Case Studies

Residential - Comprehensive Feng Shui Consultation
Residential - Architectural Plan Review for New Homes or Renovations
Commercial - Comprehensive Feng Shui Consultation

Residential - Comprehensive Feng Shui Consultation

When Nancy Woods called to schedule her Comprehensive Feng Shui Consultation, she wanted to make sure that the needs of her entire family would be taken into consideration. "I want a home we all feel at home in," she explained.

Nancy, her husband, Dave, her young son Jonathan, and daughter Maura, and small dog Sophie, share a lovely home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Yet, something was missing. According to Nancy, the home they had previously lived in had that homey feeling. Why, she wondered, was it missing from her new home?

After completing the Contemporary Five Element Assessment for Nancy and Dave, we discovered Nancy's affinity element is Earth, with a strong connection to Fire, and Dave's affinity element is Earth, with a strong Fire connection as well. The Fire element feeds Earth and is associated with the heart, laughter, and intimacy. The heart of their home, an open kitchen, dining, and living area, was primarily grey and wood grain. To increase the presence of the much needed Fire, we recommended she add accents of burgundy red throughout this area. We also recommended she make the fireplace a more prominent feature. Nancy accomplished this by commissioning an artist to add representation of the four seasons to four wooden panels along her mantle. This also brought a connection to the cycles of nature, an important Feng Shui principle, into the heart of her home.

For Nancy and her family, these simple changes brought dramatic results. Says Nancy, "They took in my family's personalities and needs and what worked for us. Looking at the overall picture of how we were living in the house and what our needs were, they came up with the best solutions.

"I really like what they recommended."

Residential - Architectural Plan Review

When Joanne Savard called for help with their upcoming renovation, she was both excited and nervous. "It's a huge project," she explained, "There's so much at stake. I want to make sure we get it right the first time."

During the consultation, we discovered that Joanne and her husband, Gerard, were indeed planning a monumental renovation, essentially gutting an historic home on the water in Duxbury, Massachusetts, and rebuiliding it from the bottom up. To move to this dream location, they would be moving, with their two young sons, from a home they had custom built. As we toured through their current home, it became apparent how well it served their needs.

"We love this place. It'll be hard to leave," Joanne said, repeatedly.

We knew that their new home would have to, at the very least, match what worked in their old home. especially the heart of the home which was a sequential open kitchen, dining, and living room area. When we visited the new home the difficulties, exacerbated by the structural constraints of this New England relic, soon became apparent.

Our first concern was defining the primary entrance. Having been added onto several times over the years, this home had three main entrances, one original door facing the water that was never used and two on the side positioned in a L-shape. Their architects had recommended using a door off of a hard-to-access porch at the top of the L, connected to the oldest section of the home, as the primary entrance. We stood back and looked at the overall flow of Chi and people to the home as well as the flow once you entered the home, and recommended changing the driveway to create a circular movement, drawing traffic to the side of the house. A path from the driveway would lead to a bricked deck connecting the two existing doors of the L, giving cohesiveness to this area. Another entrance, which would be designated the "primary entrance," would be added in the center of the back wall of the L. The old, hard-to-access porch would come down, opening the space for greater welcome.

Once the primary entrance was defined, the flow within the home began to make sense. We recommended a substantial entry with attractive storage for the boy's sports equipment and winter garments, something sorely missing in the original plans. This area would be created by moving the too small, too dark kitchen into the home's heart - a large sail loft, with an open ceiling two stories high, which would contain the sequential kitchen, dining room, and living room, replicating what worked so well in their previous home.

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Says Joanne, "We're thrilled with the work that Douglas and Sheryll did for us. We jumped at the chance to live in our dream location, but we couldn't see how we were going to make the house work for us. They showed us new ways of looking at the problems and came up with innovative solutions to solved them.

"They helped turn a potential nightmare into a fun project. I feel supported in ways I couldn't have anticipated. And the best part is I know I can continue to call on them for guidance once the contruction is underway. The consultation was everything I could have wanted and more."

Commercial - Comprehensive Feng Shui Consultation

When Nancie Shelhamer, owner of the Village Trading Company, an upscale gift shop located in Mashpee Commons, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, called for a consultation, it was clear many aspects of her business were already working well.

"I sell what I would love to buy, but don't find in other stores," she explained. "Our customers seem to appreciate that; they seek us out again and again. We have the best customers! We just need more of what we already have."

Our first consultation was just before Christmas in 1999. At that time the Village Trading Company inhabited a 850 square foot corner space, across from a supermarket at the far end of the shopping center. As a result, they received very little foot traffic. Almost all of their business was word of mouth from their satisfied customer base. Nancie reported that she had contemplated a move, but it would be at least several years in the future.

Upon entering the store, the flow was immediately blocked by two display cases that obscured the view to the cash wrap where the staff was generally situated. Since this business depended largely on personal relationships, we recommended clearing the top shelves, which then allowed for immediate staff-to-customer contact.

We also recommended changing the position of many display cases on the floor, angling them where possible to create more interesting paths of movement and easier visual and physical access to products.

Perhaps most importantly, we recommended that the shelving behind the cash wrap, on the wall directly across from the entrance, be filled with the products Nancie had earmarked for growth - several lines of high end dishes.

Says Nancie, "I couldn't believe it. The sales of our Wedgewood's Nantucket Basket and Roseanne Henning's handpainted pottery popped and haven't stopped since. The whole focus of our business changed. It's been fantastic."

In late August 2001, we received a frantic call from Nancie. They had been unexpectedly offered two new locations and had to make a commitment by the next day.

"Help!' she said. "I know it's short notice, but we need you."

Fortunately, we were able to visit both locations later that same day. One was a free standing building, designed to look like a small house. A 1450 square foot space divided into several rooms, it exuded a lot of cozy "Yin" energy. Nancie was leaning towards this space. The homeyness felt familiar and safe. She could clearly see her beautiful products displayed here.

The other space was an open 1600 square feet, with walls of windows on two sides, at a crossroads corner. The tall ceilings, vast expanse of windows, and industrial "Yang" feeling intimidated Nancie.

"I looked at those windows and thought 'How am I ever going to handle keeping them filled with product?' I was terrified," she says.

Knowing that Nancie desired growth, we pushed her in the direction of her fears. The cozy, homelike space would be a small, lateral move. The more open space on the main thoroughfare would represent a huge leap forward. We were confident that Nancie's natural decorating ability would counteract the industrial feeling. And, we knew from a Feng Shui perspective, that the strong Yang energy of the larger space was just the right balancing energy for the dominantly Yin energy of Nancie and her products. While Yin energy quietly invites customers to explore, Yang energy is not afraid to say, "Look at me! I'm special!"

Says Nancie, "I'm so pleased with our new store. I love the openness, the light. I even love all the windows; they encourage us to be more creative.

"All our old customers like it better. And, being in the main flow, new customers are finding us.

"I attribute our current success to that first consultation. Moving the position of the dishes changed everything. It's been constant expansion ever since. We're where we are today because of Feng Shui."