Room to Think
Room to Think explores how the spaces we live and work in shape how we think, feel, and function.
Hosted by Lyssia Katan, Head of Brand at LiLi Tile, the podcast features conversations with world-class architects, designers, neuroscientists, psychologists, and cultural thinkers. Together, they unpack how light, layout, materials, sound, and spatial decisions influence stress, focus, creativity, and wellbeing, and share practical insights you can apply in your own home or workspace.
New episodes drop on Tuesdays. Follow Room to Think on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Room to Think
Your Home Has A Personality
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In this episode, Lyssia sits down with Kimberly Gallagher, founder of The Feng Shui Flow, host of the Calm and Happy Home podcast, and author of The Calm and Happy Home. After leaving her career as a teacher, Kimberly rebuilt her life around one idea most of us never really consider. Your home isn't just where you live, it's something you have a relationship with.
The conversation breaks down why the energy in your space shapes the way you think, feel, and move through your day in ways you've probably never noticed. They explore why most people approach feng shui from a place of fear and get it completely wrong, how small intentional shifts can change your experience of a space far more than any renovation, and why the homes that truly support you all share one thing in common. They were treated like a living relationship, not just a backdrop. Kimberly also shares what years of helping people transform their spaces has taught her about what we all truly need from our homes, and the one thing she would tell anyone to do first if they want their home to feel better without spending a dollar.
By the end of this episode, you may start to see your home differently. Not just as a place you live, but as something you live with, something that has a personality, an energy, and maybe even a spicy side.
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Kimberly Gallagher
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Astrology For The Home
What I do essentially is it's like astrology for the hope. My job is to bring back the support in your home and some homes just aren't that supportive. Why do you think that is that feng shui is not taught to anyone? Everyone needs to know about this because a huge chunk of the most successful people around the world incorporate feng shui into their business or their life. If there wasn't something in it, we wouldn't still be practicing it now. When I started thinking about the energy, I was like, oh, well, if the Wi-Fi struggles to get around and I can't see that, maybe there's something in the energy that also isn't traveling around the house. Where are people really making the most mistakes? What if your home had a personality? I'm talking full-on sense of humor and maybe even a spicy side.
Meet Kimberly Gallagher
Welcome to Room to Think. Today I'm sitting down with Kimberly Gallagher. She's the founder of The Thanksgiving Flow and the author of The Calm and Happy Home. After leaving her career as a teacher, Kimberly rebuilt her life around one idea most of us never really consider that your home isn't just where you live, it's something you have a relationship with. In this episode, Kimberly explains why she literally named her house. She also gets into what it looks like to tune into the energy of your space and how small shifts can really change your day-to-day experience in ways you may not expect. By the end of this episode, you may start to see your home differently. Not just as a place you live, but someone you live with and something that's actively changing your life. Let's get into it. Hi, Kimberly. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. Likewise. So Kimberly is the founder of the Feng Shui Flow. She's also the host of the Calm and Happy Home podcast and the author of The Calm and Happy Home: How to Bring Good Vibes Into Your Home and Life. She helps people understand how their environment shapes the way they think, feel, and move through their lives, exploring the relationship between space, energy, and well-being through a very grounded and contemporary lens. Kimberly, welcome to Room to Think. Thank you. I mean, that's a big intro. It feels like we've got a lot to take on in the world. I have done a lot. I have done a lot. But it's um, yeah, hopefully we can get to the bottom of what I do today and just and help people bring a little bit of calm and happiness into their home. Absolutely. So
What Feng Shui Really Means
for any listeners who have are maybe hearing about you for the first time, what do you do and why do you do it? I mean, it's a great question because I haven't always been into feng shui. And first of all, you can say it however you like. Feng shui, feng shui, it doesn't matter. It's all the same thing. I think that's what puts people off to start off with is that yeah, well, I don't know how to pronounce it, so it can't be for me. So say it however you like. And you know, I was a teacher for 10 years, and upon redundancy, I had a bit of a lockdown change of career, and decided to do something that I was passionate about, I guess, but I didn't even know that I was going to be passionate about it. So what I do essentially is it's like astrology for the home, like acupuncture for the home. And I look at what energy you are surrounded by, and it's, you know, it's not as witchy as you know, me coming in and putting my finger in the air and going, Oh, yes, I feel a wind of whatever it is coming through here. It's a beautiful calculation, it's numerology from a feng shui point of view, and that tells me, as I say, like the astrology for your home. And some homes have amazing personalities, and they're the you know, the life and soul, they support you and they're lovely. And then some homes are just really stubborn and cold and don't help you. And so, my job as a feng shui expert is to help neutralize this energy, just like when you have acupuncture, it releases the energy blocks, it lets the energy flow again. And you know, my life would be so much easier if if we could see energy, because I'm like, oh, you see that purple cloud over there, we need to get rid of that and let more green in. Unfortunately, we can't, but we can feel it. And I think for me, my job is also to help people be aware that their home has energy and to lean back into that feeling of when you first looked around your home, whether you're renting or whether you know you purchased, quite often we do that based upon a feeling and it feels good, or we turn down a home because, like, oh, I don't know what it was, but there was just something about it that didn't quite work. That's the energy. But when we move in, quite often we forget that, and the kitchen just turns into the place where you cook, and the living room is where you watch TV, and the bedroom is where you sleep, and we forget this energy, this personality in the home. So, my job is to bring back this the support in your home, and and some homes just aren't that supportive, and it takes a bit more work. And I work with the five elements, just like an acupuncture as well. And you know, don't get me wrong, some of the things are a bit bonkers that I ask you to do. Like we use actual metal, as in the five elements. We put metal in the home, but it I guess when you think about it, metal is only as crazy as a crystal because it comes from the core of the earth. But we just see metal as like