In Feng Shui and Vaastu we look at the home as the most important environment you surround yourself with, and for good reason. You spend a HUGE majority of your time there. Even if you do nothing but sleep and run out, you still spend at least 33% of your day in your home, and most of us a lot more than that.
However, many of us don't use the powers of our home as well as we can. Now when I say your homes "power", people tend to think "oh here we go into woo-woo land", and I can see that. So let me clarify a bit. Our homes are where our reflections of ourselves, if we are disorganized the home is disorganized, if we are perfectionists our homes are uber organized and can look like a show home. However, like anyones personality we have various traits, that make us up, and our homes are the exact same. The home you live in reflects your personality. However, we also have to understand that each room in our home has to have its own personality traits as well, or we can think of it more as each room has an important role play in our health, prosperity (success), relations, and quality of life.
In feng shui as well as many ancient and modern concepts on health, we have both feminine and masculine aspects. In Chinese medicine it's called Yin and Yang, in Indian Yoni and Linga, and in the west we often just say more feminine and masculine qualities.
Knowing this, I'd like to take a tour of your home using my functional feng shui techniques. Meaning we have to think about the point or reason for each room in the house, and the purpose and personalities we want it to reflect and empower through colours, scent, and textures.
There are 2 questions we have to ask:
1. What is this space intended for?
2. What represents that to me? And of course, what does the science of psychology and biology tell us?
In Feng Shui the rooms in our home work like this:
Yin: Feminine:
Bedroom
Washroom
Yang: Masculine:
Kitchen
Living Room
Dining Room
Office
Front Door
Main Halls (and halls in general).
The aspects of feng shui and these energies also spread way beyond homes, they respond to every aspect of our lives, even websites. For example, when CrossFit first started to become popular many of their websites were variations on themes of black, red, concrete, metal, very "male" and definitely not appealing to 90% of women (who now FYI make up more than 60% of CF memberships). So Reebok once they had 50% of the company set out to change this, and the took a much softer approach, and soon many of the independent CF gym websites followed suit, and now we have a much more balanced approach in most CF websites. But anyways, back to our homes...
Getting back to our homes, we need to realize that each room and area serves a purpose, and we need the energy of that room to suit it for maximal success in all aspects of health. So, I'm going to provide you with some great tips to follow to help boost your homes Qi in your main rooms.
Bedroom: YIN
The bedroom represents relaxation, calm, relationships. It needs to have a soft look and feel. It's used for sleeping and sex, and thats about all it should be used for. Colours should be earth tones, pastels, a few relationship inspiring phots of a few very fun occasions, wedding pics, a coupes camping trip, family pics, etc.
The room also has to have the ability to get dark, really dark. Invest in blackout blinds.
Lighting should be softer, and low in the blue spectrum. using incandescent bulbs, low blue bulbs, or even red lights. A Himalayan Rock Lamp is a great addition, or some natural bees wax candles.
The bed should be solid, comfortable, high quality, and made from natural materials (non-toxic).
The scents should be soft and relaxing. I suggest using a Essential Oil Reed diffuser over and air diffuser to keep the scents from being over powering. Lavender, chamomile, rose, and Clary Sage. There are also sleep and relaxation blends you can purchase.
Furnishings should be varied textures, but all soft and inviting. Keep sharp edges to a minimum and rounded shapes are better. Soft whites, beiges, browns. Feng shui suggests "skin colours" so soft white to dark browns. Also add some red or pink furnishings that represent passion, fire and love.
Art work needs to be uplifting, and positive. Also photos should not be of people alone, but couples, and small groups.
The room has to be as quiet as possible.
Kitchen: YANG
The kitchen is the nourishment centre of your home. Beyond any other room the kitchen has to represent, health, energy, immunity, growth, life, positivity, energy. Personally I'm not fond of our kitchens. They are relics of World War 2, stashing foods in boxes being dark closed doors. I believe the kitchen should inspire, motivate and remind you to focus on your health goals and life each time you look at it.
Keep the kitchen bright and clean, using whites, yellows, or earth tones. Just don't use too much red or black as the kitchen is strong in fire and water already. The kitchen is a fun place to mix up the 5 elements by adding some metal elements.
Use all natural cleaners to maintain health to the maximum. This is not a place for BS chemicals and fake scents.
Try to keep as many foods on display as possible. A fruit bowl in the centre, non perishable foods in glass containers, open bright windows.
Keep things alive. Today we have the ability to easily from small sprouts and herbs in our kitchens. These represent the top of the chain in organic health, as well as life and growth.
