When 'Feng Shui' in Home Design Goes Wrong!

The choices you make with your timber framing package choice will significantly impact the look and feel of your home, pavilion, recreation center, storefront, or whatever your project may be.

Feng Shui is an easy target for ridicule, but its principles are universal with good planning and design.

In this video we learn:

1. How to recognize phony design gobbledygook, which can lead you astray from getting a look and feel that delights for decades.

2. How to blend these universal truths regarding aesthetics, energy, harmony, magnetism, etc. with your style preferences.

While there are service charlatans intentionally mixing universal truths with their gobbledygook, I believe most phony design jargon comes from well-intentioned incompetence, as depicted with consultant Bob.

In Bob’s case, he appeared to lack experience and mastery.

A master, however, is not free from mistakes, uttering design gobbledygook or missing the audience.

A master is both humble and aware. A master knows that many bad ideas, themes, and even missed communication are an inherent part of the process and eventually lead to reasonable solutions.

A master uses intuition and brute force- intuition for creativity and applying sound design principles and brute force to doggedly keep proposing ideas until balance is reached.

Masters also can step back and “see the forest.”

They can help with the selection of suitable solutions and options. A master is not afraid of mistakes and serves as an insightful guide. They also know when to stop.

The “fuzzy-one-eyed-approach” is a tool you’ll want to keep handy for making good decisions during your building or remodeling process.

To use the “fuzzy-one-eyed-approach,” cover one eye and squint with the other eye until the object you are observing becomes a bit fuzzy or blurred. Now you can look for the gestalt or “the thingness of the thing” you are scrutinizing.

Some people say they look for the essence.

Others say look and feel.

But regardless, when you make it impossible to see fine detail, you can better see the big picture.

The “fuzzy-one-eyed-approach” could also be called the zoom-in, zoom-out method.

Referring to this principle as the “fuzzy-one-eyed-approach” emphasizes the importance of zooming-out and the difficulty of doing so in life regarding difficult decisions.

In my world, as a guide helping people get the right look and feel using Post and Beam construction, the “fuzzy-one-eyed-approach” is used in the initial brainstorm where we get a good understanding of what people are trying to achieve and why.

We ask a lot of questions and take notes. Many clients don’t have a clear understanding of WHAT and WHY, so a lot of time can be focused on the details before a clear picture emerges.

Once we are working with the client’s 3-D model and testing ideas, we do not have to cover one eye and squint. We can simply scroll out until it is impossible to focus on the smaller details leaving us with the silhouette, massing, and overall feel. We then zoom in and work with the details of alignment, timber sizing, proportions, roof slopes, building constraints, and of course, the projected money investment. Then we zoom back out to observe overall alignment with the client’s goals, unobscured by overwhelming detail.

Then zoom back in again.

In. Out. In. Out- the process is repeated countless times until we cross the finish line!