things that you build with and you know, steel structures in the house. So we're just using these natural elements in the home to balance the energy, to calm, to invigorate, to bring back flow, to absorb. And we use it, and you know, it doesn't make sense. I'm not gonna sit here and go, well, of course, you know, it makes complete sense. It doesn't, it makes no factual sense whatsoever, but it just works. And so for me, when I went through this process of doing it in my home, my drive came from the fact that I was almost angry that I didn't know about it before. How had I gone 40 years through my life and nobody had told me this? Like I can sew a button on, but I can't, well, just about. I mean, that's not even great, but I can sort of do that. But how do I not know about helping my home feel calmer and happier and support me in health, wealth, and relationships? So that's when I made it my mission to be like, right, everyone needs to know about this because somehow most of the or a huge chunk of the most successful people around the world incorporate a part of Feng Shui into their business or their lives. So if they know about it, why don't as normal people take that in? So that's where this this huge drive, this mission, this this knowing that I needed to share this with the world. And it's changed my life. As I say, I I went from being a teacher to being a a feng shui consultant. I set up my business, and within three months, I was on this morning. So the morning TV show in the UK, within three months, they contacted me and was like, Would you like to come on as a feng shui expert? I was like, Yes, but no at the same time, because this is petrifying. And it was one of the most scary things I've, you know, ever done in my life. But all of these things it's helped me with, you know, we we move countries, we moved from the UK to Australia three years ago, and it's just it's opened up my world, and I I get to help people every single day. And I, you know, I just think I've got the most beautiful and fulfilling job in the world. So that's why I'm so grateful that you've invited me on. Because if just one person comes away from this and goes, I changed this and it feels so much better, then you know, my job for the day is done. Well, that's exactly what we do on this podcast is really bringing these amazing individuals with such great knowledge to this platform so people can learn and people that's that's what I want everyone to come away with. Just having learned something, listen to an episode, and have a different way of looking at your life or your space. So thank you for being here. And I I want to actually dive into something that you said that you didn't hear about this for 40 years of your life.
Why Feng Shui Feels Taboo
Why do you think that is that feng shui is not taught to anyone? Is it just, are we just scared of it or is it considered woo-woo? Like, why? I think all of the above. Like it's it's not it's not in the Western world, it's just for Asia, it's woo-woo because we can't see it, it's a concept, is it spiritual? Somebody asked me if it was a cult. I was like, no, like a bit, you know, so all of these because we're scared of it because we can't see it. It's almost like we're tapping into the supernatural world. And we're really not, because we we use astrology in our daily lives, whether you just read a magazine every month and you pick it up and you go, you know, I'm a Sagittarius, like, oh, what's happening to the Sagittarius world? I've recently dived into full-blown astrology with speaking to an astrologer every three months because my mind has been completely blown about how accurate it is. I don't know why I'm so surprised by it, because I can do the same for your home. So when I work in your home, I can tell you, I've just analyzed a home here, I've got it in front of me, and I can tell why this lady in her bedroom is really low. She's really depressed and feels that her life isn't moving. Her son's bedroom, exactly the same. So with just a tiny little tweak of, and I don't, I try not to get people to move furniture around at all, but in both of these bedrooms, there were two options where they could place their bed. So I've just said, look, just try moving your bed a little bit because the energy in that area is going to support you, but the area in that area doesn't. Now, if you're not ready to hear that information, it sounds crackers. That's a real sort of northern English saying, it sounds crackers, but it does because you think, what? Like, so you're saying that if I put my bed against that wall there, I'm going to feel mentally pressured. Whereas if I put it against this wall here, I'm going to feel better. And I'm like, Yes, but I can't, I can you can't see it, but you're just gonna have to trust me. So it doesn't make sense, you can't see it. It is woo-woo. It was created in Asia, you know, in China, but it was created 4,000 years ago, give or take a few years. If it wasn't, if there wasn't something in it, we wouldn't still be practicing it now. You know, HSBC, which is one of the world's largest banks, they started building one of their banks in Hong Kong. The Feng Shui consultant comes around and says, You've built it in the wrong direction. So the architect had got it wrong. They stopped building, they knocked it down and started it again. That's how serious they take it. Many investment banks, and the ones in the UK, but they don't shout about it because they don't want people to think that they're woo-woo or weird. They have their own Feng Shui consultants come in and say, This is where the officers need to be, this is where this happens, this is the direction of your building. So there's something in it, but it's just not often spoken about because I think of people being scared about what people think of you, maybe, and maybe that's why it's sort of kept a bit quieter. I guess, like if you're spiritual, you're like, Yes, you know, I believe in the law of attraction and things like that. And people go, Oh, you're a bit weird. Like, so sometimes it's just easier to keep these practices to yourself, and you're like, Well, do you know what if it's just helping me, no one else needs to know? And you know, I I I had the same similar group of people when I started training. None of my friends were into anything slightly spiritual. And if you ask a feng shui consultant, like true sort of feng shui master unit from China, is it spiritual? They'd be like, No, it's just it's fact, it's not spiritual. So we for them it doesn't even come under that. But my group of friends, nobody was spiritual at all. The only person in my group of friends that was into crystals was my friend's son, who I absolutely loved. So we he used to like set up a crystal shop when I went round and I'd like to buy crystals off him. Nobody else was talking about it. So when I changed my name from like Kimberly Gallagher to the Feng Shui flow, everyone was like, Oh, she's had a tough lockdown, hasn't she? Like, what's Kimberly doing now? Like, and it took guts to do it. And even my husband, like, he was so supportive, but he was a bit like, oh, what you know, what's this now? What what you what are we doing now? Like, what we and I was like, just just trust me, because I know it's not like I've just invented something and gone, oh, let's see what has happened, is 4,000 years old. You know, reportedly you've got Richard Branson who follows some of it, even just some of these principles for his offices, for his hotels, because if people are going to be in an environment that supports