Want to know why the front door is the most important part of your home? It's because the front door is the "mouth" of your home. Did I really say that? Yup, I did! And, funnily enough, in my head I can just hear my 4-year-old boy, Judah, laughing and saying to me, "The house doesn't have a mouth, silly."
And you know what I would say to him? "Judah, just as you eat with your mouth, a house takes in its food and nourishment through the front door. In feng shui, its called 'the mouth of chi.'"
I might have actually lost him at this point, still I soldier on: "Chi means energy and you know, Jude, if you want to be able to healthily run, ride your bike and climb trees then you need to eat well. And if a house wants to eat well then it has to have good Chi coming in through the front door."
Oh, yes, it's really fun being my child!
It's true, though, when I'm asked to redesign and feng shui someone's home the first thing I do is to look at is where their front door is. Is it facing the street? Is it to the side? Is it 'round the back? (See this CBS 48 Hours segment where the families weight is affected by having the door around the back!)
Ideally, you want your front door to be facing the street so that energy and opportunities can easily come off the road and to your door. However, if you don't have that luxury and your front door is hidden on the side of your home, then you can always put lights, plants or some cute flags all the way from the street to the front door. Your goal is to direct the energy to your "hidden front door."
If you happen to live in an apartment or condo and have to make your way through dark hallways in order to get to your front door, then make sure that between the entrance to the building and your front door there is a clear pathway. If you can, put a few plants along the corridor leading to your front door. If that is not possible, then perhaps you can put one or two outside your own front door, so that your energy is lifted when you see your home.
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