In Feng Shui, the kitchen represents nourishment and prosperity; after all, it’s human nature to associate food and nutrition with nurturing and sustenance.  Believers in Feng Shui say that how you design and decorate the kitchen can influence your prosperity and health.

The first thing to bear in mind when considering any Feng Shui advice is that ultimately, Feng Shui is a complex practice with several different schools, and the recommendations will vary from school to school and from one practitioner to another.  So too, advice will differ depending upon the unique home — and the unique people living in it. Despite the fact that different schools may have diverse views on some topics, there are basic Feng Shui principles that apply to all kitchens. Kitchen Placement

The first thing to consider when looking at the kitchen is its placement in terms of the whole house.  We can’t always decide where each room in a house or apartment will be in relation to the others, but if you’re working with new construction or doing extensive renovations, ideally the kitchen will be in the back of the house, at least behind centerline of house. In any case, it’s better if you don’t see the kitchen immediately upon entering the house, as this can portend digestive, nutritional, and eating problems.  Having the kitchen at the entry point can also mean that guests will come over and eat and then leave immediately, and such a placement can also encourage the inhabitants to eat all the time.  But if your kitchen is in the front of the house, don’t panic; there are remedies that can take care of this. Use this as an opportunity to get creative.  Try hanging sheer or beaded curtains over the kitchen door. Or, install louvered doors.  Another idea is to provide something delightfully eye-catching across a hall or in a vestibule near the kitchen. That way, attention is diverted from the busy kitchen. Kitchen Layout It is very important for the cook to be in a “commanding position” when at the stove.  The cook should be able to clearly see the doorway without turning away from the stove.

Renovating a kitchen so this is achieved can be particularly challenging.  Many modern kitchens have the range facing the wall.  Some Feng Shui consultants recommend an easy solution: hang something reflective, such as a mirror or a shiny sheet of decorative aluminum, over the stove.  The reflective surface can be any size, but the bigger it is, the more powerful the correction will be.  For a more dramatic solution, consider installing a cooking island.  Placing the stove in a central island allows the cook to see the entire room, including the doorway.  Beyond the Feng Shui benefits, a cooking island is practical. The wider your view, the more you’ll be able to comfortably talk with dinner guests or keep an eye on the kids as you prepare the meal.  Cooking islands have become a popular trend in kitchen design.  Designing a kitchen around a cooking island will help keep the cook involved in whatever is happening in that Great Room, whether it’s clever before-dinner conversation or hearing about a child’s English homework.

Feng Shui-inspired kitchen design dovetails with the contemporary trend toward “group cooking.”  Instead of isolating the cook, families and guests often gather in the kitchen and participate in the meal preparation. Also, busy working couples use dinner preparation as an important time to unwind together.  It is truly amazing how much the ancient Feng Shui beliefs have to tell us about the design of modern kitchens.  For help in choosing lighting and appliances, read on.

In any room, fluorescent lights do not promote good health; they are constantly flickering, affecting the eyes and nervous system, and can cause hypertension, eyestrain and headaches.  However, they do serve a purpose, as they provide bright light at low cost.  If you decide that you do need fluorescent lights in your kitchen, use full-spectrum bulbs. A good kitchen design is based on a traditional triangle model, with the sink, refrigerator and range making up each point of the triangle.  There should be a 6-8 foot distance between each appliance; this allows for maximum convenience and a minimum of repeated moves.  Because you’ll have that space between each of the major appliances, it should be easy to adhere to the Feng Shui principle of having fire elements—such as the stove and microwave—separated from water elements—such as the refrigerator, dishwasher, and sink. They can be separated by something made of wood, or by something representative of wood, such as a plant or a painting of a plant.

Because the stove represents health and wealth, you want to use the burners on the stove top equally, rotating their use rather than habitually using a particular burner; this represents getting money from multiple sources. The old-fashioned stove, as opposed to a microwave, is often preferred because it is more in keeping with the Feng Shui belief that we should slow down, become more conscious of each activity, and do activities with intention. Heating a quick meal in the microwave is certainly convenient, but doing this may not lead to the most serene state of mind.  Many Feng Shui practitioners are concerned with excess radiation and electromagnetic fields and would therefore prefer to avoid the microwave altogether.  Obviously, each home and family will have to find their own balance between modern conveniences and optimal Feng Shui practice.

As with all rooms in the house, the kitchen should be kept neat and uncluttered, and any broken appliances should be tossed out—even if it means living without a toaster at all for a while, it’s better to have no toaster than one that doesn’t work very well.  In some cases, building code regulations actually reflect good Feng Shui principles.  In New York, it’s illegal to place a window over the stove.  Feng Shui believes that windows should not be placed over stoves because heat represents prosperity, and you don’t want your prosperity flooding out the window.

Luckily,  Feng Shui isn’t only about having a room with good “qi,”, or energy; it’s also simply a practical guide for design.