A former banker, Wilfred Leu found his calling as a fengshui practitioner after a debilitating financial crisis in 2008. What started out as a means to overcome his predicament became a second career. Since then, Wilfred has gained recognition through word-of-mouth from clients ranging from homeowners, to bankers and multinational corporations. He recently had the opportunity to apply his expertise of the Chinese philosophical system to his own home.

At the beginning of the project, Wilfred provided Miki Shi, design consultant at Copper Design Associates, with a detailed catalogue containing photographs and dimensions of all the precious stones, antique vases, paintings, wooden furniture and other auspicious artefacts in his extensive collection, which he wanted to incorporate into his home. Miki admits that it is the first time she has worked on such a fengshui-driven home.

“It was challenging and exciting at the same time. A lot of research and analysis were undertaken before the actual execution. But after understanding Wilfred’s lifestyle and requirements, I had the freedom to propose my design ideas,” she says.

The close working relationship and good communication between Wilfred and the designer resulted in a unique apartment that harmonises fengshui and interior design principles seamlessly.

Wilfred points out that colours and scent play a role in fengshui. The ancient Chinese made good use of quality incense.

The lighting was designed to complement the furniture and displays.

How did you balance the fengshui and interior design of your home?

There are many misconceptions and myths about fengshui and it is shrouded in mystery and secrecy. The fengshui that I practise was established by the Chinese Imperial Palace in both the Qing and Ming dynasties, largely from publications such as The Imperial Complete Books of the Four Repositories and The Yongle Encyclopaedia.

I consider these systems methodical and logical, complete with case studies, which are very applicable to practical, modern-day living environments. Hence, I see no conflict between fengshui and interior design. It is about utilising fengshui requirements, but in a macro way – harnessing the environment for optimal air flow, lighting, colours, and even scent.

There should be a good balance of direct and indirect lighting in every house, particularly in the living room, where warm-white lighting is preferable to cool-white.

According to Wilfred, a home must have very good lighting and homeowners often overlook this.

“I wanted a house with a good blend of Chinese and Western designs, a sort of Chinoiserie chic,” says the homeowner.

What are a few fundamental fengshui principles for the home?

The home must be bright and breezy. We should try and reduce the home’s humidity, especially in Singapore. This means that the abode must have openings such as doors or windows that are aligned with the monsoon winds.

In Beijing, for example, you will notice that houses usually have main doors and windows facing south to avoid the extremely cold northern wind and sandstorms from the north-west. In Singapore, we need the natural breeze because humidity is bad for your health and causes the condition of items in the house to deteriorate.

Fengshui involves a myriad of elements such as aromatherapy, colours, paintings, ornaments and lighting, and there is an increasing number of modern studies that indicate the positive effects that these have on people within their living and working environments.