Sorry to start a new thread on Feng Shui, but I noticed that the previous thread had morphed into vaastu discussions and was getting long.
Here is an idea that I used in my home to bring the Japanese aspect of serenity into my home. It is a very cheap idea and can be adapted for the outdoors as well as indoors.
Japanese gardens are beautiful in their relative simplicity. In the process of landscaping our yard, we did not want to spend too much money on plants, putting in an irrigation system, etc. So we came up with the idea of a Japanese sand garden. We planted some bamboo along the wall, dug a small rectangular trench and filled it with white sand. We then got some interesting pebbles and arranged them in the sand. To simulate raking patterns, we got a wide salad fork and raked around the stones in a whimsical manner. I did the same thing on a smaller scale - on a serving tray and placed this on the coffee table inside the house. It is very serene, economical and brings the Asian aspect into your home.
Has anyone else experimented with bamboo/ Japanese items?