Feng Shui, literally meaning “wind water,” is an ancient Chinese practice that aims to create balance and harmony within our living spaces. It is based on the belief that everything in the universe is made up of energy, known as chi or qi, and this energy profoundly impacts our lives.

When thoughtfully applied, Feng Shui principles, which have a basis in design, architecture, and environmental psychology, can create a more harmonious and balanced living environment.

By optimizing the flow of chi through elements like furniture placement and natural decor, one can foster health, wealth, and happiness.

Why Follow Feng Shui Principles?

While some may view Feng Shui as a gimmick, many have experienced significant benefits from its simple principles.

Incorporating Feng Shui into your home, particularly your bedroom, can have a substantial impact on your overall well-being. Key benefits include:

• Promotes Restful Sleep The layout and arrangement of your bedroom can greatly affect sleep quality, and Feng Shui principles help create a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere conducive to restful sleep.
• Improves Health A well-designed room can promote good health by reducing stress levels, improving air quality, and encouraging restful sleep, thus supporting physical and emotional health.
• Reduces Anxiety Clutter and disorganization can lead to chaos and anxiety. By following Feng Shui rules to create a tidy, organized, and clutter-free space, you can foster a sense of calm and reduce stress.
• Boosts Energy Levels Feng Shui helps create a space that supports positive energy flow, which can enhance mood, increase energy, and promote overall vitality. Simple changes like adjusting bed and furniture positions can balance chi for a more harmonious flow.

Key Feng Shui Concepts for Home Decorating

Several fundamental concepts guide Feng Shui in home decorating: the five elements, the commanding position, and general decluttering and spatial arrangement rules.

The Five Elements

Feng Shui utilizes a five-element system derived from Taoist philosophy, observing how cycles of nature work together in balance. Each element is associated with specific qualities, colors, and shapes that can be incorporated into home design to enhance those qualities. Balancing these elements ensures no single force dominates, creating a tranquil space.

• Wood: Represents new life, growth, expansion, creativity, healing, and vibrant health. Its colors are green and blue, and its shapes are rectangular or columnar. To incorporate wood, use wooden furniture like bed frames, nightstands, or dressers, or add natural elements such as plants and fresh flowers. Green houseplants are especially great for this. The wood element is beneficial in the East, Southeast, and South areas.
• Fire: Associated with action, passion, inspiration, visibility, fame, and recognition. Its primary color is red, but also includes bright orange, burgundy, cranberry, and bright pink. Shapes include triangles, pyramids, and tall, pointed forms. Lamps, candles, and fireplaces are excellent ways to introduce the fire element. While red is powerful and auspicious, large amounts should be avoided in relaxing spaces like bedrooms as it can be overwhelming. The fire element is most needed in the South and Southwest.
• Earth: Represents stability, security, self-care, grounding, nourishment, and knowledge. Its colors are brown, orange, yellow, terra-cotta, and beiges. Shapes are square, and materials include natural stone, clay, ceramics, marble, granite, river rocks, and crystals. Square yellow rugs or solid rectangular desks can add earth energy. This element is beneficial in the Southwest, Northeast, and Center.
• Metal: Signifies precision, focus, clarity, beauty, joy, strength, independence, and discipline. Colors are white, gray, and metallics like gold, silver, and copper, as well as pastels and reflective colors. Shapes are circular, oval, and arches. Incorporate metal through decorative frames, sculptures, or accessories. This element is favorable in the West and Northwest.
• Water: Represents a calming, peaceful, flowing energy, associated with stillness, wisdom, quiet contemplation, abundance, prosperity, and cleansing. Its primary colors are black and dark blue/indigo, and its shapes are wavy and curvy. Water can be invoked through fountains, aquariums, or artwork with watery images. However, it’s crucial to avoid including the water element in your bedroom, as it is believed to bring bad luck and worry. The water element is welcomed in the North, East, and Southeast Bagua areas.

The Commanding Position

One of the fundamental basics in Feng Shui is the commanding position. This applies to your bed, desk, and stove, as they represent you, your wealth/resources, and your career/life path, respectively.

To place an item in the commanding position, you should be able to see the door when using it, without being directly in line with the door. This positioning helps you feel more at ease subconsciously and makes you aware of potential opportunities.

You can amplify positive energy in this position by decorating with objects that bring joy, using positive color choices, adding plants, ensuring natural light, and keeping the area decluttered.

Feng Shui Decorating Principles for Your Home

Applying Feng Shui principles to your home decor involves thoughtful consideration of layout, colors, furniture arrangement, and specific elements.

General Home Principles:

• Declutter and Organize: Clutter creates stagnant energy and disrupts chi flow. Keeping your space tidy promotes a calm and peaceful atmosphere.
• Natural Light: Prioritize natural light as it is always preferred for enhancing energy. Ensure windows are unobstructed to allow light to fill the space.
• Soft Lighting: Opt for soft, ambient lighting to create a relaxing atmosphere, reduce stress, and promote relaxation.
• Openness and Airflow: In central areas like living rooms and kitchens, prioritize layouts that allow for openness and good airflow.
• Trust Your Intuition: With various Feng Shui schools and suggestions available, trust your intuition and commit to one expert or set of tips that resonates with you.
• Don’t Over-Worry: Avoid excessive worry about “bad” Feng Shui. What might be considered negative for one person could be beneficial for another, as Feng Shui is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Bedroom Specifics

