How to Feng Shui Your Party Space

Before you begin decorating for a party, it’s very helpful to take a moment to think about the energy and flow of your space. Rearranging your furniture, incorporating some feng shui elements, and making decisions ahead of time will help you create a fabulous atmosphere for your guests.

Here are a few ideas about how to stage your home for a party:

• Pick Up and Put Away: Start with basics! Anytime you decorate, it’s important to un-decorate first. According to the feng shui principles, clutter drains your energy and can negatively influence the events of your life, so you want your party space to be as uncluttered as possible. Stow your everyday belongings in closed cabinets, closets, or rooms that won’t be used during the party. That mantle full of picture frames? Leave just one or two for guests to admire and box up the rest to make room for a row of candles in frosted glass votives or a single-stem vase with a flower.

• Traffic Flow: Think about the flow of foot traffic through your home. Most guests will arrive through your main entrance, drop off their coats, get themselves a beverage, mingle, dine, and mingle some more. Designate a place for coats that is close to your entrance. Empty your front closet for the occasion and stock it with plenty of hangers instead of trekking back and forth from a bedroom. Close off any rooms you don’t want guests to enter, and make sure the bathroom is well-marked if it isn’t obvious.

• Arranging Furniture: When you rearrange furniture for a party, don’t feel that you have to have enough seating for everyone. Providing places for a third of your guests to sit will encourage more mingling. The spaces you do create should promote conversation. Sectional couches are fabulous for this, but you can achieve the same affect by clustering chairs and sofas together. Avoid creating one big circle though! You’ll also need to set up a bar area. If the entrance is at your back, the bar should be set up a good ways into the room on the left. Leave enough space between the bar table and the wall so people can access it from all sides. Place food on small side tables around the party space or circulate the room with a tray of appetizers.

• Music and Lighting: Music and lighting are essential to a party’s atmosphere. Turn off overhead lights and opt for shaded lamps, candles, or natural light from the windows. Start your music at a very low volume at the beginning of the night. It should be audible but not overpowering, and you can always turn it up as more people arrive.

• Decoration: To feng shui your party space, you’ll need to incorporate all five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. There are many ways to do this. A literal interpretation would include potted plants, a fireplace, a large terracotta serving plate, a wrought iron candelabra, and a small fountain. A more subtle approach would weave together contrasting colors and textures to represent each element. If you also want to use more traditional party decorations, remember that less is more. Create one focal area in each room for your embellishments—a table centerpiece, a doorway, or a window, for example.

Think outside the box as you prepare your home for a party, and don’t be afraid to modify your plans halfway through the evening if you see something that isn’t working. Who knows, you may decide to keep your new furniture arrangement long after the party is over!