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Choosing a Fountain
Indoor Fountains I
Indoor Fountains II

In the green industry, (gardens) the realm of water features has been the fastest growing segment for nearly thirty years, according to Lilipons and other water garden experts,   exhibiting a growth increase of about twenty percent for most years. According to landscape architects and landscape contractors, more people than ever before are requesting some kind of water garden on their property. A pond, waterfall, fountain or even a stream is nearly commonplace in many backyards today. And, it seems, the same phenomena is happening now inside the house too.

This is in part due to the growing influence of Feng Shui, which though comprised of various branches which do not necessarily concur on many issues but all of which do insist that water is one of the five essential elements and is a vital element to have in the home. (Exactly where in the house may be another question, with different answers depending on who you ask.)

According to Feng Shui, a fountain in the house is said to have a variety of benefits. Flowing water is an ancient symbol of prosperity and abundance. (Feng Shui means, Wind and Water). The flowing water is also said to diffuse healthy negative ions into the atmosphere, and of course, it adds moisture to the air, also said to be beneficial to health.

There are now countless interior decorators who are Feng Shui practitioners and of course, almost all advocate having moving water in the home. Usually it is said that water is best in the East, Southeast and North areas of the house, but other practitioners will say that this will depend on the ‘Ba-Gua’ , or energy map of your home which may in part be determined by when your home was built. Others say that the energy map changes over time or from year to year.

Be that as it may (and will you and I ever really know?), interior designers and decorators are finding other reasons for having, and some, for not having moving water, or table-top fountains in the home.

There are so many styles of fountains available that it is possible to find one that synchronizes with any room’s ‘theme’ or look, contributing substantially to the overall success of the interior design scheme. A lot can be done with just one element that either sums up the motif or lends ‘pop’ and pizzazz to a room’s décor.

For example, if the décor is designed to be quiet, soothing and peaceful, a table-top fountain (made of natural materials only, of course), with a gentle burble or soft splash of water can become the focus, or emblem, of the meditative atmosphere the décor was designed to convey.

Or, conversely, if the room was designed with the dramatic in mind, a stunning, contemporary piece with a bold display may be just the thing, especially if in contrasting colors or textures (but again, only in natural materials – stone, wood, ceramic or metal.).

Why only natural materials? As our world becomes ever more inundated with artificial things made to look like natural things, the importance of natural materials becomes increasingly difficult for people to appreciate, yet remains as vital a factor as it ever was.

Rooms are designed to be beautiful, however one may define that word. Now if your tastes run to plastic and resin, (materials of which many fountains are made) either for aesthetic reasons or because products of those materials are less expensive, then you need to beware. Some plastics (and resin is a kind of plastic) contain BPA which has been found to be a serious health threat, associated with an array of illnesses and diseases.

So rooms are designed to be beautiful, from the initial impression down to the last detail. Beauty invites us to participate. That is why we have art galleries and concerts. A well designed room enjoins us, invites our attention and leads us from the obvious to the less so and at each level, if the room was truly well designed, we will find beauty and interest and something to excite and please us. A bit after entering a room, we notice the table-top fountain with its beguiling burble, walk over to it, study it closely and we can’t quite tell what the material is so we ask, “what is this made of?”

“Resin”, the homeowner says. “Oh”, and we don’t bother looking at the fountain again. Resin means plastic. Made in a mold, no doubt, by the tens of thousands, probably emitting a slight, unpleasant and possibly harmful smell. You walk away, never to return to that portion of the room.

Now let’s play that differently.

“What is this delightful fountain made from?”

“Ceramic. It’s handmade. One-of-a-kind, actually.”

“Oh, how lovely!”

You get the idea. But it is not only the material that is important here and this was something the Arts and Crafts movement  - late eighteen, early nineteen hundreds - understood deeply and advocated ardently – the value of man-made, as opposed to machine made. Though perhaps impossible to measure, there is a quality to something made by the hands of a man or woman that simply cannot be found (because it isn’t there) in a manufactured product.

When something is created to be beautiful, such as a designed and decorated room, that beauty should be found throughout and in every detail and however good the fake, a fake is still a fake. Materials, such as resin or plastic are not the same as ceramic, wood or metal and products mass produced by the thousands, however well made, can never have the inner integrity of an item well made by hand.

Some designers recommend against having a fountain in the home, and for good reason. Fountains do require a little attention. (And what doesn’t?) It needs to be topped off now and again. It may need cleaning once in a while, and of course it needs dusting, just like your life-size sculpture of a Maasai warrior carved in ebony and standing in the corner guarding your doorway, complete with ten-foot spear.

But unlike your scowling warrior with spear, water left un-cared for can be disagreeable, so if your fountain is going to go neglected, better not to have one.

Sound is a factor too. Most indoor fountains or table-top water features are designed to make a pleasant sound. Some have falling water that makes a sort of splash or trickle and if this is too loud can become an annoyance if the fountain is in the wrong place, or make you want to run frequently to the bathroom.

Other fountains – the bubble-up type fountains, for example, have a much quieter sound, more like water running over smooth rocks and are far more likely to sound soothing. And most fountains have adjustable pumps so unless you are hypersensitive to the sound of moving water, they needn’t be a problem. But then…

There’s the pump. The larger the fountain, the bigger the pump and the more likely it is to make an unwanted hum. But not necessarily. A well made fountain (of natural materials) can have the pump so encased that no sound escapes. Just be certain, because large or small, a humming pump will destroy whatever pleasure your indoor fountain could have provided you.

Then, some people actually don’t like moving water. Where others find it soothing, they find it enervating. “I mean, it just doesn’t stop”, one man intoned, in the garden center shop selling fountains. “Ever. Unless you unplug it.”

“In that case, why have it?” Rejoined his friend.

Good point. Just because fountains are high on the list of must-have’s for home décor doesn’t mean you need to have one, regardless of the advice of Feng Shui experts and inclinations of home decorators. If it is not to your taste or doesn’t suit your lifestyle, leave the fountain out.

On the other hand, having a fountain can be genuinely delightful. It can infuse several other dimensions into your home décor with the sight and sounds of moving water and reflected light and of course, the beauty of the fountain itself can be an enhancement.