• Bed Placement:
  • Lean your bed against a solid wall for stability and support, promoting restful sleep and a sense of security. This also helps reduce energy flow, creating a peaceful environment.
  • Place your bed diagonally across from the door in the commanding position. This allows a clear view of the door, fostering safety and security, and helps balance energy flow.
  • Avoid the “Death Position” by not placing your bed in a direct line with the door, as this creates vulnerability and restlessness.
  • Ensure equal space on either side of the bed.
  • Do not position your bed directly under beams or air conditioners, as this can create feelings of pressure and discomfort, disrupt chi, and may consume your energy. Move the bed or redirect air vents.
  • Avoid placing your bed directly under a window.
  • Allow walk-around space on each side of the bed for easy access.
• Headboard: Use a solid headboard made from wood, metal, or upholstered fabric for stability and support. Choose one with curved edges over sharp ones to avoid negative “cutting” energy.
• Nightstands: If space allows, place matching nightstands on each side of the bed to provide a grounding effect and anchor the bed’s energy. They offer extra surface space for incorporating other Feng Shui elements like plants and crystals.
• Clutter: Keep your bedroom, including the space under your bed, clutter-free. Clutter under the bed can cause stagnant energy. If storage is necessary, store only soft, bed-related items like linens and pillows, and avoid emotionally charged or work-related items.
• Mirrors: Do not place mirrors facing the bed, as they are believed to reflect and amplify energy, which can be disruptive to restful sleep. If a mirror is needed, place it out of direct sight or where it cannot reflect the bed.
• Electronics: Avoid placing electronics like TVs, computers, and mobile phones in the bedroom due to electromagnetic radiation that can disrupt sleep and create negative energy. Turn them off or use shielding devices if they must be in the room.
• Work and Exercise Equipment: Keep work-related items and exercise equipment out of the bedroom. Work items create stress, and exercise equipment has “yang” (active) energy, which disrupts the desired “yin” (slow, cool) energy needed for rest.
• Sharp Objects: Avoid sharp or pointed objects like knives, swords, or plants with sharp leaves, as they can create negative, tense energy. If they must be in the room, keep them out of plain sight.
• Colors and Patterns: Stick to simple, calming patterns and colors for bedding and decor to promote a peaceful environment. Opt for calming tones like soft blues or greens to promote relaxation and restful sleep. Bedrooms generally need more yin energy. While red can boost yang energy, it’s generally avoided in large amounts in bedrooms. Avoid icy blue as it can negate passion.
• Natural Elements: Incorporate natural elements like plants, natural fabrics, wood, and stone to bring tranquility and a connection with nature into your bedroom.
• Benches: Avoid placing a bench at the foot of the bed, as it can block opportunities, especially related to your career.

Home Office / Desk Area

• Ideally, avoid placing desks in the bedroom entirely, as they represent work and can disrupt rest.
• If a desk must be in the bedroom, position it away from the bed, preferably diagonally to the door, ensuring separation of work and rest energies.
• Place your desk in the commanding position (where you can see the door without being in direct line with it).
• Avoid placing a desk directly in front of a window if it’s your main workspace, as your qi (energy) might flow out the window. Instead, position the desk so the window is to your side.
• Remember to tidy digital spaces and office areas.

Dresser Placement

• Place your dresser against a solid wall.
• Avoid direct alignment with the bed or door.
• Ensure the dresser does not obstruct the flow of energy and allows for easy access.
• Proper placement promotes stability and organization.

Kitchen Principles

• Maintain cleanliness for good health.
• Keep your refrigerator clean and tidy, removing expired items.
• Ensure the stove is working and separate it from the sink.
• Consider hanging a mirror behind the stove.
• Avoid empty space above cabinets and hanging items overhead.
• Opt for glass cabinet doors, good lighting, and incorporate metal and wood decor.
• Store knives out of sight and hide trashcans.
• Avoid eating in the kitchen itself.

Bathroom Principles

• Keep the bathroom door and toilet seat closed as much as possible to prevent wealth from flowing away.
• Scrub surfaces often to maintain cleanliness.
• Emphasize the wood and earth elements, while minimizing the water and fire elements and limiting metals.
• Create a spa-like feel, use vertical lines, and add pops of pink, wooden vanities, towel racks, bamboo, or artwork with vertical images.

Living Room Principles

• Ensure ample, comfortable seating arranged to face each other to encourage conversation.
• Avoid having the backs of chairs facing the door as much as possible.
• Add healthy green plants to introduce vital life force energy and the wood element.
• Place the sofa in a way that allows for easy conversation and a good view of the room, without facing a wall directly.
• Minimize clutter.
• Choose furniture with rounded corners.
• Embrace the energy of the fireplace and consider the coffee table as a focal point.
• Ensure the living room entry is visible and the room has lots of light.
• Decorate with metal elements and promote good energy with a clock.
• Use rugs to soften spaces.
• Boost wealth energy with a fish tank and preserve good energy with Foo Dogs.
• Add images or sculptures that depict smiling people, peaceful nature scenes, or happy memories.

Entryway Principles

The entry is considered the “mouth of qi,” where energy enters your space, and it represents your face to the world.

• Keep this area clean and clutter-free for easy qi flow.
• Ensure your front door is easy to find, well-labeled, and free of obstructions.
• Regularly sweep your entry, wash your door, and add a light fixture to keep the area bright and introduce the fire element.