Guest Author - Diane Kern

You are hosting a party and you want people to stay out of the kitchen and enjoy themselves. But for some reason everyone always ends up in the kitchen. The kitchen is where you and your friends sit and chat over a hot cuppa, having that International Coffee moment. Your children do their homework at the kitchen table. With their friends they raid the refrigerator. The kitchen is truly the heart of the home.

Feng shui places great importance on the kitchen. Placing the stove in the proper location to benefit the cook and thereby the whole family is fundamental. It is also necessary to have the correct relationship between the stove and water in the kitchen. What you see upon entering the kitchen and while you are working there is also significant.

In many homes we drive the car into the garage and enter directly into the kitchen. If the first thing you see is the stove one of the problems you may have is controlling your weight. The first thing you see is the stove and the first thing you think about is food and eating. It is certainly convenient when bringing in the groceries but try placing a divider or screen to block your view of the stove. The same holds true if you see the stove when entering from the front door.

Doing homework at the kitchen table is almost a tradition. It keeps the family in close proximity which is a good thing, to quote Martha Stewart. But the same problem occurs. Spend a lot of time in the kitchen and you think of eating. So watch out for the snacking as an accompaniment to social studies.

The placement of the stove across from, next to, or behind a source of water creates problems. Fire and water have very different vibrations and they don’t play well together. If you stand at the stove with the sink behind you, for instance, the interplay of fire and water can have a negative affect. Seeing the bathroom from the kitchen is also detrimental. If you have such a situation, keep the bathroom door closed. There are a number of reasons for doing so, not the least of which is the idea of preparing food in sight of a toilet is unsavory.

In planning the layout of a home there are several items of major concern – the door, the stove, the bed and the office. The feng shui consultant will arrange for the husband and wife to share the benefits of these features according to their personal needs. Finding the correct placement for the family stove and actually using it can bring health and prosperity to the entire family.

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Do you love feng shui? Let everyone know with this funny coffee mug. Comes in an apron too!




Feng Shui and the 5 element kitchen is more than a cookbook. An emphasis is placed on balancing the yin and yang of food, seasons, and more.