From the 1st of February, we’ll see the year of the Ox draw to a close, and the year of the Tiger begin. The slow, hardworking energy of the Ox is replaced by speed, strength and power which will manifest in the year of the Tiger. So how can you use this new energy to spruce up your home?

It seems in 2022 we’re all embracing the Lunar New Year. With Hunter selling Wellington Boots celebrating the year of the Tiger, Estee Lauder have released a Tiger Powder Compact, and even Jonnie Walker have a Limited Edition Scotch honouring the Tiger New Year. If you’re anything like us, you may be keen to find out how can you embrace the Year of the Tiger within your home, whilst ensuring you maintain Feng Shui.

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How Feng Shui, Chi and the Chinese Zodiac all interlink

Feng shui is the ancient art of arranging objects in living spaces. It is more than just the placement of your bed in relation to the door. It is also the careful balance of the five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal, and water – which can each be categorised under yin and yang.

It is believed that at the centre of Feng Shui is a vital life force that resides within every entity. Known as Chi. Chi is formed by the combination of yin and yang forces. The balance of both energies will bring about positive Chi in your home and establish Feng Shui.

The Chinese Zodiac has 12 signs, represented by animals. Each year a new animal will take centre stage before repeating every 12 years. However, the full zodiac cycle takes 60 years to complete, as the five elements of Feng Shui are also represented alongside each animal. For example, there will be a Year of the Wood Tiger, or in the case of this year – 2022 – the Year of the Water Tiger.

A Tiger Home Interior

A home that celebrates the year of the tiger is exciting, bright and full of fun. It is a place that’s worth living in for a lifetime, with no two rooms alike. The tiger thrives on plenty of yang energy, rejecting anything that makes them feel held back or controlled and doesn’t do well with black or mahogany painted walls. The best way to begin sprucing up your home, to align with the Tiger new year, is to decorate the spaces around yang objects, patterns, and materials, before gradually adding yin elements to achieve balance and Feng Shui.

Embrace your more colourful side, particularly the use of green, with an injection of flora around the home. Fruit prints, geometrics, floral imagery and an abundance of house plants against vivid, playful backdrops will create a fun and energetic atmosphere that tigers thrive in. Your home should become sensual, divine and wild. Creating open spaces for Chi to flow and welcoming the wild outdoors is a great way to embrace the Tiger New Year.

Focus on scented candles and diffusers that evoke feelings of spring, such as witch hazel or jasmine, as your base fragrances. But individual fragrances in each room will feel perfectly unpredictable and should be encouraged.

Decorating the Tiger Living Room

The overall room should feel like an escape into the garden or jungle. Imagine the warmth, fresh oxygen-rich air, and abundance of plants. Be sure to introduce a variety of house plants into the space for the perfect flow of breathable air within the main living spaces. Introduce the element of water, through glass, in the form of vases, mirrors, or fountains. Avoid any colours that are dark and atmospheric, swapping or repainting them into the colours of spring or warming reds, oranges, and yellows. Finally, choose cushions that can easily be updated year on year with a variety of patterns and colours.

Decorating the Tiger Kitchen

The kitchen should utilise a different colour scheme to the living room but still embrace bold colouring and patterns. Display wooden chopping boards and utensils, but conceal the blades of metal knives and any metal pots and pans as the metal will spoil the harmony of Tiger yang and make a point of adopting bamboo straws. In dining, spaces decorate the tabletop with a glass vase of yellow lilies.

Decorating the Tiger Bedroom

Again, opt for a unique colour scheme in the bedroom. You’ll want something to inspire an energetic and creative dynamic to encourage you to leap out of bed in the morning, but also unwind in the evening. Include bookshelves and anything that sparks learning and growth of the mind, and blackout curtains to enable a deep slumber night-after-night.

Organise wardrobe spaces in colour order and store away any dull clothes that don’t fill you with creativity. Similarly, store away objects that bore you, and feature curiosities under spotlighting to create intrigue.