General
9 min read
Health & Wellbeing
8 min read
Bedroom Design
To create a restful bedroom with Feng Shui, place the bed diagonally opposite the door and keep the space clutter-free. Use natural materials, soft lighting, and well-positioned mirrors to enhance tranquillity and sleep quality.
11 Min Read | By Chris Clark
Last Modified 10 September 2024 First Added 4 March 2024
Struggling to get a good night’s sleep? You’ve tried teas, schedules, and even room temperature tweaks, but have you thought about the room’s layout? Discover how using Feng Shui in the bedroom can transform your space into a restful retreat.
Feng Shui is a philosophy based on the ancient Chinese system of natural laws, which are supposed to govern the spatial arrangement orientation of your furniture and décor in relation to the flow of energy (Chi). The word ‘feng’ is Chinese for wind, and the word ‘shui’ is Chinese for water. Together, these symbolise the flow of life that one should aspire to have in one’s home by using interior design to achieve balance and happiness.
If you want to combat negative energy and bring joy to your sanctuary, join us as we share our expert tips on creating a blissful Feng Shui bedroom for better Zzzs.
For positive energy Feng Shui, your bed should be positioned centrally in the room against a wall but not pushed up against it so energy can flow around it. This is a fundamental Feng Shui concept, called the “commanding position,” which refers to placing objects facing the entry door but not in line with it. The best Feng Shui bed position is diagonally from the door, so it is in your sight but you do not look directly out of it.
Feng Shui isn’t just about room layout; it also considers your sleeping position and direction. For an optimal Feng Shui bedroom, you should sleep it’s recommended to sleep with your head pointing southward. This aligns with the traditional Chinese practice influenced by the southern winds.
Read more: What’s The Best Direction To Sleep In?
Feng Shui is all about the interaction of humans and the environments in which they spend their time. As a big portion of that is where we sleep, choosing a larger sized bed gives us maximum space to relax. If you have the room to upgrade, a king sized bed or choosing the ultimate luxurious super king beds are ideal.
For good Feng Shui room layout, balance and symmetry is important. An easy way to create this is through bedside tables. Place one on either side of your bed, and your bedroom will start to feel harmonious and achieve a greater level of Chi. Place a bedroom plant on each side unit, and you’ll maximise the natural essence of your bedroom Feng Shui too.
While mirrors are great for making a small room look bigger, mirror placement can be difficult when implementing bedroom Feng Shui. It is most important is to ensure your mirrors aren’t in line with the bed as this will likely bring more distracting elements into your sightline. This doesn’t mean mirrors are a no-go for a high-Chi bedroom. Try to make sure that you can’t see yourself from bed and the mirror does not face out of the door – try a higher mirror for a good sense of balance.
A good idea is to place them opposite a window, this will help maximise light in your room without distracting you when trying to relax from your bed.
Nature is a key component of a Feng Shui bedroom, and an easy way to incorporate the natural world is through your windows. Whether through adjustable blinds or curtains, keep them open during the day to let in the daylight, and having windows open or cracked will let the air flow through your room to keep it fresh, clean and aid in better sleep.
A study published in the journal Indoor Air found that sleeping in well-ventilated rooms, whether through an open window or open door, led to enhanced sleep quality, reduced nighttime awakenings, and lower carbon dioxide levels. As the levels of carbon dioxide decreased, individuals experienced deeper and more uninterrupted sleep.
To bring in nature and fresh energy even more, use small indoor plants to introduce life energy, and attract good fortune. There are lots of benefits of using plants in your bedroom, from enducing relaxtion, purifying the air, and even aiding sleep quality. The best plant for Feng Shui is the Jade plant as it represents wealth, prosperity, and friendship.
Read more: Bedroom Plants To Help You Sleep Better
Another way to incorporate natural elements into your bedroom is by using natural bedding. Look for natural mattresses that use bamboo or cotton to help reduce the amount of synthetic material in your sleeping space. These aren’t just great for improving the levels of Feng Shui in your master suite, but are also ideal for temperature regulation as natural materials wick moisture better than their non-natural counterparts.
Get more advice on what to wear to bed for a good night’s sleep.
Blue light is one of the worst offenders when it comes to preventing sleep. But when it comes to creating the right levels of yin and yang in your bedroom, it goes beyond simply the fact that technology disrupts our circadian rhythms. As Feng Shui centres around the natural world, anything technological or man-made can reduce the level of Chi in our environment and, therefore, start to disrupt our sleep and relaxation.
Sleep relaxation is best achieved when there’s nothing in the bedroom design that stands out or draws too much attention. To achieve this sense of balance, which is also a key part of Feng Shui, choose colours and patterns which are muted and soothing. Pastel tones are great here. Soothing blues, pinks and greens work well to create a harmonious, distraction-free boudoir.
Go one step further than muted colour tones and bring in the calming low-light bulbs and mood lighting. This will help create a relaxing ambiance in your bedroom and provide that sense of calm and quiet that’s so important to a great night’s sleep. It’ll also help create a sense of balance within your room, once again improving the all-important levels of Chi throughout.
To promote peace and restful sleep, essential oils are a great way to make it comofrtable as well as smell great in your bedroom. From natural air freshners or oils like lavendar or sandalwood, there are lots of essential oils for sleep to uplift the bedrooms’ Feng Shui.
