Welcome to Part II of my topic this week: Feng Shui. In my previous post, we learned about the origins and base foundations of Feng Shui. Today we dive into how it is executed.
In traditional feng shui, a house is read almost like the body — the door is its mouth, the kitchen its digestive fire, the bedroom its restorative and protective core… where these parts are placed, and how they relate, determines whether Qi flows smoothly or becomes disrupted.
Main Architectural Features
The Front Door: “Mouth of Qi”
In classical feng shui, the main entrance is the primary intake point for Qi.
Traditional Guidelines
The front door should be proportionate to the home (not undersized).
It should open fully and inward.
It should not align directly with:
A back door (allowing Qi to escape too quickly).
A large window directly opposite.
A staircase immediately in front (Qi rushes upward).
A bathroom door (symbolically draining energy).
And, as mentioned in my post about the Lunar New Year, the entry should be clean and inviting.
The belief is that Qi should collect and circulate, not rush through and dissipate.
Modern interpretation: abrupt sightlines and immediate vertical circulation can reduce a sense of containment and grounding.
The Center of the Home
In Compass School feng shui, the center (associated with Earth element) stabilizes all other sectors.
It should:
Remain open and uncluttered.
Avoid heavy structural interruptions.
Not contain bathrooms or large storage rooms.
The center is metaphorically the “heart” of the house. It represents the occupants physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Being associated with earth, it is encouraged to use yellows, browns, and beiges in the center of the home to provide stability. Pottery and stone are beneficial, as well.
If you have a floorplan of your home, you can locate the true center of it by drawing diagonal lines from corner to corner and finding the intersection.
Kitchen and Bathroom Adjacency
Bathrooms are traditionally associated with draining or downward-moving Qi due to water removal.
Avoid:
Bathroom centered in the home (center = heart of Qi).
Bathroom directly above the front door.
Bathroom directly above the kitchen stove.
Bathroom door facing kitchen or dining area.
A kitchen in the center of the home, as this brings excessive fire energy.
In Five Phase terms:
Kitchen = fire.
Bathroom = water.
Their confrontation is considered energetically destabilizing.
Staircases
Traditional cautions around staircases include:
Avoiding staircase directly facing the front door.
Avoiding spiral staircases (seen as “drilling” Qi downward).
Avoiding staircases cutting through the home’s centerline axis.
Rapid vertical movement is believed to destabilize Qi accumulation.
General Room Hierarchy
Classical feng shui recognizes hierarchy. Locate:
The primary bedroom in the most stable, quiet zone.
The kitchen away from the frontmost visible location.
Storage areas in less dominant sectors.
Elders’ bedrooms in the most auspicious room orientation.
Orientation is determined through compass readings and personal Kua numbers in Compass School practice.
Knowing that this list of adjacencies can be difficult to achieve in existing homes, let’s focus next on things more within our control.
The Command Position and Furniture
The command position is one of the most consistent traditional principles. Essentially it describes the optimal placement for major furniture to maximize safety, control, and energy flow.
Bed Placement
The bed should:
Be diagonally positioned from the bedroom door.
Not directly aligned with the door (“coffin position” in classical terminology).
Have a solid wall behind it.
Avoid placement under a window.
Avoid ceiling beams overhead. Exposed beams over beds, dining tables, and desks are traditionally believed to create “pressure” on occupants, cause anxiety, or block opportunities. If furniture repositioning is not possible, try visually softening beams with a large pendant, canopy bed, etc...
The solid wall represents support; visibility of the door represents awareness and security.
Modern design criteria would add limiting electronics in the bedroom and creating an overall feeling of symmetry. Minimizing clutter from houseplants, books, etc is also strongly encouraged.
Desk Placement
The desk shares the bed’s placement criteria, still rooted in symbolic protection and authority, with additional tips for career success.
The desk should:
Face the entrance, whenever possible, to create a sense of control and relaxation. Sitting facing a wall can cause trapped energy.
Locate the desk as far from the entrance as possible.
Have backing behind you like a solid wall or tall furniture. Windows are better beside the desk, rather than behind.
If possible, face the desk east for luck and prosperity. Or southwest for stability.
Some tips for smaller spaces or challenging layouts:
If facing a wall is the only option, use mirrors to open up the space.
Keep the area in front of the desk (or on the desk itself) clear to allow for new opportunities.
Incorporate wood elements and curated houseplants to symbolize growth.
Additional recommendations based off feng shui landscape design and the cosmological foundations:
The Green Dragon (yang) represents mountains and is more dominant. The Green Dragon is execution. It brings growth and wealth. Keep taller furniture, electronics, and active files on the left side of the desk to promote energy flow.
Balance the yang with the yin, the White Tiger, symbolizing lower hills. The White Tiger brings protection, decisiveness, and wisdom. Keep the right side of the desk more organized to avoid chaotic challenges.
