A McDonald’s restaurant in Southern California has taken the bold step of getting a Feng Shui makeover, a move which at first glace may seem a little like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear—or in this case, a silk purse out of a cow’s ear.

Feng Shui is based partly on the idea that the physical world influences our internal world. It supposes that the physical things of our world—wall color and furniture placement, whether they are mirrors in the living room or a big TV in the bedroom—can have a tremendous influence on our psychological, mental, and spiritual lives.  The good news is that we can have some control over this, by having living plants in our homes, by using certain colors, or by placing particular elements in certain spots in a home or business.

Everything I’ve heard about Feng Shui—which, granted, isn’t much—sounds good to me.  Although Feng Shui is a complex and ancient system of looking at the world, that can’t be explicated in a few short paragraphs on a blog, much of it just seems like common sense. We know that it’s more difficult to sleep in a room that’s brightly lit than in a dark one. We know that we tend to feel cooler or warmer depending on the wall color.

Well, I think it’s great for McDonald’s to take this step. As long as there are McDonald’s, there will be people eating at McDonald’s—I mean, if the nutrition information (now readily available on the McDonald’s Web site) doesn’t scare people off, nothing will.

Given that, if you’re slurping down an artery-clogging clump of greasy fat, you may as well be doing it in lovely environment.

So kudos to Mark Brownstein, the owner of the restaurant in suburban Los Angeles. Even if the redesign was just a ploy to bring in more customers in the heavily Asian area, a little Feng Shui goes a long way toward making the world a better place.

Maybe next the designers, Feng Shui Grand Master Dr. Chi-Jen Liu and his daughter, Master Jenny Liu, will take on designing the operating rooms where the triple bypass surgery is done.

By the way, this is what I found while researching this item, from the McDonald’s Web site:  A quarter-pounder with cheese has 510 calories, and 26 grams of fat. Add a small order of fries to add 250 calories and another 13 grams of fat. If you’re thinking that maybe you’ll save some calories by ordering the chicken McNuggets, think again: ten pieces have 420 calories, 24 grams of fat, so if you’re really craving the beef, you may as well suck down that big burger.

Most people can maintain their weight by eating about 2000 or 3000 calories a day—depending on their body size and their exercise amount. And most people only need about 50-100 grams of fat per day. Let’s say you’re on the small size, and don’t exercise much. A quarter-pounder with fries gives you 760 calories and 39 grams of fat. What can you possibly eat for your other two meals that day? A carrot?

To be fair, let me also mention that a walnut bran muffin at Starbucks has 430 calories, 18 grams of fat. Together with a latte, you’ve got 620 calories and 25 grams of fat, and that’s not even really a meal.

In case you’re still reading, even though I have gone so far afield from design and Feng Shui, a banana has about 100 calories and no fat. And a slice of whole wheat toast, 76 calories and one gram of fat. (This information from the www.nutritiondata.com.)

Okay, I know this isn’t a nutrition blog, but I couldn’t help it. McDonald’s is such an easy target. But even I have to admit that those fries are delish.

Okay, does anyone mind reading about romance in order to get to the current decorating saga in my life? 

Unfortunately, this is not my story of romance. As you know, my life is consumed with contractors, electricians, and testing out terrible wall colors.  

This is the story of my friend, Samantha. Samantha is one of those chronically single women, even though everyone who meets her and then learns she is single has the same response: how on earth is it that no one has snapped you up yet?  

Sam is, in short, great—loads of personality, clever, witty, generous. And I don’t mean by that that she isn’t good-looking (you know, when someone is setting you up on a blind date and they say “he’s terrific, has a great job, he’s really funny ….” and they don’t mention looks, it means looks are not going to be exactly his selling point.) But Sam is also gorgeous, with a wild mop of naturally blonde hair, great athletic figure. You know, she’s that woman in yoga class you look at enviously even as the yoga instructor is saying “we are not here to compare….” 

