Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui for Bedrooms

I would love to hear your opinion on one feature of my room (in a three bedroom apartment). The entrance of my room does happen to be almost directly across the entrance to the apartment. My bed is a few feet (~2ft.) from the entrance to my room, and I can see the door when I lie in bed. The headboard touches the back of a beat up leather couch that faces the two windows in my room (one north, one east). I feel uncomfortable and have trouble sleeping with this positioning but am not sure how to change it. Is there any way for me to move them in a way that might be better for the energy of my room? I’ve also tried the bed rotated clock-wise so the headboard is against the wall on the right side. Thanks! 

Valerie W., New York, NY

Hi Valerie

Thanks for your email. The sketch helps tremendously. A picture says a thousand words!

Q&A Sunday- Feng Shui for Bedrooms_Sketch.jpg

There are a few feng shui issues that stand out with the floor plan of the room. 

My first suggestion is to swap the sofa area and the bed area. By having the bed closer to the door, and the social “living” area with the sofa in a commanding position because it’s further back, this implies that your private life is not as private as you need it. Or perhaps your public life commands what happens to you internally. It’s preferable to have your bedroom further from the door if you can do that. If you can't, try this option. 

Second thing, the headboard is floating in the middle of the room. In feng shui vocabulary, this means you have no support in your life, and you’re just floating along without security. It’s no wonder that you feel uncomfortable! Locate the bed in the commanding position, with the headboard against a wall and facing the door if possible. See my articles on the commanding position. It’s OK to put the headboard against a window if you’re not on the ground floor. Also if possible, it’s best to have space open on each side of the bed. Read this article.

A couple of other things to consider: try not to place the headboard on a wall with a toilet on the other side. I see that the washroom is next door on the left. Also, if possible please relocate your desk(s) in the commanding position? Do you really need two desks? The room seems small for two desks.

I hope this helps! Send us some photos!

by Anjie Cho

Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Our a unique training program takes an holistic approach to learning the art of feng shui design. Mindful design is about becoming aware, and attentive, to the energy around you: both inner and outer qi. It is about promoting a better way of living and creating sacred spaces that support, and nourish. Visit us at mindfuldesignschool.com.

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!

Q&A Sunday: A Feng Shui Aquarium

I read about your write-up about Goldfish and Feng Shui on the International Feng Shui Guild website. I have recently set up an aquarium and intend to keep goldfish to attach positive 'chi.' May I seek your advice? Instead of keeping 8 gold and 1 black, can I have 5 gold and 1 black?

Raymond S., Singapore

Hello to Singapore!

Thank you for your question. What’s interesting is that I asked my teacher, Steven Post, a similar one when I first started my feng shui studies. I had only room for a small aquarium, so I asked if I could use 3 fish total (rather than 9 total). 

The ideal set up is 9 goldfish total. It’s especially beneficial to have 8 gold and one black. 9 is an auspicious number in feng shui, as are the numbers 3 and 5.

I also asked if I might use other fish, rather than goldfish, since goldfish need a large amount of space!  But it’s better to use orange goldfish rather than, say, a tiger barb, because orange goldfish have special symbolism in Asian mythology. They can transform into dragons! Steven noted that the black goldfish is a “balance of the normative and exceptional.” Black also represents knowledge and wisdom.

To answer your question, if you don’t have room for 9 goldfish, it’s better to have 3 total with 2 gold and 1 black. Please let me know how it goes! Good luck to you!

For more information, read the previous article here.

UPDATE!

Raymond sent in some photos of his new aquarium based on our Q&A Sunday! Thanks for sharing Raymond!

Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Our a unique training program takes an holistic approach to learning the art of feng shui design. Mindful design is about becoming aware, and attentive, to the energy around you: both inner and outer qi. It is about promoting a better way of living and creating sacred spaces that support, and nourish. Visit us at mindfuldesignschool.com.

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!

Q&A Sunday: Schools of Feng Shui

There are so many schools of feng shui, I'm honestly a little confused. I just recently just found out that when sleeping, it is the crown of our head that faces our favourable direction. My mother had a seasoned practitioner come over a long time ago (almost 15 years ago, I think) and he told us the complete opposite! So technically we've been facing the wrong direction for almost 15 years! 

Samantha C., Malaysia

Thanks Samantha for this follow up comment. I believe that this is a great topic for Q&A Sunday!

Yes, there are dozens of feng shui schools out there, and not only is it confusing, they may contradict each other! The compass school looks at directions, the form school looks at shapes, plus there’s flying stars and many more. I practice BTB feng shui.

In BTB feng shui, we recognize all other schools of feng shui as correct and valid. One major difference with BTB is that we look at the direction of qi into a space, so the bagua is located based on the flow of energy. We also utilize many “invisible” cures in addition to mundane enhancements such as adding a crystal or moving furniture. The invisible cures are sometimes found in BTB books, but most often only shared by practitioners. Invisible cures may be rituals, meditations, etc. – which are effective ways to further boost your physical adjustments with powerful intention. An example would be “One good deed a day.” Personally, I share the “transcendental” adjustments one-on-one only.

In regards to your sleeping direction, I would encourage you to consider, rather than feeling that you have been facing the “wrong” direction, we can shift that viewpoint. Maybe this change of direction in bed symbolizes a shift in your life. Perhaps you are embracing another way of positioning yourself in the world and you’re excited to see the qi that’s opening up in your life.

It's interesting, because I’ve been reading a little into Vastu (Vedic feng shui), and they also use the commanding position for the bed. Yes, the different feng shui schools may contradict each other and be very confusing. In feng shui implementation, I suggest you use an advanced practitioner or do your best to follow one school.

by Anjie Cho

Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Our a unique training program takes an holistic approach to learning the art of feng shui design. Mindful design is about becoming aware, and attentive, to the energy around you: both inner and outer qi. It is about promoting a better way of living and creating sacred spaces that support, and nourish. Visit us at mindfuldesignschool.com.

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!