Have you ever encountered the phrase “Feng Shui”? Feng shui is a Chinese concept that began more than 4,000 years ago. It translates to wind and water, which is a reference to the world’s flow and fluidity.
Feng Shui practise is commonly associated with rearranging spaces in homes or offices to find an arrangement that promotes the natural flow of energies.
Feng shui practitioners believe that a harmonious balance inside a room can attract positive energies that bring good health and well-being, fortune, love, and joy to a person.
It’s easy to dismiss feng shui principles as a pseudo-science, but even if you’re not a believer in feng shui, you might find that the arrangement principles make sense. Who doesn’t want a perfectly arranged bedroom that fits in well with the space and promotes good energy?
The Feng Shui principle
When it comes to feng shui, the most important aspect is having a harmonious flow of energies and forces. When a bedroom layout is poorly arranged, it is believed that it can block positive energy.
Feng shui is so much more than just the pieces of furniture inside your bedroom. It’s about making everything fit seamlessly together to create a harmonious environment, including the orientation of furniture.
How to Feng Shui Your Bedroom
Feng shui abides by thousands of rules and possibly an infinite number of interpretations. There are a few basic principles that are covered by almost all feng shui experts, particularly for the bedroom. Following the basic ideas and the best position of your furniture can make your quarters an ideal feng shui bedroom.
Bed Placement
One of the most common practices of feng shui is how a bed should be positioned inside the bedroom. This is also a common practice for interior designers.
For good feng shui, it’s best to keep your bed in a commanding position. The commanding position is the best place to deal with whatever comes into your life (and your bedroom). You don’t want your bed to be in line with the bed, but your door should be within sight of the bed.
Another popular feng shui practise is to never line up the foot of the bed with your bedroom door, otherwise known as the “coffin position”. In feng shui, this will drain any positive energies and allow negative energies to come inside the bedroom.
Windows
In feng shui, windows are believed to be passages for energy to flow in. With that in mind, your bed’s placement in relation to your windows plays a significant factor in getting a good energy flow.
Solid headboards are highly encouraged for your bed, and they should be placed against a solid wall as this represents sturdiness and a good foundation. However, headboards should never directly be under a window.
While a window above your bed might seem like the most picturesque way to go, it is believed to push away and weaken the good energies in your bed.
It is also said that having your bed under windows evokes negative emotions, making you prone to weakness and opening up your vulnerabilities.
Placing your bed between a door and in front of a window is also best avoided since doors and windows are passages of energy and being in the middle of it is similar to a plane flying in turbulence. There is no stability, and this opposes the very principle of feng shui, which is to bring a harmonious flow of energies.
Space and Symmetry
Your bedroom is easily the most important room inside your home, and it should be the one that brings the most harmony and a good flow of energy. We spend a third of our lives in bed, both conscious and unconscious, so the bedroom is intimately connected to our personal chi energy.
For a good flow of positive energy, your room should not be too cramped with furniture, but also not too empty or bare that the energy flows too much around instead of focusing it directly toward you. Find just enough space for you to move around and to keep a good flow whether in the bedroom or even in the living room.
Having pieces of furniture on either side of the bed is ideal for feng shui. The extra width allows for better balance.
When it comes to symmetry, feng shui isn’t as strict as modern interior design. You don’t need to have identical bedside tables or any similar furniture piece on either side of the bed, as long as both sides are occupied.
By having both sides of the bed occupied, it means you can’t push your bed up against a wall. This is bad feng shui and is considered a no-no, as there is nowhere for the energy to flow through. Plus if you share a bed with your partner, it only creates one entry path, leading to a power imbalance.
For small rooms and small bedrooms, creativity is needed to find the best bed position that best observes feng shui rules. While breaking the rules doesn’t necessarily give you bad luck right away, just think of the feng shui bedroom as a guide of great flow in furniture placement.
Air Quality
Air is the element in which all the energies flow in, and having good air quality inside your bedroom promotes the flow of positive energy and is also great for your health and well-being.
Adding plants inside your bedroom can help purify the air you breathe inside your room. They introduce the wood energies that promote healing, invigoration, kindness, and flexibility. Keep plants at a minimum since some find that the wood energy can be too much to contain.
Good feng shui does not strive in polluted environments; that’s why good airflow and quality are something to be desired.
Other Feng Shui Tips and Practises
Light a Candle
Candles don’t just evoke coziness and warmth, but they also bring the fire element to your room. This brings high energy levels and intense passion. As nice as candles are, ensure that they’re kept away from curtains and sheets as this may cause a fire hazard.
Declutter
One of the general rules housekeepers and feng shui masters alike can agree on is to keep your bedroom clutter-free, especially under your bed. Not only is this considered bad feng shui, but it’s also home to dirt and dust, which can pollute your air. Time to find somewhere else to store your suitcase.
Avoid Water Features in the Bedroom
In feng shui, water features are never used in the bedroom. May it be a water fountain, an aquarium, or even a painting that has water designs. Water is believed to douse the fire element and cancels out the passion in the bedroom that you aim to get from fire energies.
However, keeping these fountains or aquariums in living spaces can attract wealth-inducing energies.
Window Coverings
Adding window treatments and coverings in front of the window is a great way to create good energy in the bedroom, window coverings like heavy draperies are believed to contain good energy inside and shelter your sleeping quarters from the negatives of the outside world.
Keep Your Bookshelves Outside
Sad news for bookworms! Bookshelves are discouraged in feng shui, especially taller ones. It’s believed that it changes the aura of the space and makes it feel more like a place of work rather than rest and relaxation. Move the bookshelf to the living or study area for better feng shui and keep your nightstands clean and tidy as well.
Don’t Sleep under Fixtures
Avoid having anything that hangs above your head, whether a chandelier, a skylight, a ceiling fan, or any other design elements. This is considered bad feng shui and can also be distracting to your sleep.
Feng Shui for a Great Night’s Sleep
Whether you believe in feng shui or not, it’s undeniable that proper furniture placement and bedroom arrangement can make or break how you feel whenever you’re inside your room.
Your bedroom is the most essential room in your house; it’s your resting place, and for some, their sanctuary. Keeping it organised and free from clutter isn’t just easy on the eyes. It also helps promote a good night’s sleep.
With all these principles and tips in mind, why don’t you give them a try? Who knows, it might just bring you good luck!