Feng Shui was born 3000 years ago in China. This Taoist discipline’s name means ‘wind’ and ‘water’. Back then, Feng Shui’s inventors would have had little idea that their philosophy would be so successful thousands of years later, and used widely in interior decor. Feng Shui can indeed help you to decorate your room and generate a positive flow of energy.
Feng Shui applied at home
Feng Shui helps you to prioritise and organise objects within a room, so that the positive energy or chi can flow freely. This discipline is closely related to the Taoist theory of yin and yang. Polarity and balance are thus the 2 fundamental concepts of Feng Shui. To achieve balance in your home, Feng Shui suggests taking your inspiration from the 5 elements of nature: wood, fire, earth, water, and metal.
Your home and in particular your bedroom, is a haven: it’s perfectly normal to want your home to be a harmonious and balanced place that promotes inner peace and well-being.
Let’s take a look at how to arrange your bedroom to make the most of this flow of positive energy, essential to getting a restful sleep. Here are 10 tips to decorate your house in line with Feng Shui principles.
1. Bed
The bed is the centrepiece of your room and demands special attention. Ideally, you should sleep with your head to the north: change the orientation of your bed it you feel that you don’t sleep well.
The location of the bed is crucial as it affects your psychological perception of the bedroom. It should be against a solid wall that gives a view of the bedroom door. By solid wall, we mean a wall without windows or doors, a wall that ensures a yin energy, synonymous with stability and tranquillity.
Conversely, it is inadvisable to position the bed in front of a door or under a window. Entrances accelerate the flow of energy, disrupting rest and privacy.
You should also distribute the bedroom space evenly. Both people should feel relaxed and have easy access to the bed. If one person sleeps squashed against a wall, they will only feel oppressed.
2. Headboard
Conversely, it is inadvisable to position the bed in front of a door or under a window. Entrances accelerate the flow of energy, disrupting rest and privacy.
You should also distribute the bedroom space evenly. Both people should feel relaxed and have easy access to the bed. If one person sleeps squashed against a wall, they will only feel oppressed.
3. Orderliness
A room cluttered with objects is not restful. Who can sit back and relax with all that chaos around? To avoid clutter in the bedroom, artfully mix and match a range of storage accessories. Natural fibre baskets are an excellent choice as they add an earthy feel, synonymous with safety and stability.
4. Furniture
When it comes to furniture, choose pieces that are not ‘energetic’ and which promote relaxation. For example, it’s not recommended to have a desk or study area in your bedroom. If the layout of your home does not allow you to have this elsewhere, it’s important that this space is always kept tidy, with no papers lying around…
The mere sight of unfinished work will hinder restful sleep. To organise your files, use boxes or natural fibre baskets in earthy hues.
For the wardrobe or chest of drawers, opt for a simple or minimalist design, with rounded edges. Don’t keep objects in the room that may disrupt rest, such as an exercise bike or computer.
If you are a couple (also valid if you are single, see point 10), get two identical or symmetrical side tables and place a lamp on each side of the bed so that everyone has their own space and light.
5. Colours
Go for gentle colours. Pale, pastel or earthy shades are ideal. Avoid overly cold or stimulating colours. These are ‘activators’ that prevent proper rest.
Examples of Feng Shui colours: salmon pink, pink, earthy hues, off-white or vanilla, lemon yellow, greens and pale violets.
6. Technology
As you can well imagine, tech and electronics have no place in the bedroom (at least at bedtime). It might be tempting to install a TV facing the bed or leave your phone charging on the bedside table, but technology is the most powerful of activators…So, leave all the devices in the living room when you go to bed—the bedroom should be a haven of peace and harmony.
7. Nature
For a real deep sleep and to wake up feeling great, you have to focus on elements associated with the earth, which provide security, stability and moral support. By natural elements, we mean sustainable materials and natural fibres. This might be in the shape of a basket, a chair, a piece of furniture…it may also be an ornament, such as shells, a wooden frame, or a handmade rug.
8. Mirrors
Mirrors are at home anywhere in the house. They reflect light and give a sense of space, but they do not promote rest and relaxation. If you’re determined to have one in the bedroom, put it on the back of the wardrobe door, meaning it can’t be seen when the door is shut.
9. Hanging decorations
Hanging decorative objects facilitates the flow of chi. The best known of all—wind chimes (the equivalent of the Native American dream catcher)—helps vital energy to penetrate every nook and cranny of the room.
10. Even numbers…
Symmetry generates harmony. Two bedside tables, two cushions, two plants… even numbers reinforce the balance of the room and add serenity to the space. This doesn’t mean you have to buy two of everything, of course! But do try to pair things up to enhance the symmetry of a room.