How to Feng Shui Your Bedroom for Better Sleep
Did you know that rearranging your bedroom using an ancient Chinese metaphysical practice can help encourage deeper sleep? Brittanica defines feng shui as orienting sites, buildings and objects to encourage positive energy or “chi.” It’s also an approach to interior design that embraces establishing balance and peace in your home to promote happiness and health. And because rest is a requisite for wellbeing, let’s start by looking at how to feng shui your bedroom for better sleep.
What Is Feng Shui and How Can it Improve Your Bedroom?
Feng shui, which means “wind water” in English, is the art of making the most of your living spaces, because any element in your surroundings has the potential to affect mood, equilibrium and energy levels.
Not only do architects, interior designers, and DIYers often apply good feng shui when designing or remodeling homes, homebuyers can consider feng shui principles while searching homes for sale, or even during a more general neighborhood search. That’s because the broader application of feng shui considers many factors such as proximity to water, lot shape, terrain, door placement, window shapes and so much more.
Feng Shui’s overarching goal is to encourage harmony, healing or prosperity. In feng shui philosophy, many experts agree that the bedroom is the best place to begin. Rejuvenation is in the details, such as bed placement, color choice, lighting and more.
Furniture Placement: Creating a Feng Shui Bedroom Layout
So, how to feng shui your bedroom? According to Anjie Cho, author of “Mindful Homes: Create Healing Living Spaces with Mindfulness and Feng Shui,” begin by putting your bed in a “command position” that makes you feel secure. If possible, this means facing the door but not directly in line with the door. Pointing your feet directly at the door is known as the “coffin” position, and it’s thought to bring negative energy. Bed placement should also leave enough room on either side to get in and out of bed easily.
Next, add symmetry with a table on each side of the bed. This supports unity between partners sharing the bed or an equilibrium within. Establish this central layout, then continue positioning the rest of your bedroom for good feng shui.
Improve Your Sleep Quality: Feng Shui Bedroom Positioning
If you can’t place your bed in a command position, you can add a standing mirror to see the door reflected in it. Feng shui experts differ on whether to include mirrors in the bedroom at all, because mirrors bounce energy and can cause restlessness. However, if a mirror is one of your cherished bedroom items, feng shui suggests not hanging it anywhere you can see yourself getting out of bed, preferably over the bed or across from a window.
Windows are also an element in establishing yin — or passive and restful energy — at night. Blackout curtains encourage deeper sleep, while drawing them back in the morning invites a flow of yang — or the active energy of natural light — into your home.
In her “Holistic Spaces” blog, Anjie Cho says it’s also essential to evaluate what’s under the bed because we spend a third of our lives sleeping on top of these items. In the passive state of sleep, we’re vulnerable to negative energy. This is why Cho advises removing anything under your bed that suggests active motion, such as luggage or shoes, and any items that could be a source of stress. Limiting underbed items to only soft things or nothing, while adding a soft rug under the bed to step down on, can promote relaxation and create restful feelings of connection and stability.
Feng Shui Ideas by Bedroom Type
Feng shui can help improve the energy in any bedroom, whether primary or secondary. Kimberly Archambault, Certified Professional Feng Shui Practitioner and owner of Joy Feng Shui Consulting, Inc., says. “It’s important to work with the energy of the people in the home and the energy of the home itself.”
- Primary bedroom: Archambault adds, “We all have our own unique energy, so the first step is to understand what directions feel positive or challenging to the owners in the primary bedroom.” She also recommends positioning the bed so it’s not in line with the door or against a window.
- Guest room/loft: For a guest room or a loft, or even an Airbnb where you don’t know the energy of the people in the room, Archambault says, “We focus on the facing direction of the house itself because the front door is the main energy flow into the home. Then, we layer in the annual energy, which changes every year. For example, in 2024, east is a positive direction, and it will change each year.”
Feng Shui Bedroom Decorating Tips: Choosing the Right Elements
Certified feng shui consultant and educator Anjie Cho advises that every bed should have a solid wood or fabric headboard against a solid wall. Platform beds on the floor support a more restful sleep by making you feel grounded. Other elements to consider include your bedding, chairs, lighting and even the right paint color.
The Best Feng Shui Bedroom Colors for a Restful Night’s Sleep
For optimal bedroom feng shui, calming earthy tones or pastels such as cocoa, cream, gray or lavender often feel restful. However, Archambault explains, “Color is a huge part of bedroom feng shui, and I would never say that one color fits all. It really comes down to your personal energy. If you have a strong wood energy, we look at what colors you need more or less of. If you’re high fire energy, you may not want reds and purples. It’s critical to work with a feng shui professional so that you feel supported and not depleted. The wrong colors for you can make you feel blocked rather than restful.”
