Feng

The mainstream interest in feng shui just keeps growing. More and more people are applying feng shui (pronounced FUNG shway), the ancient Chinese art of placement to achieve harmony and balance, to the interior design of their homes.Check out the selection of paperback books on the subject at Borders (the first two are new this fall): "The Feng Shui Kit" ($29.95), "Feng Shui Made Easy" ($15), "The Elements of Feng Shui" ($9.95), "Interior Design with Feng Shui" ($15.95) and "Living Color" ($18)

When Blair O'Neal showed up at the McDonald's LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock on Friday, it was a case of life imitating television. O'Neal is one of the final four contestants on the Big Break Prince Edwards Island reality show on the Golf Channel (which airs Mondays at 10 p.m.). A former college player at Arizona State and a former pro in Asia, O'Neal is better known as a runway model than a fairway tiger, nevertheless. If she has her way, she will use the reality series as a springboard to the LPGA Tour.

When you hire an interior designer you expect, at most, a stylish, comfortable home. When you hire an interior designer trained in feng shui, you may get a little more than you bargained for. Placing a mirror above your stove, say, might bring unexpected wealth.Feng shui -- pronounced FUNG shway -- is the Chinese art of placement to achieve harmony and balance, which can lead to other good things (like health, wealth and an improved love life). It's been around for a few years -- 6,000 to be exact -- but only recently has feng shui gone mainstream in parts of this country.

Being paired with Michelle Wie isn't quite like being paired with Tiger Woods, outside the abundance of Nike swooshes. But it does result in some of the same challenges, as Shanshan Feng learned Thursday. Feng, who finished her first round of the McDonald's LPGA Championship alone in third place at 5-under-par, was paired with Wie and Christina Kim, which provided for a lively morning. Fans' fascination with Wie drew the biggest following of the day, which meant a number of golf novices were jostling for position, many of them not exactly concerned with Feng's pre-shot routine.

Since you're reading a column on interior design, you probably ought to know a bit about feng shui.Never heard of it? Well, here's a very brief and simplified introduction that may inspire further study.Feng shui can be defined as a Chinese theory of how one's life is affected by architecture and physical layouts. Some people regard it as plain superstition; others think it's expressive of a universal force; I believe it reflects sound common sense.Even though feng shui is followed by many non-Chinese, it is radically different from 20th-century design principles as applied the West.

Being paired with Michelle Wie isn't quite like being paired with Tiger Woods, outside the abundance of Nike swooshes. But it does result in some of the same challenges, as Shanshan Feng learned Thursday. Feng, who finished her first round of the McDonald's LPGA Championship alone in third place at 5-under-par, was paired with Wie and Christina Kim, which provided for a lively morning. Fans' fascination with Wie drew the biggest following of the day, which meant a number of golf novices were jostling for position, many of them not exactly concerned with Feng's pre-shot routine.

SHENZHEN, China -- The life of an official in China's closed political system can be anxious and uncertain. Anyone who doubts that should stride up the initial flight of nine steps leading into the courthouse in Shenzhen. The courthouse used to have 11 steps. Two were removed. Workers also broadened the stairway and placed two fierce ceremonial stone lions at another entrance. The reasons for the redesign haven't been made public. But news reports suggest that agitated officials wanted to halt a run of bad luck, including the jailing of three judges for corruption.

Baby, you're hot. So hot that we're getting more interested in buying stuff for you before you're born than when you're here. So lucrative that struggling Toys "R" Us will soon convert two of its Manhattan stores to Babies "R" Us, with blankets, bouncers and bottles more geared to the still-spitting-up. So intriguing that we are now applying feng shui principles to nursery design and trying to figure you out with astrology. At the same time, we are trying to make you more like us. Your bedding and borders are no longer so cutesy, not just pink or blue.

