If you happen to be in the market for a new home, you can do your best to find a place with a more optimal feng shui layout by following these guidelines. But remember, if you are somewhere with not-so-great feng shui, don’t panic! There’s always something you can do to adjust your current space and work with what you have.
1. Hidden Front Door
The front door of your home is super important in feng shui. It is through your front door that how energy and opportunities come into your life. When you can’t see the front door from the street, this can mean that there are missed opportunities, or that positive energy can’t find you.
Here’s a good test: imagine that you are a visitor coming to your home for the first time. Can you find the house number and entrance easily? If not, energy and opportunities won’t be able to, either.
If your front door is hidden, do your best to improve its visibility. You can do this with signage, like a bright sign that includes your house number, or by changing the landscaping to remove obstacles blocking the front door.
2. Front Door Directly Aligned With Back Door
When the front door is directly aligned with the back door, this means that qi, or life energy, goes straight in and out of the home without staying inside. The goal of feng shui is to let the qi accumulate and cultivate inside the home, rather than rush straight out.
A simple way to improve this design feature energetically is to place something halfway between the front and back door. You can use furniture, a room divider, or a feng shui crystal ball. This will help disperse the qi as it comes into your home and keep it from rushing out so quickly.
3. Staircase Facing the Front Door
Similar to a front door directly aligned with the back door, a staircase facing the front door causes the qi to go straight up the stairs instead of collecting in the main areas of the home. It can also mean that the qi rushes in too quickly.
The adjustment for this layout is similar. You can place a feng shui crystal ball halfway between the door and the stair to disperse and slow down the qi. Or you can also locate some artwork, fresh flowers, or a beautiful object to the side of the stair to redirect the eye (and qi).
4. Bathroom Door Facing the Front Door
If the first thing you see when you walk into a home is the bathroom, this could indicate or cause health problems for the people living there. There can be draining energy created in bathrooms. This can drain and influence the positive energy entering your home.
The bathroom door facing the front door can be improved by placing a feng shui crystal ball halfway between the door and the entrance to the bathroom, to disperse the qi and discourage it from draining away so quickly. Another option is to place artwork, fresh flowers, or a beautiful object to the side of the door to redirect the eye (and qi).
5. Staircase in the Center of A Home
The center of the home is known in feng shui as the “tai qi”, which is associated with overall health and wellbeing. Because it’s in the center, it touches every other area of the feng shui Bagua map. This means that it affects all of the areas of your life.
When there’s a staircase in the tai qi, all of that up and down movement can be destabilizing.
You can improve this by adding plants to add more healthy, vital qi, and to lift the energy of this space. Or another option is to stabilize with a large heavy object like a statue.
6. Bathroom in the Center of A Home
Again, since the tai qi is in the center of your home and affects all other areas of your life, it’s important to look at what’s happening there. Bathrooms can be energy drains, so it’s not ideal to have a bathroom located here.
However, you can lift the energy in the tai qi by adding plants. Plants also represent the wood element, which will help to take up some of the water-energy flowing downwards in the bathroom – just like a tree drinking water that falls during a rainstorm. If you don’t have any windows in your bathroom, you can find a very realistic-looking artificial plant or artwork that includes imagery of green plants. Otherwise, a real plant is best!
7. Bedroom Over the Garage
It’s best not to have the bedroom over a garage, because too much movement under the bedroom can create instability. It’s okay if it’s a guest room. You want to avoid having someone’s primary bedroom over the garage.
If you can, the best option is to move to a different bedroom that’s in a more optimal location. If this isn’t possible, you can also add plants for added vitality and life energy.
Long, Narrow Hallway
When there’s a long, narrow hallway, the qi can rush in too quickly. Ideally, you want it to move and flow smoothly.
In order to slow the qi, you can hang feng shui crystal balls along with the ceiling of the hallway. Or you can also try placing artwork and/or other decorative items strategically along the hallway so one will stop and enjoy the path.