Feng Shui Your Home: A Beginner's Guide

You can improve the balance and harmony of your home with some simple feng shui techniques. This ancient Chinese art of arranging space to create a better environment allows energy, or “chi,” to circulate in a more favorable fashion. With a few changes like adding houseplants to your home, incorporating more natural light and fresh air, and de-cluttering your space you can improve your décor and the house’s feel with our easy guide.
“Before you apply feng shui into your home, it’s really important to understand that it is more than just furniture placement,” said Bree Steele, an interior designer and trade accounts manager at RJ Living. “It’s about creating a balance that promotes harmony between your living space and the natural world. This matters because to apply feng shui properly, you really have to understand the flow of energy and how it interacts with the elements and your living environment.”
While you can hire a professional certified feng shui consultant and draw on their ability to use tools like a bagua map and other traditional practices to bring more abundance into your home life, even beginners can make subtle changes that can up your house’s feng shui factor.
“Feng Shui teaches you to be conscientious about what you have in your home and question whether or not what you have around you is in alignment with your goals and aspirations,” said Marie Diamond, star of the TV show,"Feng Shui your Life," on Tubi. “By utilizing feng shui techniques, you’ll find that you’re able to achieve your goals and attract your dream life quicker and more effortlessly than you could ever have imagined.”
How to make your entryway feng shui friendly
Start your feng shui process in the front of your home — from the path to your entry door to the hallway. The space that leads to your home should be well lit, uncluttered and inviting. The front door is the ‘mouth of chi,’ where energy enters your home so it is important to keep your front door clean, working well, and even, to paint it a color that you love, Hannah Yang, a Feng Shui certified practitioner and founder/ CEO at Balanced Awakening.
You’ll want to keep this space organized and clean. Diamond suggested incorporating an enclosed storage area such as a closet or cupboard with a door, to keep shoes and coats inside it. She also recommended making sure nothing blocks the space — no obstacles like big side tables or storage boxes that you have to side-step to walk through. “To ensure a positive, easy flow of energy, you want the path through your home to be as clear as possible, said Diamond.
If you use a welcome mat, be sure to avoid putting your name on it or any words that could be taken the wrong way, advised Yang, because it could interfere with prosperity trying to enter your home. “By putting your name/surname on your door mat, everyone entering your home is literally and metaphorically stomping on your name … or you. This can have a negative impact on your reputation, how you are perceived and, even, how you feel,” she said. Funny doormats with phrases such as “Go Away” are telling the energy — both good and bad — to go away.
Feng shui tips for your bedroom and living room
The living room or bedroom are also good starting places for a feng shui intervention. “Even though we might not realize it, these areas impact daily life significantly,” said Steele. “This is because the bedroom and living room influence relaxation and social interactions, which make them powerful spaces to first introduce practices of feng shui.”
Even a feng shui neophyte can do a few things to improve energy in these areas, including decluttering to remove energy blockages, using mirrors to expand space and reflect light, and incorporating the right elements into the space, advised Steele.
“For example, in any room, you can take a look at your furniture and make sure it’s positioned to face the entrance of the room without being directly in line with the door,” she explained. “This is how you will promote a smooth flow of energy.”

Photo credit: Bree Steele
Plants and mirrors can improve harmony in your home
Plants are a universal cure so they can be placed really anywhere, recommended Erin Ratliff, certified feng shui consultant at Synergetic Spaces. She advised to choose ones that curving lines or a rounded form rather than spiky ones since that shape represents infinite energy and are more auspicious.
Mirrors can illuminate an area and expands the room, but you want to use these tools wisely, according to Steele:
Do’s of mirror placement in feng shui
1. Use mirrors to reflect natural scenery to bring the tranquility of the outdoor scenery into your home.
2. Use mirrors to enhance light by placing them in positions that catch the light. If done correctly, this can help illuminate dark corners and make a space feel larger and more inviting.
3. Use mirrors in the dining area because it symbolizes food abundance and invites prosperity and wealth. This doesn’t include the kitchen however, because mirrors in the kitchen are believed to have negative energy since there is a ‘fire’ element in the room that is doubled by a reflective surface.
Don'ts of mirror placement in feng shui:
1. Don’t place mirrors directly opposite the door because it will push away all the good energy that enters your home instead of welcoming it.
2. Don’t place mirrors facing your bed because they create disturbances that might affect sleep by bringing too much energy to the area.
3. Don’t use broken or fragmented mirrors because they lead to a distorted perception, which can create disjointed energy in the home.

Photo credit: Bree Steele
Find balance in your surroundings
Another principle of feng shui is balance so creating symmetry in your home is preferable. “For instance, flank your front door or entry steps with beautiful planters,” said Ratliff. “On the sides of your bed you should have identical bedside tables and lamps. And in your kitchen, your appliances should be separated at an equal distance to distribute their elemental energy in a balanced way.”
A common mistake that Diamond sees in the bedroom is couples that only place one nightstand. “In order to attract balance and harmony to your relationship, it’s important that you’re both equally represented in the bedroom and this can be as simple as ensuring that you each have a nightstand,” she explained.
Want to learn more about decorating your space? Learn how to optimize your backyard.
Featured photo: Bree Steele
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