Okay. So Sam somehow has made it into her 40s without ever getting married. Not that she hasn’t wanted to—she has very much wanted a husband, but has never quite hit it right. So she’s got a terrific apartment in a great neighborhood, which is larger than most New York City apartments because she’s been living there forever and moved in back when a normal person could actually afford an apartment in New York City, a real apartment, with a separate bedroom and a kitchen that actually fits comfortably a dining table.  

Sam is also one of New York’s star editors, with a high-powered job at a big publishing house. She makes a good salary, and she’s been able to furnish her place very nicely, so it’s pretty much perfect. 

And her life is great—going out to expense-account lunches with agents and editors, getting invited to fancy publishing parties, the works. Sometimes she invites me along to those parties, and let me just say that they are the parities you want to be at, even though no matter what you do you feel dreadfully underdressed. 

So, her perfect life had this one blemish: she really wanted to find a man to love and share it all with, but kept striking out. They all seemed great at first, but then turned out to be married, gay, or incapable of intimacy. Or, in one rather stunning case, all three. 

Until now. Along came the Bachelor of West 86^th Street.  A lovely guy, still never married at fifty. All Sam’s friends pointed out to her that this was a red flag, probably indicated that he would most likely never, ever, want to even go near the topic of marriage or commitment. 

But she kept seeing him, and he was delightful. We all fell in love with him. He took her out dancing. He spoke French. He took her to charming restaurants. And then he asked her to marry him, and we all just about fell off our chairs.  

Once they started talking marriage, they started talking about beds and bedding. And not in the way you’re thinking. The thing is, he had a tiny apartment with a double bed in the tiny bedroom. She had a much bigger apartment with — you guessed it — a double bed in the big bedroom. The Feng Shui experts reading this will probably come in to say what I myself told Sam long ago, which is that if you don’t want to be single anymore, start by getting a bed that’s big enough for two.  

The Bachelor of West 86^th Street was, like Sam, quite athletic, but this meant he was muscular, and he was tall to boot. So sharing a double bed soon seemed like torture to both of them, and quickly they launched into a search for a nice, comfortable, and most of all larger, bed. 

Check in next week to see what happens next. 

I saw the episode of Please Buy My House with Sheffield’s Feng Shui consultant, Jennifer Ellen Frank, and you’ve got to see it. Even though I knew a thing or two about Feng Shui, it was remarkable to see the house for sale through a Feng Shui expert’s eyes. Of course the dead flower arrangement has to go (okay, that’s basic Feng Shui—you don’t want to have a bunch of dead things around), but Frank’s advice about the king sized bed needing a remedy was a real eye-opener. 

And listen, this house had been on the market for a year. Then Frank came in, her advice was put into action, and there was an offer after the next open house. The show ends with the happy cats jumping out of their boxes in the new house. What could be better? 

You can see it for yourself on Saturday at 3 pm on TLC.

Sheffield’s own Feng Shui consultant, Jennifer Ellen Frank, was so popular on TLC this past Saturday that they’re running the show again. It’s called “Please Buy My House,” and Jennifer is called in to consult on sprucing up a home for sale. We won’t be giving the end away by telling you that her Feng Shui savvy got the sellers a good price. You can see it this Saturday at 3 pm EST. 

Meantime, the electrician was going to come last week, so I made all the proper arrangements, and then at the last minute he cancelled. I mean, he called at 7:30 in the morning to say he wasn’t coming, then called at 8 to say he was, then at 9 called to say he couldn’t make it until noon, and when the phone rang again, I tore it out from the wall in frustration. 

Now, he says he’s coming this Friday. I decided to give him a second chance just because, as you know, just getting the estimate was about as easy as, well, you know.

This just in: the Sheffield School’s own Feng Shui advisor, Jennifer Ellen Frank, will be appearing on TV this weekend, on TLC’s  “Please Buy My House.” She was called in as a consultant to make the home in question more salable, using her considerable Feng Shui savvy. 

And I’ll tell you this much: the house sold. So she must know something. Probably, she knows a lot. 

You can catch it on Saturday at 8 and 11 pm on TLC. Maybe I’ll be able to pick up a few pointers.