Miller is the founder of A Space in Time Feng Shui. a professional feng shui consultation firm in Orlando, Fla. She is certified by the Feng Shui Research Center in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.