them when they're working, they're going to feel more motivated, they're going to have less sick days because it's going to support them when they're there, and they're going to make the business more money. The same in a hotel. If people feel better when they stay there, then they're going to recommend it to their friends, they're going to come back, they're going to feel more relaxed when they're there. So, and the same with shopping centres, you know, Feng Shui incorporates quite a lot of water, like water features, because it brings money, it attracts wealth and prosperity and abundance if it's all in the right place. So if you think about any local hotels to you or where you've stayed, shopping centres, airports, most of them have a water feature in there, but there just isn't a stamp on it to say, this is for the energy, this is feng shui, this is why we're doing it. So there's me going round, you know, like a crazy woman every time I visit someone going, Look, there's feng shui, you know, even in front of Buckingham Palace, there's a water fountain, like not right in front, but on the little roundabout. There's the lions in front of it that are there to protect it. Like there's something there, but I think because people don't talk about it, it's like their little secret that people are scared of it. So my job is like, no, like we can make it normal. If you walked into my house, there is no way that you would know that our house has been feng shui'd, whatever that looks like. And I think that was part of my drive as well, that you don't have to have these little trinkets in your house if you don't want if you want to have a lucky cat, you can have a lucky cat. And you know, when it comes to Secret Santa, I will get all of the lucky cats from people because people think, What on earth do we buy Kimberly? And that's totally fine. Yes, I've got crystals on my desk, but I love them. But other than that, you you wouldn't know, and there is a modern way of doing it, and so I think maybe that's it. They just think it's not going to fit in their home, it's too spiritual, it's too woo-woo, I can't see it. And because nobody's talking about it, there isn't that societal belief that it's something that really works. That's a really long answer to your question. Sorry. No,
Her Proof Through Career Change
it's great. It's it's giving me, I want to go in so many directions here. But the first is when you didn't have a supportive community of people encouraging you. I mean, you had your husband, but your friends were kind of unsure why you're doing this. Yeah. Was there a space that you experimented on and you were like, okay, now I get it, this works. Before you were able to kind of spread the word and tell people about it? Yeah. So, you know, my biggest testimonial is my life because the start of my feng shui journey, so I was made redundant as a teacher and I started a business in February 2020 selling like health products. I was like, this is great because I like meeting people, I like getting out and talking to people. Then a month later, lockdown came. I was like, oh, that was a pretty bad time to start a business. But do you know what? I can, you know, I can make it work. And I was trying and trying and trying, and I was doing all of the trainings, I was turning up, I was doing the online social events, all of that. And I just couldn't, it just would not take off. And I was listening to a podcast, and I remembered so clearly, like I was vacuuming my bedroom upstairs, and it was a podcast that I listened to. She had people on just like you, and it was a feng shui consultant, and the host was single, and the feng shui consultant said, Well, there's things that you can do in your house to attract a partner. And I thought, what a load of rubbish. Like everyone's gone mad. Like, what? How is this even possible? And then I just sort of brushed it off, and then as you do, you listen back to the episodes, and then the host met somebody. Now, it wasn't the right person, so that's a huge lesson in terms of what you put out there, be really specific about the type of person that you want to attract. But it worked, and that's when I was like, this can't, this is just a massive fluke. So that's when I found out about the successful people, the hotels, the investment banks. And I was like, right, this is my chance. Like, I feel, you know, when you get that feeling to do something that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, but you just know deep down this gutteral feeling that this is what I need to do. I was like, I need to feng shui our home. And our home was lovely. Like it was this really old cottage, it was built in 1569. You know, the walls were like, I don't know, like half a meter thick. The Wi-Fi never sort of got around the home. And when I started thinking about the energy, I was like, oh, well, if the Wi-Fi struggles to get around, and I can't see that, but I know that because my phone upstairs is telling me that that isn't getting through the house. Maybe there's something in the energy that also isn't traveling around the house. So I had my home analyzed by this lady, and Feng Shui is like the missing part of the manifestation, like puzzle. So when it's like having a mobile phone in the middle of the woods that's really dense, and you've got all the tools to make the call, but the the woods are so dense that you can't get that message out there. The signal doesn't travel through that density. And it's like that in your home that if the energy is so dense, whatever you put out there isn't reaching where it's meant to go. So, what Feng Shui does, that acupuncture, it clears that heaviness. So, when you add, you know, these bonkers crazy remedies in your home, you hide them and you sort of shuffle them away. You do it with intention. And my intention, I sort of loosened it off rather than you know, beforehand, I had post-it notes, you know, this is how much money I want to make, and this is what I want to do. And when that that didn't work, you know, I burnt them on the full moon, and when that didn't work, I like buried them on this is what people are doing, this is what I need to do. And you know, it didn't work. And so I thought, right, I'm going to just pull back on that and open it up. So I put the remedies in and I thought, do you know what I'm going to go with a feeling? And it's so powerful when you go with a feeling because that creates the change in your body rather than numbers, numbers don't mean anything to me. I can't, you know, you might say, Oh, you want, I don't know, $40,000 a year income. Like I can I can see it, but I can't feel what that would be like. So the feeling for me was that I still wanted to help people. So there was still something in me teaching that I loved that, that I wanted to help people. I wanted to build a remote business because I knew at that point in the UK that we were going to be coming to it to Australia. So I knew I wanted to do that. I also said I wanted to work from anywhere in the world, like on the beach. I took that back the first time that I had to work on the beach on holiday. So that's now not on my list. But it was about being financially independent and being so financially independent that I could sail this ship by myself if I wanted to. And I was like, how cool would that be if my husband stopped working and I could run our family in an amazing way financially from doing something that I love? Like, how amazing is that? And that's all I said. I was like, just show me whatever you've got. And within a month