Planning a kitchen means holding a lot of information in your head at once, well beyond the range, style and architecture. Indeed, balancing colour, appliances and decoration takes expertise. Where a newbie dumps clutter, a professional kitchen designer converts it into art. They make the room flow.
Alas, you probably don’t have the time to master feng shui – a method used to prime rooms and stage furniture in a way that invokes a sense of well-being. Fortunately, at Masterclass Kitchens, they do. Having studied it alongside Japandi and wabi-sabi, they’ve trained to be your feng shui consultants.
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Indeed, their kitchen designers have one-inch punched worktop granite, meditated on the philosophy of feng shui masters and spent countless hours hitting that spinny kung-fu hat stand thing in their break room (the pool table was occupied). Put simply, they can guide you.
This is the best rundown of feng shui that 2024 can offer, including how to apply the following three basic principles to a modern kitchen:
- balance (yin-yang)
- natural elements
- the flow of chi energy (or “qi” as us masters spell it)
Along the way, we’ll explain every concept that the Masterclass experts have taught us, and why they’re important, as well as the optimal kitchen cabinetry you can buy to get your desired outcome. It may sound woo-woo but, believe us, feng shui often draws parallel conclusions with science and psychology. So, it’s worth taking notice.
Before You Begin
Feng shui’s literal translation is “wind water.” It’s about flow – specifically energy flow. According to masters, the key is to optimise that flow through your home, setting feng shui mirrors to channel it, plug spaces that waste it, and eddy it wherever you want a surplus.
If you believe this, you’ll agree that it’s important to ensure your home isn’t losing energy before you install a kitchen. As ancient Chinese idioms indicate, water is wealth, and leaks drain your prosperity. This is a metaphor but also a practical tip, especially given the price of today’s utility bills.
Hence, if you want to set a good foundation for your feng shui practice, start by getting a tradesperson to check the plumbing that will underpin your kitchen. The extra fee could save you far more money in the long term.
Balancing Yin and Yang
Next comes the meat of feng shui. Birthed in 475–221 BCE China, a period characterised by warring states, feng shui’s origins stem from a desire to achieve peace at home. Key to its existence is the focus on the yin (feminine) and yang (masculine) – balanced forces that oppose and cycle one another.
Achieving ying-yang in the broader aspects of your kitchen design is the first step towards optimising its feng shui. Take, for example, a handless kitchen like the Masterclass H-Line Larna range shown above. Blending warm (yang) red splashes with cool (yin) black colour expanses, it creates aesthetic equilibrium.
And what about lighting? Blending soft under-cabinet task lighting (yin) with bright overheads (yang) makes for a practical yet comforting combination. All you need is to position kitchen workspaces next to windows, as the Masterclass team has done in this Amalfi Sunset ensemble, or this handleless Sutton Light Grey and Midnight Pietra combination below. That way, you’ll offset artificial lighting effects.
Appliances, accessories and the materials they contain also play a role in balance. Large appliances like ovens (yang), for instance, must balance with artwork or plants (yin). If you can also interrupt sharp-lined door edges with soft, draped climbers or ornamental driftwood then even better!
Featuring the Elements
Balancing the yin and yang of your kitchen range itself is only part of the equation. Remember the soft elements? Countless studies have proven they also have a part to play. After all, a biophilic design that incorporates nature soothes human minds. In short, a natural kitchen promotes well-being.
In the West, we often discuss the four elements – earth, fire, water, air – but feng shui tells you to balance five: earth, fire, water, wood and metal. Incorporate them all in some form and your kitchen should act as a vessel for all the types of energy you need to lead a good life.
The new kitchen above covers many of these elements. Browse Masterclass’s white Italia range, for instance, and you’ll notice the wooden veg crate, the metal hob extractor, the boiling water tap, the fiery integrated oven and the earthy Milano worktops – all five elements.
Incorporating each element is a simple affair in most kitchens. That said, you can use colours to help you if you feel your kitchen is a little light on certain elemental materials. For example, if you don’t have a gas hob, you could always include slashes of red in your décor to represent much-needed fire.
Flowing Qi in Your Kitchen
Qi is energy – or, according to Chinese philosophy, the flowing matter of the universe. You cannot create or destroy it; only channel it from one place to another. Einstein had a similar theory and proved his one with mathematics, so it pays to keep an open mind.
On that note, according to feng shui gurus, the best way to guide qi through a kitchen is to ensure the room:
- is in the rear of your home (definitely not in the centre)
- doesn’t face a front door or bathroom
- has a square or rectangular layout with ample counter space
- is built with the sink and stove separated (to avoid mixing fire and water)
This modern sage green kitchen – technically a Hardwick New Forest and Highland Stone ensemble – with its Shaker kitchen doors follows all these rules. Notice the extra worktop and isolated sink? All these elements combined create an efficient working triangle, which engineers say is the most efficient setup for cooking and socialising.
Remember, though, your kitchen’s orientation isn’t the only factor that impacts flow. Indeed, energy can get “stale,” even in a modern Shaker kitchen. Notice how office workers often feel unable to work until they clear their desk? Clutter causes inaction. So, if you want to feel engaged in cooking, remove clutter.
Clever storage solves this problem. Indeed, whether you have a modern luxury black kitchen or a white Shaker kitchen, the right cabinetry can free up kitchen counters and maintain access to essentials. Masterclass’s breakfast dressers are essentially high-end tea rooms. Their pull-out larders can hide a weekly shop, and their Lansbury corner food pantries are big enough to host a Downton Abbey banquet.
Finally, add the finishing touches. A mirror opposite a nature-facing window, for example, can double your exposure to plants and improve your mental health. And if you need extra juju, imperial feng shui – using special objects in your feng shui room arrangement – will put you in a constant state of luck. Green jadeite is said to help you make good decisions, while agarwood invites wealth into your life.
Get a Feng Shui Consultant
Do you want a kitchen optimised for comfort, practical use and prosperity? Find your nearest Masterclass showroom and book a meeting. Or if you just want more inspiration, become a Masterclass Insider for free. As an Insider, you’ll get exclusive design tips, plus lifestyle guides to help you create a kitchen that helps you cultivate a life you love.