To create a calming and comfortable space to promote relaxation, consider using rugs, throws, blankets or cushions in your bedroom. These will not only make your sanctuary warm and cosy for the winter, but promote a better environment to wind down and sleep.
If you want to Feng Shui your bedroom, be selective with the art or posters that you choose to put on your walls. These should evoke happiness and encourage love so avoid any artwork that has agressive imagery. Focus on what makes you happy, or focus on artwork that depicts two images or artwork that comes in pairs to add the balance of Feng Shui.
A solid headboard will help increase symmetry and balance in your bedroom. It will also make it more comfortable to sit up in bed and read a book before drifting off into dream land.
Perhaps difficult for bookworms and literary enthusiasts, but books are just another form of distraction when trying to sleep. They also contain active energy and bookshelves can be quite constrivitve to your Feng Shui. For better energy flow, try moving bookshelves or the books you have out of your bedroom.
Only keep the one you’re reading at the time in reaching distance, this will help to minimise disruption as you try to sleep. We’ve all been at that point in a book where we think we might swap it for another, but this won’t help your mind turn off while you’re getting ready for bed. Best to continue with the one you’ve started or at least leave the change until the next day.
Not only should you keep the books out of the bedroom, but keeping your work away from your sleep environment is key to Feng Shui. This allows you to step away from the day’s stress and unwind peacefully. Whether it’s your desk and home office, or even work out equipment, keep it away from your bedroom for better positive energy flow.
Clutter in your bedroom can disrupt the energy flow and can also cause stress when your space isn’t neat or tidy. Use storage spaces where possible to keep clutter at bay. This is also true for your bed, making sure nothing is stored below your bed can allow energy to flow around it freely.
With clean lines to allow for peace and tranquillity as well as sleek headboards, low platform beds are great options for Feng Shui. Emulating Japandi fashion and great for smaller bedrooms, they take up less space creating more room for positive energy flow, and are closer to the ground for natural comfort and cosiness. Having these beds are great to great Feng Shui in a smaller bedroom, just make sure to position your bed centrally and create balance with furniture for the ideal layout.
To achieve a bedroom with good Feng Shui, it’s important to limit all distractions. Ensuring you keep drawers and wardrobe doors closed will help limit distractions when you’re trying to sleep or relax before bed. So, even if, after a long day, you jump straight into bed and realise your wardrobe is slightly open, it’s best to get out and close it before you try to nod off. Trust us, you’ll fall asleep faster – even if your brain is telling you you’re ready for bed and too comfortable to move.
When it comes to creating a harmonious and balanced Feng Shui bedroom, as previously mentioned, there are certain things that you should steer clear of…
There are many levels of Feng Shui expertise, as it takes years of study to master. Here are some basic Feng Shui fundamentals you can implement right away:
Read more: 40 Bedroom Design Tips
Feng Shui master consultant Alan Stirling says:
“You can sleep under a window as long as there is some wall, and you can draw the curtains behind you. This then simulates a solid wall. However, you should never sleep against a floor to ceiling window. In addition to the ‘command’ location of your bed, you also need something taller on the left-hand side when lying in bed, and something smaller on the right. This emulates the way that energy flows around the body; as well as the movement of Sun and Moon on our planet, when standing or sleeping with our back to the magnetic fields (north pole). Mirrors are a big problem as you should never be able to see yourself when lying in bed. Your subconscious is aware of the reflection which will only produce a fitful sleep at best. Just move or cover the mirrors at night with fabric or a curtain. By far the best way of getting a good night’s rest is to sleep in a favourable direction and I have seen many life’s transformed from just realigning the bed. My Feng Shui site has the formula that helps you find your best direction for either prosperity, sleep, health family harmony or long life. You can also add favourable colours and our site tells you how to do this too.”
“You can sleep under a window as long as there is some wall, and you can draw the curtains behind you. This then simulates a solid wall. However, you should never sleep against a floor to ceiling window.
In addition to the ‘command’ location of your bed, you also need something taller on the left-hand side when lying in bed, and something smaller on the right. This emulates the way that energy flows around the body; as well as the movement of Sun and Moon on our planet, when standing or sleeping with our back to the magnetic fields (north pole).
Mirrors are a big problem as you should never be able to see yourself when lying in bed. Your subconscious is aware of the reflection which will only produce a fitful sleep at best. Just move or cover the mirrors at night with fabric or a curtain.
By far the best way of getting a good night’s rest is to sleep in a favourable direction and I have seen many life’s transformed from just realigning the bed.
My Feng Shui site has the formula that helps you find your best direction for either prosperity, sleep, health family harmony or long life. You can also add favourable colours and our site tells you how to do this too.”
For your bedroom walls and art, use soothing natural colours such as ‘skin colours’ – these vary from pale white to rich chocolate brown.
Below is a helpful colour wheel that demonstrates the Feng Shui relationship between colour and mood.
In Feng Shui, when a practitioner refers to a colour chart, they generally are referring to the colours associated with each life area of the Bagua, or Pakua. In addition to the specific life areas and colours, each of the nine sections of the Pakua also has a corresponding element and direction.
Looking more specifically at art, you should aim to decorate with positive art emphasising life and nature.
With just a few minor adjustments to your new Feng Shui bedroom, you can invite a wave of positive energy into your sleep sanctuary, helping you nurture a space that promotes your well-being and supports a restful night’s slumber. So, why not give some of our tips a chance to work their magic today?
See all articles by Chris Clark
7 min read