of doing that, I then had an email from the lady who Fench waved my home to say that she was doing her last ever practitioner course. Would I be interested in doing it? And I remember getting the email again in the bedroom. I just got out of the showers, checking my phone, and I just sat down and I thought, this is it. This is what I'm meant to do. And it wasn't an easy decision because it was 10,000 US dollars to do the course, which I absolutely didn't have because my business hadn't taken off. I was made redundant. So I was just, you know, had a very small disposable income. So that involved a conversation with my husband about our family savings and this is what I want to do. And he was so supportive. But I do we laugh about it now because I hadn't even told him that I'd feng shui our home. So all of a sudden, I was like, Oh, I want to do this course. And he's like, Okay, fine. In Feng Shui and it's like, well, first of all, what on earth is that? And why are you all of a sudden into it? So I was like backtracking, going, Well, this is what I did anyway. Of course, he was hugely supportive and I was like, I'll pay you back. I promise I'll pay you back. And he sort of smiled, he was like, How? I was like, I don't know. I just, I just will. And it was that utter belief that after putting those remedies in, and after learning about manifestation and law of attraction, and intention settings, and reading all the books, and doing the meditations, and nothing was working. And I was doing the action because I think nobody really talks about the action that goes behind it. You know, I work really hard and I know it doesn't look like it. And some of my weeks, like 70-hour weeks, like bonkers crazy times. But you know, I'm building a business, and that's sometimes what it takes. But I was doing all of it and it didn't work. Then all of a sudden, after a month, this opportunity came up. And then once I qualified, I started my business in November 22, February 23, I was on this morning, June 23. We and I was I was on four times before we moved to Australia in that June. My business took off gently, moved to Australia, and then it just went amazingly crazy in a good way. And I somebody contacted me about writing a book, so I didn't even go out and sort of approach people that way. The morning show over here, contact me as well. So these amazing opportunities, but not only that, it supported us through a huge change in our family circumstances of moving to Australia, and we felt completely supported through that. We've we've moved house since we've been here. I used the feng shui tips to help us move home, and we sold and moved in two weeks, which you know is amazing, but also not great for the nervous system. But you know, it it sort of shows you that these things work. So I think in terms of how my life has changed since Feng Shui has come into it, that's why I'm so passionate about it, because I know people are reading the books, the meditation, they're trying. But I also know that if your home isn't working for you, it's going to be 10 times harder. So if I can come and lift that energy and your life can begin to progress. And, you know, yes, you hear the magical stories of, and if one of my clients won a house, like, how who who wins houses? Like, but she was like, I want this, this is what I'm going to do. And she won the house. But there's other people where they've been trying to get planning permission for their home for so long, or they've lost contact with their parents, and all of a sudden they get letters from people, or like this lady, both her and her son in their rooms are really quite depressed and they're in this cycle of grief, of loss, and they just can't get out of it. And to help homes like that, to help normal people in everyday stuff that happens, you know, I can't stop the rubbish stuff happening. I really wish I could. But what I can do is create an environment where when you walk through the door, it feels like it's your sanctuary and it doesn't have to be a massive mansion, it can be a studio apartment, it doesn't have to look beautiful, but it's yours and it is there to support you. And that's what I believe Feng Shui can help with, just everyday lives, just making things easier. So, with these clients that you've worked with, what are some transformations that you've seen? Because I I know we have listeners here that are like completely on board with the feng shui. And I know we have listeners that are completely, they think this is crazy, this is not what they signed up for, and uh maybe they might be about to switch to another
Client Wins And Fast Results
episode. So, kind of how, what kind of transformations have you seen that really had no other explanation? So I'm going to, if you don't mind, I'm going to open an email that somebody sent me last week. And the title of it is OMG Update. Said, hi Kimberly. You completed our home analysis report recently. You may not remember how desperate we were for changes in our home due to ongoing financial issues with our bank, which meant our renovation project was heavily impacted. And she reattached the email. I won't go through all of that, but it was it was really tough for them. You sent the report a few weeks ago and I implemented every single remedy. You're not going to believe what happened next. Two months ago, we submitted a home insurance claim and were told by the insurance company it was a waste of time and it was unlikely we'd receive a payout. We were hoping for about $1,000, however, we lost hope. I implemented all the remedies on Saturday. Three days later, on the Tuesday, we received a call from the insurance company to say that they were paying us $28,000. Exactly one week later today, the bank finally approved the last part of our loan. It took 10 weeks, and that should have taken two to three. My husband and I can't quite believe it. Like what the question mark explanation mark. Please shout our story from the rooftop. I've told everyone I know to buy your book. Never in my wildest dreams did I think the home analysis would bring these sorts of results so quickly. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you. Like that to me is that that was literally just then last week. And that is everything. And for so many reasons, because she trusted me with her money that she was trying to put towards the renovation. She didn't have that spare cash, but she knew in her deepest heart that the energy in this home wasn't supporting her because they were actually living next door and everything was going fine until they moved home to then renovate that property. They moved home, and since they moved into that home, that's when everything started to fall apart. And so that's when she thought there must be something. It's like hanging around with somebody that's just not good for you, like a bad influence, whether it's on your spending, your mental health, your social, your whatever it is, that's what that home can do. It can impact so many areas of your life. And so to receive emails like that is, you know, I think I've read it out so many times. She gave me the permission to share it. And I think most for the first five times I cried when I, you know, when I read it out loud because it it does, it makes huge changes to people's lives. And it's just amazing. Yeah, you really changed her life. And and if since it happened in such a short time frame, it there's no other explanation. And that actually brings me to another question is how quickly or how like how much time does it need to start working?
