Try playing with these interior design and Feng Shui ideas to bring more awareness to your Shores Workspace.

Some spaces are better for Shores People than others, but considering what’s available to you in the space around you can go a long way.

Below, you’ll find a list of ideas to consider and experiment with in your Home Office as a Shores Human Design Environment.

These ideas are to get you thinking about your Environment more expansively; they are not hard-and-fast rules, but considerations that will impact how good you feel in your body and in your workspace.

Take what feels fun and expansive and leave the rest!

Don’t know your Human Design Environment? Try my Human Design Variable-specific calculator at thehumandesignvariables.com, for the simplest way to find out what Human Design Environment you resonate to: Caves, Markets, Kitchens, Mountains, Valleys or Shores.

Environment Variable

Calculate your Human Design Environment here

Prioritize the Windows

If there are no windows in the space, seriously consider working in another environment as no window or immediate view of outdoor space (or another space) will be very hard for you to think clearly in and perform your best work. Against my better judgment, I ALMOST moved into a window-less den for a workspace once… thankfully my Caves Husband had my back and saved me from transfering into someting unsustainable. As a Shores Person, you need a view even if you work on something that has nothing to do with looking outside. You can’t be in a box with a door. You need a view to another world. Worst case scenario that view of another world can be a screen or an incredible painting or photo that creates the illusion of a window.

Build the Space Around the Views

Notice how you like to be oriented in the space based on its natural and artificial light sources. Consider entering the space at different times during the day to view which lighting you enjoy the most, and build the space around that lighting. You can be so inspired by the light. Great morning light? Build the space around it. Great afternoon light? Build the space around it. Are you a nocturnal creature? Work beneath that moonlight when those creative urges hit. A skylight can be a magical window into the lunar phases above you.

Seek a Two-Sided Desk

Whether that’s an L-shaped desk, an island, or a desk that has a chair on either side — it’s ideal to have a desk that allows you to have two different views. When you sit one way, perhaps you’re viewing a window. When you sit on the other side, perhaps you’re viewing a whiteboard. Having a space like this available will keep your mind clear depending on what you’re working on and when you need to shift. Sometimes you may notice you just need to leave the room entirely and go into your Kitchen or a coffee shop to work. As a Shores Person though, it’s not sustainable to work at your dining table for long term.

What’s Behind Your Work Desk?

When setting up a space, you may tend to focus on what’s in front of you and available to you or within reach, but it’s just as important that whatever is behind you is as clean and organized as the front. You feel what’s on both sides. Sitting with a mess behind you or before you may feel awful. Or tuning in to a Zoom call to reveal all your mishap behind you can be destablizing to see, even if you blur it out or set an artificial backdrop. When you’re designing your workspace, don’t overlook what’s going on all around you and consider how you can bring balance to your front and back. My favourite way to set up the space is to have a credenza or bookshelf behind me, anchoring me and providing a backdrop when I’m on calls with clients, teaching online, or recording something.

Have Access to an Outdoor Space

Dream office alert! Whether this is a balcony, patio, deck, veranda, or beautiful walking path or garden, having some kind of feature outdoors that allowed you to escape to, take breaks in, or neutralize through when you need a change of environment is ideal. This might even be a nearby park that’s in walking distance! You have a unique feature that sometimes you’ll need to leave your Home Office, get out of the house, sit at your Kitchen table or work from your bed. This is because your body sometimes needs to change it’s world in order to maintain clarity. It’s also a sign you need a break! So make it easy to take a break and change the scene around you. You can also play with artwork to create the illusion of another world nearby. Experiment with artwork that’s the size of a window to create this effect.

Bring in a Water Feature or Water Visual

This can be some kind of fish tank, fountain, water or ocean painting, a water-inspired desktop background or iPad or iPhone background. Try water-like colours such as blues, blacks and greens. Water sounds are another great way to bring in the movement of water in another form. Shores People are very connected to water and the different density it provides when your body is submerged in it. If you practice Flying Star Feng Shui, there are Mountain and Water stars within the dimensions of your Home Office, and activating the Water Star through artwork or relics can be auspicious or inauspicious. I like to learn Flying Star Feng Shui with Lillian Too.

Play with Mirrors in Your Workspace

Mirrors hung in strategic ways can reveal new angles, make the space look bigger, or reflect the sunlight to brighten a space. Avoid angling mirrors in front of doors, as this is said to send new energy bouncing right back out the door as soon as it comes in. Place a mirror in a way that allows you to see into two worlds at once. This is also great to experiment with if you have low lighting in your space or can’t angle your desk in a way that allows you to see out the window. Perhaps a reflection is the only way you can see the outside world! But just like the door, hanging a mirror directly across from a window can bounce the energy back out the window, too. Always be mindful of what your mirrors reflect.

Your Bookshelf is an Altar

Whatever you devote yourself to in your work, consider bringing a bookshelf into the space to have all your treasures, amulets, wares and collectibles on display nearby. This gives you things to look at for inspiration, taking you into other worlds depending on what your trinket is. You can also easily reference the worlds of other books stored just an arm’s reach away, and create a customized space in your most creative environment. What you set out on your shelves can be a holy experience, part of your manifestation, and offer you targeted spaces to arrange things with intention and inspiration.

For more resources on the Human Design Environment Variable, check out thehumandesignvariables.com.