Thousands of years ago, the Chinese invented the philosophy of Feng Shui to figure out furniture arrangements at home that would give them positive energy flow and harmony in their lives. Today, Feng Shui is enjoying increasing popularity in America -- but not just as a decorating tool. In the grand American tradition of repackaging an age-old practice for marketing to the masses, image consultants have begun using the ancient philosophy to determine what clothes a person should wear to bring them luck and happiness.

By classical standards, Homewood House, completed early in the 19th century on what became the Johns Hopkins University campus, is a masterpiece. If you apply the ancient principles of feng shui to its interior, it is also a beautiful home, but one that, facing south and southeast, admits an excess of "fire energy." For Homewood's ill-fated builder, Charles Carroll Jr., who spent profligately on his house and struggled with alcoholism, that energy may have been too much of a good thing.

We'd like to build an addition onto our living room that would serve as a family space. The idea is to install lots of windows to take advantage of a lovely view, while at the same time avoiding a glassy look and creating a sense of warmth in this new room. How can we establish continuity between the two spaces? My simple suggestion -- and it's not meant facetiously -- is that you get a good architect and interior designer. But I also have a few ideas for you to consider. Many Americans have become at least somewhat familiar with feng shui, the set of ancient Chinese principles governing interior design.

The Maryland Capital chapter of the American Business Women's Association has awarded a $1,500 education grant to Margaret Jarboe of Davidsonville. Jarboe is a student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. RiverWest plans marketing seminar RiverWest Marketing, 647 Ridgely Ave., Annapolis, will hold a free seminar, "Prospecting in Today's Market," from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Thursday. The seminar will provide information on finding the right client. Information: 410-266-3600, or www.riverwestmarketing .com.

SHENZHEN, China -- The life of an official in China's closed political system can be anxious and uncertain. Anyone who doubts that should stride up the initial flight of nine steps leading into the courthouse in Shenzhen. The courthouse used to have 11 steps. Two were removed. Workers also broadened the stairway and placed two fierce ceremonial stone lions at another entrance. The reasons for the redesign haven't been made public. But news reports suggest that agitated officials wanted to halt a run of bad luck, including the jailing of three judges for corruption.

Chambers to hear about health plan The Baltimore-Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce and the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are offering a free informational session at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Show Place Arena, Winner's Circle Lounge, 14900 Pennsylvania Ave., Upper Marlboro. The session is for representatives to give an overview of the CorridorCare Limited Health Care Benefits, a health care plan offered to members of the chambers. Reservations are required. Information: 301-725-4000, ext. 111. Show to highlight home-based firms Marley Station will host a home-based business show at 11 a.m. Saturday in the mall's Center Court, 7900 Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie.

Few things are more soothing than the sound of falling water. At the same time that outdoor fountains are popular again -- having been part of the garden landscape for at least 2,000 years -- the indoor fountain has made its way into bedrooms, living rooms and home offices. Garden centers, gift shops and numerous Web sites offer fountains appropriate for the home environment. And whether you're looking for a small, table-size fountain with a bamboo pipe pouring water over stones, or a wall-size unit with water rippling in front of a Renaissance painting, it's out there.

How we sell real estate is determined by cultural influences. For more than 50 years, the market assumed that the typical new-home buyers would be the Cleavers: people of European ancestry; a mother, a father and two children who saw themselves pretty much as Madison Avenue saw them. And, accordingly, builders and real estate agents came up with ways to deal with these "traditional" buyers that served them well for decades. The culture of the marketplace has changed, however, with the entry of millions of immigrants from Asia and Latin America, as well as an increase in black buyers during the past dozen years.

"Good feng shui doesn't necessarily mean good interior design," points out feng shui specialist and former practicing psychotherapist Nancy SantoPietro. But common sense tells usa pleasing environment can lead to a sense of well-being. Here are some basic ideas or "cures" suggested by the people we consulted and Sarah Rossbach in her book "Interior Design With Feng Shui" (Viking/Penguin, 1987).* Mirrors. Ms. Rossbach calls these the aspirin of feng shui. They can create the illusion of space and light, and make you feel more comfortable if your back is to the door.