Quick Fixes For Better Flow
So in some homes, the energy is it wants to help you. So there might be some you can do things, and I share lots of these sort of tips that you can do. You don't have to work with me. And and this is the thing if everything in your life is perfect, you don't need feng shui. It's like the holistic side of medicine. You know, if if you are feeling great, or maybe you're trying like Western sort of medicine, pharmaceutical medicine, everything's working, you don't dip onto the holistic side of things. But like for me, I know I've tried all of the things, and so therefore I went to see a chiropractor. That I don't I don't know what they do, I don't really care what they do, but I know that every week I feel so much happier, better, and I can move better since I've been to see them. And that's where Feng Shui lies. Like, if everything in your life is fine, you don't need me and what I do. And there's some things that you can do yourself to shift that energy, which will make a huge difference to start off with. So, first of all, it's about realizing that your home has energy and that energy wants to move. If it's stuck, that's when it can feel agitated. It's like locking a puppy in a room, locking a toddler in a room. Like they'll just want to break through the doors. So we want to open our spaces, and the front door to the home is where the good energy comes in, and the back door is where it leaves. If you live in an apartment, your front door will be the balcony. So it's almost like the face of your home where all of this lovely energy is entering. That's where the good energy is coming in. So even if you think, okay, back door every day, just open that up and let that bad energy leave, that stale, stagnant stuff. Think of like out with the old and in with the new, moving that out and then opening your front door once you've closed the back door and welcoming that fresh energy in. And again, you're doing it with intention, you're refreshing the space. Then think about okay, how easy is it for the energy to move around the home? And there's a difference between clutter and decor. So decor is fine, clutter is the stuff that just doesn't have a home. And so everything just needs to have a home in your space. So because the more stuff that's in the way, the harder it is for that energy to move around. And then we can take it to a deeper level. So we divide the home into nine different areas and we use the compass to do that. And so you can just stand in the center of your space with your phone on your hand and literally just pivot around in a circle and it will come up with the compass points. And so, for example, the southeast looks after your wealth, prosperity, and abundance. So you just walk as far as you can in that direction. We ignore walls, and it's probably like a two-arm span distance, like when you spin around, that's the area that that will be in. If that's cluttered, if that's your chair of doom in your bedroom, or if that's, you know, your dumping area or your laundry that you still need to put away, that could be having an impact on your wealth. So again, if you are lovely, and wealth means so many different things to different people, but if you feel wealthy in life, you don't need to have a look at that area of your home. But if you feel that it's heavy, that you're going around in circles with your finances, then that tells me that the energy is probably stuck and you need to move it around. So making sure that the area is clear, clearing it of things that are broken or chipped, because that's almost like a stumbling block for that energy moving around. It wants to move around freely. And then making sure that everything in the area, not everything, because we have to have stuff that, you know, is just because, but does it bring you joy and happiness? So the pictures that you have up, the the photos that you have of people, so many people have pictures where there's like a family member or a friend, and you think, I don't actually like it. Would you invite them round for a cup of tea? If not, then don't have them in a picture in your living room because they are there. And every time you walk past it energetically, you'll go, Oh, that's them again. Great aunt so and so, or whoever it is on the side. So do that, and then you could add something that represents wealth to you. So for me, that's going on holiday because it means I've got the time to do it, no longer working from the beach, may I add, and also the finances to do it. So our family pictures go in the southeast of our home. So it doesn't need to be witchy or whoa, it can look completely normal. So these are the things that you can do in your home that will have an immediate effect. Things like the kitchen. If the kitchen's argumentative, how clear is the kitchen surface? You know, we're all guilty of it. The water bottles, the car keys, the bags, everything just sort of gets, it's like a magnet for clutter, the kitchen side. But allowing it to move just stops the energy getting stuck. If it's argumentative, do you have a knife block? Do you have knives on the side, for example? Because this is quite a sharp daggery energy. So you're bringing that sharp, daggery energy in, and that may then be impacting the people around you. So believing that everything can bring a feeling and bringing an energy into your home is one of the first steps, and that can change really quickly. You know, I did a poll recently about things that we're releasing in May. You know, we had the beautiful full moon and sort of coming into May energetically with the year of the fire horse. It's all about growing and making sure we're growing from really strong foundations. So I did a poll, what is it that you want to let go of? And 49% of people said that they want to let go of old versions of themselves. They want to move into this space of who they really want to be, whether that's their opinions or their career or with friendship groups, anything like that. So if that's how you're feeling again, things in your home, do they represent this version of you now? Or does your wardrobe still have your office clothes in that you had an office job however long ago just because you might need a suit at some point? You know, does it have those versions of you in there? Do you still have books? And I found this when I moved from teaching into Feng Shui, I still had books from teaching and my folders from teaching. I didn't need them anymore. I wasn't going to go back into teaching. And so it's just making sure that what you have in your home represents this forward movement. And it's amazing how quickly it makes a difference. Things like, and this is always a controversial one, and I get an eye roll from people from this, but things like artificial plants, like they can bring a stagnant energy because we want growth, we want fresh energy in the home. So having anything artificial can bring that feeling that life isn't evolving as a plant would. So again, if your life is moving, it's evolving, that's fine. Keep the artificial plants. But if it's not, then you just maybe just need to think about putting something real into your home and just making this energy thrive. Now, some homes that will work instantly. A couple of weeks, it will, you know, you already we already know how good it feels to declutter. Instantly it will feel better because it's like this to-do list that just lives in your mind. It just feels quite freeing. And also, I don't know if you ever find sometimes after you've decluttered, it can feel quite exhausting because that's almost like the energy being released in your home that's been sat and that's been stuck there for a while. So some homes it's quite quick, some homes it can take longer. And I think purposefully for my journey, I've found homes that are a bit trickier, shall we say? And we joke with my house, and I teach feng shui as well. So we joke on the course that this house is a bit spicy, it's got a it's got a spicy personality and it likes to keep me on my toes. Just, you know, just for just for laughs, like just things will just break for no reason. It'll just be like, well, you were working yesterday and now you're not. And or like I'll be teaching and the Wi-Fi will drop out just you know, just to keep me on my toe. Things like that. So for that, my home needs to be treated with like walking on eggshells a little bit. It's a little bit more sensitive, it keeps me on my toes. And so my home did need the remedies, it did need the elements in there, and even then it took a good four months for things to settle. But our home was like it was empty, if you like, for a good two or three years. Like people were used it for photo shoots, and there was a film that was filmed here as well. So it it wasn't used to being around people, it was almost like that eternally single person that was like, I don't need a partner in my life. And they repel, they just naturally repel people because they're too scared to get into that relationship. So I've had to work really hard with my with our house, but it's softening now and it's fun, and it's you know, it's kept me on my toes. So every home is different, and you can just try with these really small things that you know, they don't, it doesn't have to cost a fortune. I think that's another thing that puts people off. They think, oh, well, to have a Feng Shui consultant, you know, I've got to be Richard Branson level or Madonna level or the Beckham level or whatever that is, or the HSBC level. You don't, like you can do things for yourself. And that was one of the main drivers for me in terms of like writing my book, was that I wanted people to be able to change their lives for the price of the book. If they can't afford that, there's my podcast. Like, I don't I and I've probably ruffled a few feathers doing it. I don't see why it needs to be exclusive. I understand. And and and also there sometimes are there is a reason why things need to be exclusive. Like I personally don't agree, but there are reasons why certain things are made to be exclusive in this world for certain groups of people. And like you said, sometimes you ruffle feathers by you know knowledge. Like it's like when the printing press came out. I'm sure feathers were ruffled because suddenly people were starting to learn how to read, starting to be educated. And sometimes different energies or entities don't really want the masses educated. So that that is something.