For scents, stick with essential oil scents that are clean. I suggest citrus, lemons, limes, oranges, or cinnamon, cypress/spruce, and mints. Also, use air cleaners like baking soda or activated charcoal in the fridge, and you can even hang your own "air bags" in your kitchen to soak up the smells from cooking.
Living Room: YANG
The living room represents sociality, it is the meeting hub of the home, and the place where you should be socializing with friends. The living room should also show off some of your awards and accomplishments to people who visit. Think of it as a way of showing your social importance. It needs to generate an environment of both comfort but also engagement, we don't want people to feel tired, or non-inspired.
The living room is a bit tricky as it also serves as a relaxation area too. Sitting down toy watch TV, grab a nap etc. However, the general atmosphere is still more dominated by yang energy. The room should still promote conversation and communication.
For scents I suggest cedars, sandalwood, vanilla, caramel, etc. Sweet smells.
The living room is also the best place for your ZenZone, and this area should be decorated itself as a room within a room, yet not distracting to the flow of the room. Another great room for a ZenZone is your reading room/art room/music room if you have one of those.
Dining Room: YANG
Like the living room, this is a place of communication and entertainment. Eating should be a communicative, sharing and social activity.
For scents I suggest something like a cedar wood, clean yet not overly stimulating. cedar wood, and sandalwood, bergamot are also good choices. Keep in mind that you don't want a strong odour in the dining room that will distract or interfere with the foods and flavours.
Colors should be kept lite and pleasant, and earth based, beiges, soft yellows, lite blues, peach, and cream. You want the focus to stay on the conversation and meals. However, some bright furnishings will add some energy to the room without drawing to much attention away. For painting, we want to avoid bright and bold, distracting colours. Keep in mind red stimulates appetites too, so you may want to down play that.
Washroom: YIN
The washroom gets a bad rap in feng shui, but it is the 3rd area of the well-being triad in your home; kitchen, bedroom and washroom (I could argue the laundry room belongs in here too). But you should start to think of the bathroom as a mini spa in your home.
Earth tones, stone, whites and pastels. As the room is already strong in mirrors (water representation) and actual water we don't want plus, and blacks. We also want to the room to feel both clean and relaxing. Lets be honest, a lot of people like to take their time in there reading. Stone and earth elements help to bring balance.
For scents, use clean smelling scents like pine, citrus, orange, lemon grass, eucalyptus, cedar wood. You can also use baking soda or charcoal air bags in this room as well. Quality air flow is important in here for both odours and moisture.
Home Office: YANG
The home off ice is your prosperity space, the place where you do the work that pays the bills and makes dreams your reality. Knowing this, this room has to make you feel on it!
Colours should be bright and energizing
Smells need to be ones that make you awake and stimulated. My favourite is peppermint as this wakes you up.
Keep items that also make you feel successful, awards, and accomplishments. Also keep pictures that remind you why you are doing this work. Is it for your kids? A new BMW? Show what keeps your inspired.
For sounds, keep some light music on, but nothing with talking that may distract you. While I love podcasts, I often will be in the flow, then either miss great podcast topics, or ill hear something that will distract me. Studies show that classical music is best as it doesn't follow a standard beat, which keeps the brain stimulated more, so dump the rock and crack the Bach.
Final Areas of Mention
Zen Zone: Mediation, art area: YIN
Keep earth tones, scents need to be relaxing or stimulating based on your practices needs.
Quiet.
Private
Comfortable.
Home Gym: YANG
Energized. Bright colours. Art or visuals to make you motivated. Whites, reds, yellows, oranges. Try to use lots of nautical light.
Also keep a plant or two for adding some wood elements, and to clean the air.
Scents. Energizing and clean: peppermint , eucalyptus, citrus, cypress.
A TV can be useful here too IF it adds to your workouts. Following along workouts, or watching inspiring shows, videos or podcasts. I personally love to listen to fitness and health podcasts while I workout.
Laundry Room: YANG
The laundry room is another energized room. Ceaning out the dirty and used, and refreshing. However, I really have yet to see a laundry room that inspires. You. The laundry room need to be just as important any other room, and you should even feel forward to visiting it.
Colours: I suggest bright or earth tones with bright hi lights.
Scents: the worst thing bout laundry rooms is that powerful chemical perfume smell. First of all USE NATURAL CLEANERS with essential oils. Laudry soaps are the worst at toxin hormone disrupting chemical use. I don't really suggest any adeed scents in here, if anything adding baking soda bags to remove scents.
Make sure you have great ventilation. The laundry room should feel cool, and clean air, not humid and stagnant.
If you can, keep a good air cleaning plant(s) there too.
I hope this article helps you and gets you to start thinking if you have maximized the purpose of each room, and optimized its personality. Let me know what you think below, and if you enjoyed it, please share it.