If you give yourself time to work on spaces, instead of setting a strict deadline, you will make better choices.
Beyond Looks and Function: Decorating with Intention
In a world that promotes overnight makeovers and weekend renovations, I believe in something different: slow decorating.
Slow decorating is the antidote to impulse buys, mismatched pieces, and rooms that look nice but don’t feel right. It’s about “building” your home decor from the ground up, with each choice reflecting not just your taste or budget, but also the energy you want to live in.
How Feng Shui Guides the Process
When I help my clients decorate using the Nine Steps to Feng Shui® System, we go deeper than color schemes and functionality. Each item — from the art on the wall to the placement of a lamp — serves a purpose. It’s either enhancing the energy of the space or correcting an imbalance.
For example:
🖼️ A beautiful painting of a large flower might look nice anywhere. But if you make it the focal point in a great room, the energy shifts dramatically. That same painting in a tiny bathroom? It might feel cramped or out of place.
🏺A striking piece at the end of a hallway can elevate the space. But move it to the side wall, and it can feel awkward or cluttered.
💡 The right lighting in one room can feel overwhelming in another.
That’s why decorating slowly and with intention matters.
If forced to make decisions too quickly, it’s easier to make mistakes.
The Turning Point: A Lesson in Value
I guide my clients to develop their personal style by starting with a few anchor pieces — often high-quality, meaningful, and beautiful — and then building around them. I always ask, “If you moved tomorrow, would you take this with you?” If the answer is no, it probably doesn’t belong in your home.
I learned this the hard way!
Early in my marriage, I bought what was cheap and convenient. But over the years and through multiple moves, I saw how much time and money I had wasted on things that didn’t last or didn’t matter, or simply didn’t make it in one piece through the move between states.
Discovering a New Way to Shop
That’s when I made a new rule for myself: I would only buy things I would gladly take with me in the next move.
I began exploring salvage outlets, reclaimed furniture shops, and antique markets. I found stunning rugs marked down 90% simply because of an imperfection on the underside. I discovered chandeliers that just needed a coat of spray paint to shine again.
Instead of designing a room and then hunting for perfect items to fill it, I began designing around the piece — a rug, a chandelier, a painting — and letting that anchor the space.
Working Within Limits Opens New Possibilities
Shopping this way meant limitations. If I went looking for a rug, I had to choose from the twenty or so available, not hundreds at an online store. I couldn’t afford to be picky about having endless choices — and that became a gift. It freed me from perfectionism and opened the door to creativity.
Sometimes that meant changing curtains to match a new rug, or repainting a dining room chandelier to harmonize with the kitchen fixtures. It meant patience. It meant living with “in progress” rooms. But it also meant that every item was truly loved.
When you think of your home as a living being with its own needs and wants, decorating becomes easier.
A Home That Evolves With You
The beauty of slow decorating is that it lets your home evolve with you. You’re not chasing a trend. You’re creating an environment that reflects your life, your values, and your energy — not someone else’s checklist.
Unlike rushed decorating, where things are chosen quickly for looks or function, slow decorating gives each decision space to breathe — and makes room for Feng Shui wisdom to do its work. Every piece you add has a purpose. Every decision becomes part of your healing journey.
Coming Up: My Own Slow Decorating Journey
In the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing stories about how I applied this process to my own home — adapting each room to match not just our needs, but our evolving life as a growing family.
I’ll talk about the changes I went through as I challenged the minimalist aesthetic I was trained in as an architect, and how I reconciled that with what my soul — and my family — really wanted. I’ll also share how I used my own home as a lab to study how spaces affect our well-being.
Because slow decorating isn’t just about making things look good. It’s about making your home feel right — deeply, fully, and authentically yours.
Want to start learning Feng Shui? Take the class Feng Shui Explained.
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