Flying Stars Versus Other Schools
And and or sometimes it's fear, right? What if this gets into the hands of people and they use it in their wrong way? So I actually I've um, I mean, we had uh a feng shui master on the podcast previously, and that's when I knew nothing about feng shui. And then it kind of got me curious. I started reading. I'm a very curious person generally. And there's different thoughts of feng shui. There's the western and the eastern. Is that correct? Can you tell me a little bit about that? Because when someone is like mapping out their home, sometimes it's the entrance, sometimes it's the north, east, you know, west. What do you have to say about that? Like, how can we differentiate? So there's about 120 different schools of feng shui, so it's like languages. So that's why it's so complicated. And also sort of going back, and it's really interesting that you mentioned that about exclusivity and why and the sort of fear of the masses knowing how. So back in ancient times with the feng shui masters, they would have two apprentices working for them, and one would know the truth, and the other one was told not the truth. And so, you know, it was sort of so filtered down that then it almost went into this massive pool of going, well, I don't know what works and what doesn't work. And so now I think that's why this is resurgence back that because we can now communicate with people all around the world, that we're like, okay, so this works, this doesn't work, this is just a myth, this one is you know truth. So that's how it's happened. And because there's 120 different schools, there's so many different ways of practicing it. So I practice what's called flying stars feng shui. And I didn't realize at the time I'd signed up to the most advanced complex form of sort of using feng shui as like brilliant. I've got no idea even what it is, let alone learning it. But it means then that it's super accurate. So there isn't a western, eastern, northern, southern hemisphere divide in what I do. So what I do works in every home, no matter where you are. And that's because we use the actual compass. So, in terms of like the north of your home, the north of your home will be your home. The north of my home will be the north of my home. Whereas some schools of Feng Shui say, well, the entrance is always the north. And to me, I'm like, okay, well, that's but that doesn't make sense to me because it's not. Like, you know, my north is very different to my entrance, is is not the north, it's on the east. So that's where it, that's where it differs. And that's why I guess. Although it is more complex with flying stars, it is mapped for your home and your home individually. So, like if you're looking at the southeast for your wealth area, it will be the southeast for your home, not just what some people say, like the far left-hand side, you know, of your home. So that's where the complexity comes. And I get it. And, you know, it is there's no right, there's no wrong. And I think what's probably easiest is like find, I guess it's like PTs. Like, there's so many PTs that do things differently. One will tell you to go running for 24 hours, and then we'll be like, no, you need to lift weights. And the other's like, don't lift weights, duple artism. Oh, I don't know what I'm doing. And if you followed all of them, you wouldn't progress, you wouldn't do anything. So find your person if you're into it. If you're not, you're not, that's fine. But find the person that you want to follow and just stick with that. Otherwise, you then end up bringing in all the sort of different theories, and then you'll end up just not doing anything because it will get so confusing. Right. Or you'll um have your house arranged to one thing, and then you'll totally be totally backwards if you're going by someone else's. So not to say it doesn't work, it's just different. It's like a different language. Totally, totally interesting.
