Contents
What is Feng Shui?
Basic Principles of Feng Shui
General Feng Shui for the Home
Feng Shui for the Entryway
Feng Shui for the Bedroom
Feng Shui for the Kitchen
Feng Shui for the Living Room, Family Room, or Den
Feng Shui for the Bathroom
Feng Shui for Your Property
Feng Shui for the Office
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Feng Shui for the Bedroom
The bedroom serves two vital functions that require it to be a peaceful sanctuary within the home:
- It’s the space where people sleep.
- It’s the center of intimacy between couples.
As with any other part of the house, the bedroom must not be cluttered or messy—don’t forget closets and the space under the bed. The bedroom should get good ventilation and sunlight and be decorated with serene colors that promote growth, rejuvenation, and intimacy, such as white or light blues, greens, or browns. In addition, there are several more specific feng shui guidelines about which items to keep out of the bedroom, what type of bed to use, and how to arrange children’s bedrooms.
Things to Keep Out of the Bedroom
A number of items that many Westerners tend to keep in their bedrooms disrupt good chi or produce bad chi and should be removed.
- Electronics: Devices such as televisions, computers, and video game consoles are not conducive to sleep or sexual intimacy, due to the electromagnetic energy they create and the distracting information that they bring into the bedroom.
- Office equipment or exercise equipment: Having these items in the same area as your bed makes it difficult to forget your daytime goals and obligations, which disrupts the quiet, restorative chi that should fill the bedroom.
- Mirrors: Mirrors you can see from your bed, especially those on the ceiling, can disrupt chi. If you want to have a mirror in the bedroom for dressing, put it on the inside of a closet door so it can stay out of view when not in use.
- Reading material and paperwork: A book or two on your nightstand is fine, but piles of magazines and bills can overstimulate your mind and disrupt the bedroom’s chi.
If you live in a studio apartment or must use your bedroom for purposes other than sleep and intimacy, use a screen or curtain to create a space that’s exclusively for sleeping.
The Bed
The bed is the most important object in the bedroom. When designing a bedroom, practitioners of feng shui consider the placement of the bed in the room and the type of bed.
The Placement of the Bed
There are a number of factors to consider when determining where a bed should be placed within a room, including the room’s doors, walls, windows, beams, and direction.
- Doors: The door leading into the bedroom should not face straight onto the head, foot, or either side of the bed. This way, someone in the bed will not be inundated with too much chi while sleeping.
- Walls: You should have good support—ideally a solid wall—behind the headboard of your bed. The headboard should not be situated in front of openings such as windows or closed fireplaces.
- Windows: Your bed should be at least three feet—and ideally six feet—from any windows, to avoid drafts of cold air.
- Beams: Exposed beams gather bad chi because they carry so much weight. This chi can make it difficult to sleep. Avoid placing your bed beneath exposed beams.
- Direction: For general good health, position your bed so that your head points in the direction that is auspicious for your gua number.
Gua Number |
Direction of Your Head |
|
1 |
East |
|
2 |
West |
|
3 |
North |
|
4 |
South |
|
5 (male) |
West |
|
5 (female) |
Northwest |
|
6 |
Northeast |
|
7 |
Southwest |
|
8 |
Northwest |
|
9 |
Southeast |
The Type of Bed
In addition to the placement of your bed, the type of bed you have is important. Since beds carry energy, pre-owned beds should be avoided—they may bring bad chi into your bedroom. If possible, buy a new bed. Buying a new bed is also highly recommended if:
- Your partner dies or moves out
- You or your partner suffers a major illness
- You move somewhere new
- You get married
The following table outlines additional issues to consider before purchasing a new bed.
Type of Bed |
Issue |
|
Big beds |
Since the box springs for king-size beds come in two parts, this type
of bed can create a separation
between partners. |
|
High beds |
Being too high off the floor can
affect your ability to attract a mate. |
|
Low beds |
Being too low to the floor can decrease your ability to earn money. |
|
Waterbeds |
A bed should help you feel grounded and stable; waterbeds do exactly the opposite. |
|
Metal beds |
Metal beds can emit magnetic fields, which can disrupt your sleep. |
|
Beds with built-ins |
Beds with built-in bookshelves or cubbyholes encourage clutter. |
|
Fold-out beds |
Fold-out beds give you a sense
of instability. |
|
Beds with footboards |
Beds with footboards or bars can lead to unhappiness or bad luck. |
Children’s Bedrooms
The feng shui guidelines that apply to adult bedrooms also apply to children’s bedrooms, with a few extra considerations:
- Bright yang colors, though inappropriate for adult bedrooms, inspire creativity and play in children’s bedrooms. Use them freely in your children’s rooms.
- Bunk beds are not good feng shui. As with a person sleeping under exposed beams, a child sleeping on a lower bunk will suffer from the bad chi generated by the weight that the lower bunk supports.
- The direction a child’s head should point when sleeping depends not on the child’s gua number but rather on his or her position in the family:
Child |
Direction of Head |
|
Eldest son |
East |
|
Middle son |
North |
|
Youngest son |
Northeast |
|
Eldest daughter |
Southeast |
|
Middle daughter |
South |
|
Youngest daughter |
West |
| Acknowledgments & Disclaimer |
