How to Help Chi Flow in a Split Foyer

Feng Shui Foyer

• Feng shui is the ancient Asian art of placement that guides chi, or energy flow, to optimize good health and good fortune. The front foyer, the main entrance to your home, embodies your outlook on the wider world as you face out, and your view of your own life and purpose as you face in. A door poised midway between floors presents an unresolved choice -- up or down? There are obstacles to a clear way forward, and those choices and obstacles will confuse and block the chi at its all-important point of entry. Direct attention and chi energy to the main public area of your home -- usually the upstairs -- with color, lighting and decor.

Spotlight One Stair

• Focus the energy entering your home with bright colors on the wall leading upstairs to the main common rooms; a warm rose or rich gold wall against the stair will draw the eye up. So will a patterned carpet runner or unusual painted steps. Art hung on the wall also attracts attention, but avoid "stepping" photos or framed art up the wall because that contributes to the conflicting up-down sense of the split entry. A skylight or another light source that floods the main stair with light invites you to look, and move, upward. Keep the less important stairway more subdued -- not gloomy or dark -- so it is balanced but not prominent. A complementary pastel or neutral wall color, uncarpeted or solid-runner stairs, and lower lights send clear visual cues at the entrance.

Career Paths and Energy Flow

• The open question of your split foyer is connected to the bagua, the feng shui map of energy centers in a space. The home entry relates to your Career area. Confusion in the Career area symbolizes more than just a job. It involves your calling, the journey of your life and the work you are meant to do in the world. Hesitation about which way to go at the front door could signal a lack of definition about the direction of your life. Remedy the indecision and energy drain with a natural element connected to the Career area: water. Flowing water, such as a decorative fountain placed near the preferred stair, guides the chi, and your guests, in the right direction.

Curves and Cures

• Chi travels the path to your front door in a graceful curve or a demanding rush, depending on the shape of the front walk. Control the pace with a winding approach, well-lit and wide enough to navigate easily. Keep the front door and the area around it clean and uncluttered. And use a feng shui cure to fix the energy block that occurs when your front door opens to a flat wall with the stair up and down on either side. Hang a mirror on the wall to expand the chi and encourage it to flow freely into your home. Keep the front foyer meticulously clear of boots, coats, umbrellas and other clutter that could catch and deflect the energy from following your careful, positive feng shui pathway.