Bedroom Tweaks For Love
And in terms of like, I mean, we love practical takeaways. And I have plenty of friends who are very curious about Feng Shui and they're also single. So how do you approach that? I mean, that we've all heard the two pillows and we've heard the two uh bedside tables, but what are kind of the immediate things that you suggest to people? Because you do talk about the bedroom quite often. Yeah, it's so important. And whether you're in a relationship or not, that it's either the bedroom and you can also use the southwest of your home as well. So Southwest is love and romance. So you get two goes at this, which is great. Because sometimes my clients will say, Well, I want to improve my relationship with my husband, but the southwest is my teen son's bedroom, and he would die if I asked him to put a picture in there that represents love and romance. So, can we do something else? So you can use either or you can use both. And I think you're right what you've said there. It's all about representing couple energy. So rather than just single things, so in terms of what you have in your bedroom, don't have pictures of like your girlfriends everywhere because you'll just be attracting more of your girlfriends into your life. So you end up with this amazing group of girls, but maybe not a partner. So have those pictures of your community, like in your living space, but in your bedroom, a lovely piece of art that represents even just like a couple walking down a beach, because it evokes that feeling. And that's when that's when Feng Shui becomes really powerful because you look at it, you're looking at it sort of adoringly, like how beautiful is that? This lovely couple energy and saying, Yeah, that's what I I welcome in. That's that's what I want in here, and so that's why the two pillows on your bed, because you're saying there is room for somebody to join me in this bed, there is equal space on either side of the bed for somebody to have an equal part of this relationship. Do you have room in your closet for somebody's stuff? Because if everything is full to the rafters, energetically you've got to make space for these people in your life as well. And I think it's so easy, you know. I lived by myself in a flat in London, you know, for years, and it was all my stuff. And believe me, the wardrobe was like was full. And so it's about saying, okay, yeah, I'm I'm open to this, and there is space for somebody to come in, and that's where that sort of couple side of things comes in. What you could do is also in your bedroom or in the southeast area of your home, is you can sort of, I call it like activate it. It depends if you're into crystals or anything like that, but sometimes if you feel that that area of your life might be a little bit sleepy, then we want to wake up that energy of your space. So you can get some beautiful suncatches and you can maybe hang them in the window, and it will just activate the light, activate that lovely energy that's coming into the space. And that's what we want. We want the energy to be flowing in your bedroom. If you've had a previous partner and you're it you want to attract a new partner, even new bed sheets, that old energy, getting rid of old, I don't know, do people write love letters anymore? Probably let love letters are probably a thing of the past. But in terms of everyone, I know it's a text that's probably written by AI. But you know, all of these things, like pictures. Yes, you can if you want, if you really want to hold a picture, I get it. But energetically, you're still in that space. So if you want to keep a picture, put it in a box, put it outside of your home if you can. Definitely don't keep it underneath your bed. Like, keep the energy in your bedroom as clear as possible so that this lovely fresh energy can come in and the southwest, open the doors, open the windows. And also like say to your home, like, there's room for somebody in our life. Because it might be that your home's quite happy just with your little relationship, it likes you by itself. So you're like, no, we're going like help me, help me find a lovely partner that is loving, that's kind, that's funny, that's generous, like whatever it is. And again, go with that feeling because your person may, it might not just be looks that you're looking for. Like that, how do you want to feel when you are with them? Somebody that makes me feel confident, that feels happy, that lifts my mood, that I can share my life with, that we can go traveling with, and just changing the way that you, you know, that sort of tall, dark, handsome, whatever that is, like go with that feeling because that that brings a whole new different energy to what you're putting out there. That's really good advice. And and also the bedroom is something that I notice. I mean, I follow tons of, I as I've kind of gotten more into it, I follow tons of feng shui experts and and this and that. Everyone has something
The Biggest Mistake Is Panic
else to say. But um, where do you find that people make the most mistakes? Because we hear a lot with feng shui, like wealth and love is really what people are trying to attract. That's what it seems like there's a lot of. But where are people really making the most mistakes beyond just the bedroom and the wealth corner and the love and relationships corner? I try not to say them as mistakes. Like, I think I view feng shui a little bit differently. I have a much softer approach to it in terms of doing what you can. And I think the biggest mistake, if you like, is panicking because something isn't right in your home from a feng shui perspective. I cannot tell you the amount of awful feng shui that is in my home. And people are very quick to tell me on all my videos that I've put out there, like, Kimberly, your staircase is horrendous and all these poison arrows. I'm like, I know, but I'm not going to build a new staircase. I'm going to do what I can to make it better. Like my office here was a bedroom in on the plans, and I had an open ensuite for four months. I've only just had a door put on it. That's horrendous. Working near the bathroom, which is like this waste energy, it's sucking everything away. So I think the the biggest mistake is worrying about stuff that you can't do anything about and just making small changes where you can, and it's shifting and it's that that mindset shift from it's bad, it's a mistake, I'm doomed forever. To let's build a relationship with the home, let's make it feel happier, let the energy flow around. Does it support this version of who I am now? That's the difference of mistakes that I see people doing. That they they see that their house is doomed, and therefore their relationship with their home gets worse. The whole point of this is to build your relationship with your home so that you get on, so that it's your friends, so that it supports you. And by being like judging judging about everything that's in the house, that's not going to help you at all. So only worry about the stuff that you can change. It takes mindset, it's not just about you know, changing the way your desk faces, or you've got to be in that energy of this is what I want, this is what I'm putting out there. Because I think, again, maybe that is the biggest mistake that people just think that by opening the front door, everything in their life is going to change. It's it's not, it's a it's a whole body energy and your home working together. It's like the manifestation where the the bad name sort of comes from that, where people go, Oh, you just think of something and it's going to happen. Actually, there's a lot more that goes into it, and that's when it really works. And the same with Feng Shui, it's not just by opening your door, you know, a check of you know, $100,000 isn't just going to come flying through the door because you've just opened it. It takes all of the other stuff as well. So I think that's probably what I say. Like, don't feel that your house is doomed and just only worry about the stuff that you can you can change. Do you feel like it's a like a comprehensive thing, or can people pick and choose what they want? Oh, pick and choose to work on. Pick and choose. Like it's like you know, it if and again, that energy of going, I my whole house needs looking at, and that you're already coming from a place of fear, of lack, and then it's this this challenge. It's like, okay, so I'm sat on my desk now. I mean, if you looked at my desk now, again, you'd be like, How are you? Like, you've got to practice what you preach. There's there's a lot going on. It's been a busy morning. But on a Friday, I make the I put everything away, I clean it down, I wipe it, but I don't do it, it's not a chore, it's a it's TLC. And it's just it's changing the energy. So I I do what I can in this space. Yes, there's other things that that need doing, but you know, things like just making your bed every day, but doing it not from a oh, this is driving me mad, or why doesn't someone else doing it? Is why isn't somebody else doing it? It's like today I was making beds like, how lucky are we that we, you know, for the first time ever, I went into a bedroom store over here, and there was this whole display bed. And I was like, I want that. That that is what I want in my house. And for the first time ever, I could do that, and it felt amazing. So our house is like uh I'm sorry, our bed is like a carbon copy of the one that was in the store. Whereas before I'd be like, Oh, I can just get the you know, the cover and maybe one of those cushions. So when I'm making the bed, I'm like, how lucky am I? How I'm so grateful that I got to choose all these 3,000 cushions that are on my bed that drive me out every day when I'm putting it on. But it is changing that that mentality. So just every day when you're doing stuff, just do it a little bit better and a little bit more thoughtful, a little bit more kinder, just being kind to yourself, being kind to your home, and just doing everything with a little bit more intention, even 1% every day, by the end of the year, your home would have changed massively. I do get that some people are at breaking point and they're like, right, something needs to change now. And if something needs to change now in your home, then I'd probably look at your entrance. Can the energy actually get in? I'd look at the southeast of your home, the wealth area, the center, that's your health, because without our health, we have nothing. And then you can choose, I'd say that the other two options, the southwest for your love and romance, or the north is your career and business. And just take those little pockets and try and tweak and make improvements and improve the energy in there, be really thoughtful about what's in there. Why is that artwork on the wall, or why is that there? Do I need it? Like just because somebody's gifted you a candle, even if it's a dipty candle that's really expensive, if you don't like the smell of it, gift it on. Because even that makes you look at it and you feel guilty, like, oh, I really want to burn it, but it I just don't like the smell of it. So just pass it on, and these small things will make a huge difference in your home. Like, you own your home. We pay so much to be there, whether we're renting, whether we own it, it is the most expensive thing that we have. And so, therefore, having a room full of stuff like of clutter, that's an expensive clutter room. It's taking up a lot of money. So go back to how you felt when you chose your home to be yours, and that love when you moved in, that excitement, that gratitude, like go back to that feeling and just start to build that relationship with your home.
