FENG SHUI YOUR BEDROOM

Feng shui — which literally translates to "wind and water" — is the ancient Chinese art of placement. The goal is to enhance the flow of chi (life force or spiritual energy), and to create harmonious environments that support health, beckon wealth and invite happiness. At its most basic level, feng shui (pronounced fung shway) is a decorating discipline based on the belief that our surroundings affect us.

1. Use Welcoming and Calming Colors

Feng shui practitioners recommend warm, rich earth and skin tones such as terra cotta, copper, coral, cream, peach, tan and cocoa for creating a cozy, welcoming atmosphere in the bedroom. Soft natural colors like light blues, greens and lavenders lend the bedroom a quiet, tranquil vibe and invite healing energy. Bright reds and oranges are typically associated with yang — the masculine half of the yin and yang energy equation — and are too stimulating.


2. Position Your Bed With Care

In feng shui, the "commanding position" for the bed is as far away from the bedroom door as possible, but which still allows you to keep an eye on the room's entrance. The corner of the room diagonally opposite the door is usually best, since it distances you from the door while keeping the bed out of direct alignment with the room's opening, which is conducive to sleep, relaxation and healthy chi.

3. Opt for Curves, Not Corners

If you're in the market for a new bedside table or other bedroom furniture, try to choose pieces with soft lines and curvilinear forms. 

4. Clear the Clutter
From a feng shui perspective, clutter symbolizes unfinished business and impedes forward progress in life. So keep furnishings on the spare side and clutter as contained as possible to enable chi to flow freely around the room. Tip: Plants placed in corners are said to prevent energy from stagnating there. And don't use the space under your bed to store boxes of out-of-season clothes — doing so will block energy and lead to stagnation in life, feng shui experts warn.


5. Shut Out the World

The bedroom should be a place of rest, contemplation and intimacy — not work, exercise or blaring music. Exercise gear, a phone, a television or computer or a desk piled high with bills and paperwork give off and take up a lot of energy.

6. Create a Space with symmetry

Symmetry is key, so position nightstands and lamps on both sides of the bed. Accessorize in pairs or multiples, too: Place a bunch of flowers in a vase and hang art depicting romance and unity, which creates a sense of balance and abundance in the room.


7. Open Your Eyes to Beauty

A common feng shui strategy is to choose art and other objects that depict things you'd like to see manifest in your life, whether success, love or inner peace. In the bedroom, practitioners suggest hanging your favorite piece of art on the wall opposite your bed.

Another thing not to place opposite, next to or over the bed (anddefinitely not on the ceiling, which is a crime against more than just feng shui) is a mirror. In addition to bouncing too much energy around the room to allow for good rest, these reflective surfaces are thought to magnify problems and worries — and some feng shui practitioners even say that mirrors in the bedroom can invite a third party to interfere in your relationship.


8. Light It Right

When it comes to bedroom lighting, feng shui experts say that flexibility is key: You want lots of natural light during the day, soft light in the evening and darkness while you sleep.

When choosing sources for artificial light, make sure to provide illumination from a variety of them, including overhead, table and wall lights.