Feng Shui Kitchen Talk #5
Feng Shui and Microwaves
Q – “Bridget, I’ve read the microwaves are bad. Why did you keep your when you did your kitchen?”
A – There is a lot of talk about Microwaves being bad for one’s health. I happen to agree; however, my Honey likes having one in the house for the odd time he wants to warm something up.
It’s not something we use all the time or even daily, so the potential health risks are minimal in our minds.
Would I have liked to remove it?
? percent, but my Honey is the primary cook (I know I’m lucky), and he likes the convenience of it, so it stayed.
Besides removing, it would have caused a snowball effect in the refresh. I would have had to find another way to vent the range hood or put something fun and beautiful in its place.
Q – “Why do you have a mirror over your stove? It seems like an odd place to put one.”
A – This is a ? percent Feng Shui remedy. From a FS perspective, it is best when designing a kitchen to have the stove facing out, so when cooking, you have a view of the room and the door. The reason for this is that there is a sense of vulnerability when you stand with your back to the top or a door as you cannot see what’s coming in behind you. A mirror over the stove rectifies the situation, letting you see what’s behind you.
We did not build this house, so I’ve made adjustments to meet my Feng Shui Design. Ideally, the stove would be in the island instead of the sink. But I understand why the builder designed the kitchen as they did, the house is in a narrow lot, so to put the sink where the kitchen is with a window would not be ideal for the window would be 10 feet away from the neighbours and facing their deck. The view would be less than excellent. There are also by-laws and building codes that determine how many windows you can have on a side of a house based on lot size.
We have a large window in the stairwell on the same side of the house that makes the space feel so much brighter and lighter than if there was no window. The city would not have approved two windows on that side of the house, so I think the builder made the right choice to install the window in the stairwell rather than put the sink in the outside wall with a window over it.
When looking at houses, we looked at this floor plan without the window in the stairwell, and I didn’t like it. We would have put one in should be have bought that house. I’m glad we didn’t. We love this home.
Back to the mirror. Not only does the mirror rectify the Feng Shui issue of the stove facing the wall, but I also happen to love how it breaks up the 10ft wall of tile and reflects all the light from the windows across the back of the house. It also adds to making the space feel bigger. It is a thrifted find.
Q – “I noticed you added detailing to the doors over the microwave. Is that a Feng Shun thing?”
A – No, the cabinet over the microwave is extended from the profile of the uppers. I wanted to add visual interest to break up the flat surface of the shaker doors.
In high-end kitchen design, the space over the stove is embellished with interesting details or painted a different colour or stained to showcase rich wood tones. This was my way of creating a bit of interest without breaking the budget.