Naming Your Home And Starting Small
Say hi to it, give it a name. Ours has got a name. I know it sounds again, it sounds utterly mad, but every morning I'm like, hi Rio. It's on Rio, because that's the like the road near the one. Hi, Rio. I've got a playlist called Rio, and I I I play that in the house, and you know, I buy it flowers, and like, what do you reckon? Like, and you know, and I'm like, I don't know, and you know, it's like I joke, and I'm like, you know, stop being spicy. If you could just not be spicy today, then that would be great. Like, and that is just it's such a lovely feeling to feel that you are supported by your home in the good times and the bad, and you may have had terrible times in your home, and you may resent your home for for things, but you've got to start somewhere, you've got to, you've got to build on what you've got, and eventually you get to a place where you either meet in the middle or you really thrive, and it's much better than where you are at the minute. Sure. Do you think that giving it that name and really opening that conversation with the home allows you to recognize like there is okay, it's not living, breathing, but there is an energy, there is something moving and just acknowledging it. Yeah, and it gives you hope. Like, if I really need its help, like and I've got no one else to talk to, I'm like, we are right today. I would really love it if you could just help me with this, or like if it's been a tense weekend or something like that, like you're just like, oh, I get it, I get it. Or like if we've had people over, if you've ever had people over and the house feels different, it's because the energy, like the vibrations have changed inside your home. Just like if you've been, if you've ever visited somebody and you've come out of the house and gone, I feel completely drained from being in their house. And that might be like their energy and their home's energy as well. So definitely giving it a name. And again, don't get me wrong, I know it sounds mad, like I'm not, but people give their cars names, and so why not give like why not give your house a name? Like giving a car a name is a semi-normal thing. I say semi, because people are listening, going, I've never given my car a name. But so give your home a name, and I think that really helps you build that relationship for it. Just try it. If it's not for you, it's not for you. Like, and that's what I always say. What's the worst that can happen? The worst that can happen is that nothing changes. You're not gonna cast a spell and you know, something you know, crazy is gonna happen. Although I do say that to my husband, like just I can do spells, you know. I absolutely can't do spells. I'm not witch, but you know, people think that of what you can do, but the worst that can happen is that absolutely nothing changes. Well, fine. Right. You get entertainment at the end of the day. You give your home a name, you have someone to talk to. It's just yeah, if someone listening to this podcast maybe thought this was a little crazy, but was willing to try it. Where would you want them to start? I think just going back to what I touched on before, the entrance to your home, let the energy come in. Does everything, not everything, but do most things in your home bring you joy and happiness? Is there things like now when you're listening and you go, yeah, I know exactly what you mean. That table or the coffee table or that artwork. I've just, you know, I just bought it to fill a wall. Like, move it on. And you're better off having less than just a house full of stuff that means nothing. Like, think about when you wear clothes that bring you joy and happiness, you feel so much better about yourself. So it's almost like dressing your home and it doesn't need to cost a fortune. So the energy process in your home, think out with the old, in with the new. If your life has been going round in circles, in whatever area that is, whether it's love and romance, you keep choosing the same person, that's not great, your wealth going around in circles, your health going around in circles. Find these areas of your home and look at what is in there. And you can then pinpoint, and I think that makes it far less overwhelming as well, where you go, right? Wealth, I need to look at that. Okay, southeast, let's start there, or health center, let's start there, and just do one step at a time. Don't go into your whole house all in one go because it will just be exhausting. Absolutely. And if someone was to take just one thing away from this entire conversation, what would you want that to be? What's the worst that can happen? Like, I think that's the biggest thing because I know I sound crazy. Like, I get it. I was never into any of this before. And I think you have to just see it as a bit of a sense of humor and a bit of a I can't see it, but you know, maybe, maybe, just maybe. Let's just see. If I take those knives off the counter, do the argument stop, test it out, like call it's bluff. And I that's what I did. I was like, well, I'll see if you can work. I was like, oh, it does work. So just just try. And I think that's the biggest thing from today. What's the worst that can happen? That's amazing. Kimberly, thank you so much for all your knowledge, everything you're doing to educate us and all your readers, all your listeners, all your followers on this topic that has been like clouded in mystery for so long. And we will link everything in the show notes so everyone can find your podcast and read your book. But but I really appreciate your time and I'm so grateful for everything you've taught us. So thank you, Kimberly. Oh, you're so welcome. I've loved every second. Thank you so much for spending this time with me on Room2Think. If you enjoyed this episode, feel free to follow the show, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who you think would really appreciate a more thoughtful approach to their space. You can find more Design Meets Psychology insights on social, in our community, and definitely in upcoming episodes so you can build a better life by design. Thanks again for listening. I'll see you next time.