Feng shui experts share home decorating tips for the Year of the Monkey
This fire monkey year calls for making bold changes such as adding shades of red or repainting an entire room
Lunar New Year has profound cultural significance, but it’s also a time for making merry. So as the Year of the Monkey rolls around – and not just any old primate, but the cheeky, wily fire monkey - why not have some fun with it?
Hong Kong feng shui master Raymond Lo notes that the last time we experienced the same yang fire monkey year was 60 years ago, in 1956. While history records episodes of trouble and strife globally during that year, Lo points out that as yang fire symbolises the sun, it also generates sentiments of optimism and happiness.
It was also a very successful year for some of the biggest stars of the time, Lo adds: Elvis Presley crooned Heartbreak Hotel, his first million-selling single; Norma Jean Baker changed her name to Marilyn Monroe; and Doris Day recorded her most famous song, Que Sera Sera. “So it is a favourable year for entertainment and glamorous industries,” Lo says.
And that makes it the right time to channel some glamour and boldness into your home.
The key colours for the year of the fire monkey, says Jan Cisek, a London-based feng shui consultant, are red and its various related shades such as pink, rose, purple, lilac and burgundy. “To connect to the energy of fire monkey via the fire element and its colour,” she says, “just get some brand-new red items for your home - for example, red towels, a red door mat, and for yourself, red clothes - as well as candles which represent the fire element.”