Feng Shui Bedroom Decor Ideas to Enhance Your Mood
- Bed: Some of the best choices for feng shui beds are those with a lower profile, a double width or greater, and a headboard that supports your upper body. Interior designer and style blogger Julie Khuu advises that applying feng shui principles to bedroom decor can activate a cycle of evening restfulness and daytime positivity.
- Headboard: Khuu also cites that beds with headboards can vary in color and size, but stability is essential to a feeling of completeness. Wood headboards are considered earthy and warm, and fabric headboards add coziness, but metal should be reserved for high-energy rooms such as the office. Khuu recommends a rectangular, solid shape because slotted or loosely woven bamboo brings too much negative space into your bedroom.
- Side chairs: If you need a chair in the bedroom, feng shui consultant Elizabeth Aley suggests never to add just one chair, as it suggests isolation. It’s better feng shui to have a pair of chairs or a loveseat, positioned so they are not facing the bed.
- Lighting: Lighting should cast a warm, wide glow, minimizing any intense beams or sharp shadows.
Attract Positive Energy and Create Harmony
Feng shui asserts that the bedroom symbolizes you, so it should serve as a place of healing and restoration. Optimal furniture placement, lighting, curtains, bedding and colors can all work together to invite positive energy and achieve a sense of harmony.
Declutter Your Bedroom for a Tranquil Space
Rid your bedroom of items that can disrupt your sleep. Keeping this space clutter-free can lower anxiety and potential allergens. Here are some of the top items to pitch in favor of peace:
- Cell phone/electronic devices
- Chargers and cords
- Knick-knacks on nightstands
- Nostalgic items that could cause sadness
- Tattered bedding
- Books you’ve already read
- Excessive throw pillows
- Paper stacks that belong in the office
A bedroom free of visual and tactile clutter can have a relaxing effect, promoting better sleep.
Feng Shui on a Budget: Simple Tips with a Big Impact
While feng shui might sound fancy, its focus is simplicity. It’s achievable by rearranging, and if you can afford a solid headboard, you’re well on your way. Matching nightstands can be thrifted, and paint can be purchased in bulk or from the clearance section.
Switching to warm lighting is as simple as replacing a bulb or two, and blackout curtains can be found at bargain retailers. The one item you may want to invest in is quality bedding, in colors that soothe you. If your walls are already a calming hue, you can focus on repositioning your bed and adding soothing textures and coordinating pillows.
Says Archambault, “Positioning doesn’t cost anything, and can make a big impact. Just making sure your headboard’s not under a window means you won’t have all this energy coming in at your head. You can also just remove some things, like plants. They’re awesome in bathrooms to bring energy, counteracting all the draining downflow energy. But you don’t want plants in bedrooms because they contribute energy instead of calm.”
Common Feng Shui Mistakes to Avoid in Your Bedroom
When applying feng shui principles to your bedroom, be aware of these don’ts:
- Don’t position your bed so that your feet directly face the door
- Don’t move the bed under a window, even if it’s against a wall
- Don’t choose an open-weave or metal headboard
- Don’t push furniture into corners
- Don’t have only one singular chair or table in your bedroom
- Don’t keep clutter under the bed
- Don’t choose furnishings with hard angles
- Don’t decorate with empty glass vases or dead/dried flowers
Archambault adds, “The bedroom is for sleep and connecting with your partner, so don’t keep a work desk, television or laptop in your bedroom, and charge your phone in the bathroom. You can have one book, but many books means words are coming at you subconsciously. We’re inundated with noise all day long, and the bedroom needs to be a place of total relaxation. As soon as you remove all technology and distractions, it recreates a sanctuary.”
Feng Shui Your Bedroom Step-by-step
In review, you can transform your bedroom to encourage better sleep with these easy steps, inspired by feng shui:
- Choose a platform or lower bed to feed grounded
- Add a solid headboard to your bed
- Move your bed into a command position
- If you can’t position the bed diagonal from the door so you are facing it, add a floor mirror that allows you to see the door
- Replace sharp lights with low, warm lightbulbs
- Declutter surfaces
- Remove underbed distractions
- Remove technology and excess books
- Move plants to the bathroom or other living areas
- Choose breathable, soft bedding in calming colors
- Paint your walls in a tone that soothes you
It’s also wise to consult a feng shui practitioner, who can tailor your bedroom to your energy and preferences, making it a peaceful haven that helps support better sleep.
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