Stove Placement
In traditional feng shui, the stove represents wealth and vitality.
It should:
Not be directly opposite the sink (fire vs. water clash) or the refrigerator, as this can cause residents to catch a cold.
Not face the main entrance to the house. The hot energy from the stove can lead to fighting and disagreements.
Not be placed under a window or a beam. An open window could blow out the flame.
Ideally allow the cook to see kitchen entrances while cooking.
Mirrors
Mirrors are considered active Qi amplifiers, so they magnify positive or negative energy depending on where they’re used.
Avoid:
Mirrors directly facing front door (reflects Qi back out).
Mirrors facing the bed. This is believed to causes restlessness or steal energy.
Mirrors reflecting clutter.
Bad locations: kitchen (amplifies fire energy), opposite the restroom door or toilet.
Preferred:
One large mirror, as opposed to a collage of mirrors, as this better reflects one’s unbroken self-image.
Reflect natural light, a healthy plant, or artwork. Something positive.
Good locations: dining room, living room, ends of hallways, or wherever you want a space to feel more open.
Materiality and the Five Phases
Rather than symbolic objects, classical practice integrates elements through:
Wood: verticality, growth forms.
Fire: triangular shapes, illumination.
Earth: square shapes, ceramics.
Metal: circular shapes, metal finishes.
Water: reflective surfaces, dark tones.
Balance is dynamic — not calling for equal parts, but proportional harmony.
Organization and Flow
Clutter is believed to stagnate Qi.
Historically, feng shui texts emphasize:
Clear circulation paths.
No sharp corners pointing toward seating.
Gradual transitions between spaces.
Modern research aligns partially:
Clutter correlates with stress markers.
Visual obstruction increases cognitive load.
Physical and Mental Health
There is no scientific measurement of Qi as a physical force. However, Qi and Feng Shui share a lot in common with real physiological and psychological studies like:
Prospect-refuge theory. Meaning that clear sightlines and solid forms at your back lead to feelings of security.
Daylight research. Feng Shui is all about connection to nature. Having open, airy spaces, mirrors reflecting light, and proper views can positively affect mood, sleep health, and stress levels.
Thus, while Qi remains philosophical, many design outcomes overlap with evidence-based wellness design.
A Basic Assessment of my Own Home
If you read this and want the benefits, but are losing hope over your own home, this section is for you! I don’t want to discourage my readers. Some things are not changeable, and that’s ok!
When my husband and I designed our home 8 years ago, feng shui didn’t cross my mind. My home is a mix of successes and some failures in this regard.
How Our Home Measures
It’s very open. We do not have any large barriers in the center. It’s full of natural light and natural materials. That said, we do have large windows directly across from our front door.
My stove is not near a window nor in the center of the house, but it faces a wall, as opposed to the entrance of the kitchen.
The restrooms and stair are tucked away, not crossing the centerline of the house or facing the kitchen.
Generally, I like a tidy house. I’m easily visually overstimulated, so this is important to me.
Our bedroom is probably where the Comman Position part of feng shui falls apart the most. Our bedroom has an unusual layout. We have closets on either side of the room and a wall of windows opposite the door. While this provides the symmetry and natural light that feng shui desires, it creates a challenge with bed placement. To keep the views through the windows and a clear path to the bathroom, we created a pony wall that acts as a headboard for our bed, which is great, except it means the door is behind our bed. Lessons learned!
Office Transformation Case Study
We moved in 2 weeks before COVID forced me to work from home. We didn’t have much of an office set up, just the old desk from our college days and a hand-me-down sofa. So we made do.
A few years later, we upgraded the office with some built-ins my husband made and a new height-adjustable desk that can be centered in the room. I love facing the door instead of the corner. I made a William Morris-inspired large-format art piece for $30 using a shower curtain and some leftover MDF. The sofa can be tucked under the window with the cozy lamp next to it, instead of right inside the door. I somehow even followed the right-left, yin-yang balance at the desk! It feels so much more inviting, cozy, professional, and finished now.
It was a project for a long weekend and we get compliments on our office remodel all the time. It’s definitely possible to make noticeable changes with little effort.
(Apologies for the crappy before and after photos.)
I hope you enjoyed this dive into Feng Shui as much as I did! I found it simultaneously surprising and intuitive.
I’ve hardly scratched the surface, but the links I used for research are cited throughout my last two posts. If this was interesting to you, I encourage you to check them out.
In closing, even if one does not subscribe to Qi as literal energy, the insistence on visibility, support, order, and proportion remains relevant. The body still responds to space and feng shui is a time-tested line of thought to optimize it.
Did you learn anything about feng shui from this? Comment below!
Be well - Emily