Copyright (c) 2006, 
Dow Jones & Company Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.CAN A BOWL WITH seven goldfish really make you rich?
Feng shui, an ancient Chinese art that traces back thousands of years, is meant to improve your life by arranging your home in a harmonious way.
Traditional feng shui has loyal followers around the world, particularly in Hong Kong, where residents follow it for advice on decisions about new apartments or office buildings.
In the U.S., the art form has become a niche area of the booming interior-design industry. There are about 350 American members of the International Feng Shui Guild, (compared with more than 38,000 members of the American Society of Interior Designers).
Unlike interior designers, who typically make their money by adding a markup to the furnishings their clients buy, feng shui experts charge a fee ranging from 30 cents to one dollar per square foot, or a flat fee. Some feng shui experts sell fountains, wind chimes, light- reflecting crystal balls and other "cures" that are frequently prescribed by feng shui.
To test if feng shui could make our homes more livable, we hired a feng shui expert in five major cities to evaluate our living spaces and give us recommendations.
Overall, we enjoyed looking at our homes in this new way and we received useful suggestions for improving the look and feel of our homes. But some practitioners also delivered some beliefs that we found a bit far-fetched. Our Dallas-based consultant suggested that we plant plastic flowers in our front yard, (just run them under water and set them outside to absorb the natural elements). A Los Angeles- based designer purified our home by burning native grasses, while we followed her with a gas fireplace clicker to keep the flames alight. Those who are uncomfortable with concepts like bad energy might be better off with an interior designer.
A feng shui expert divides the home into eight or nine areas, where each zone represents a specific part of life such as health, romance, career or finances. The rooms are tweaked to direct good energy, or chi, into the proper parts of the home, with particular attention to the main entrance, the bed, stove and work or office area. In addition, each room should have a balance between the five elements: earth, water, fire, wood and metal.
In Hong Kong, an epicenter of feng shui, we consulted a master with more than 20 years of experience. He arrived toting a book of fortunes for the next 10,000 years, a regular compass, and a Lo Pan, a special compass incorporating other feng shui information. He suggested we place a bowl in a corner with exactly seven goldfish -- and one of them should be a different color than the other six -- for extra wealth.
Our consultant in New York recommended adding more running water, like a fountain, although an aquarium or a lava lamp would work as well. She also suggested we move our desk away from some bookshelves that were "cutting our chi." The area indeed now feels more spacious and restful.
Our Chicago expert said an astrological chart indicated our tester's son should sleep with his head facing the opposite direction. He tried it and didn't like it. On a more practical note, she pointed out that our kitchen would feel bigger with a small, round or square rug.
Our Dallas-based expert said that our house's narrow entrance foyer was a big trouble spot. It opens directly facing a set of stairs -- a feng shui no-no because energy immediately flows out of the house, instead of dispersing through it. She suggested round rugs to fix it. She also said that our writing would improve if we relocated our third-floor office to an unused room on the first floor, which is closer to our back yard -- our prosperity and growth area.
Our consultant in Los Angeles suggested adding feminine furniture, such as round, low tables in the bedroom, which is also our prosperity area, to counterbalance the masculine feel caused by tall bed posts and a gas pipe. Although some of her suggestions were a bit kooky, such as placing a mirror under the bed to bounce away bad energy, many made the house more livable.
None of our testers has since become wealthy (so far), but maybe that's because no one bought any goldfish.
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Sarah McBride, Jonathan Eig, Geoffrey Fowler and Melanie Trottman contributed to this article.
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Write to cranky@wsj.com.
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Online Today: For more on trends in home design, visit RealEstateJournal.com.
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CONSULTANT/LOCATION: Katy Allgeyer; Los Angeles
COST/TIME SPENT: $200; 1 1/2 hours, a no-frills version of customary
three-hour, $630 service.
TROUBLE SPOTS: A small room near the deck, identified as a romance area,
was declared a "total disaster" because of a broken broom and tattered chair.
REMEDY: Immediately fill the room with paired items: chairs, cushions,
candles, etc.
COMMENTS: Our consultant said the house had "too much minimalism in all
the wrong places." The suggestions had merits. A simple rearrangement made
the dining room look much bigger.
CONSULTANT/LOCATION: Feng Shui Design, Pam Kai Tollefson; Chicago/Milwaukee
COST/TIME SPENT: $400; three hours
TROUBLE SPOTS: A billboard outside our window featuring a cartoon frog. An
astrological evaluation determined our son's head was facing the wrong way
in bed.
REMEDY: Position a small Bagua mirror in our front window to reflect the
building's negative energy. Move our son's pillow to the opposite end of his
bed.
COMMENTS: Consultant was very professional and said we'd chosen a home
with nice shapes and good energy. We could have asked her to do more,
including rituals to remove problems.
CONSULTANT/LOCATION: Tse Yue Ying; Hong Kong
COST/TIME SPENT: $192; one hour
TROUBLE SPOTS: A large mirror at the end of the hallway was bouncing
properly angled energy away from our bedroom.
REMEDY: Get rid of the mirror completely, since mirrors are commonly used
to deflect demons and bad energy.
COMMENTS: Consultant didn't even mention clutter or try to sell any
pendants, statues or water features. He surveyed the apartment based on the
most auspicious angles for our birth date.
CONSULTANT/LOCATION: Melanie Ferreira; New York City
COST/TIME SPENT: $435; four hours
TROUBLE SPOTS: Office bookshelves were cutting our chi and the desk
placement left us with our back to the door.
REMEDY: Put books flush against the shelf and desks should be placed so
that the back is against a solid wall.
COMMENTS: Recommended "traditional cures" such as a $6 package of old
Chinese coins, but her suggestions about creating a better work space were
spot on.
CONSULTANT/LOCATION: Feng Shui Designs, Inga Chandler; Dallas
COST/TIME SPENT: $375; three hours, plus advance preparation.
TROUBLE SPOTS: A narrow entryway. When the door is opened, energy doesn't
have time to flow into the house as fully as it needs to, the consultant
said.
REMEDY: Get a circular or oval-shaped rug to put on the floor. Two small
circular ones would be good because they'd form an eight, which is good
fortune.
COMMENTS: The rectangular shape of our home is good for balance, our
consultant said, since irregular shapes create chaotic energy.
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