By Ian Barefoot
What is Feng Shui?
Feng Shui is based on the Tao, a Chinese philosophy that believes life should be in balance with nature. This allows for better energy and harmony with your environment, enhancing well-being, success, and happiness. The classical form of Feng Shui (with “feng” meaning “wind” and “shui” meaning “water”) follows principles that enhance Chi, or life energy. Applying these principles helps to balance the forces of yin and yang, the two opposing forces in the universe that together determine the destiny of all things.
Here are some topics we cover:
- Applying Feng Shui to Your Bedroom
- Benefits of Feng Shui for Better Sleep
- Designing Your Bedroom with Feng Shui Principles
- Enhancing Your Bedroom with Nature and Lighting
- Tips and Don’ts for a Feng Shui Bedroom
Is your bedroom Feng Shui? How does your bedroom make you feel?
We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Harnessing the Power of Feng Shui: Transform Your Bedroom into a Tranquil Oasis
Feng Shui to Enhance Energy and Well-being
Modern Feng Shui has been applied to our living environments to enhance our sense of balance and tranquility, allowing us to thrive in all areas of life, including family, business, health, and well-being. The principles emphasize simplicity in design and the placement of objects, such as windows, doors, mirrors, and furniture, to optimize energy flow. While the concepts may seem abstract, the design principles create rooms that are open and pleasing, tapping into our sense of order and beauty, as well as being practical and easy to navigate.
Incorporating nature, which enhances our sense of well-being, in design is a key Feng Shui principle. This means plenty of air and light, as well as natural elements in plants, fabrics, and objects you choose to include in the room.
Balance is also important in Feng Shui, reflecting the universal interdependence of yin and yang. Room layouts emphasize symmetry, for example, having a matching pair of nightstands, one on each side of the bed. An environment out of balance will invite feelings of unease and imbalance in life.
Feng Shui recognizes five elements that represent different moods and may be used in your design choices. These elements are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each signifies different meanings. Here is more about the five elements.
Benefits of Feng Shui for Your Bedroom
A bedroom that has been arranged according to Feng Shui will help you feel better and improve your energy as you experience stress reduction, calm, and clarity. With the right placement of furniture, colors, and pleasing objects, your room will reduce anxiety, help you get more restful sleep, promote wellness, and improve your energy.
Sobel Westex specializes in luxury hotel bedding and linens and that perfectly complement your Feng Shui bedroom. Discover how our exquisite hotel quality bedding can enhance your Feng Shui oasis and ensure a restful sleep.
The Command Position
In Feng Shui design concepts, the command position is key. This location is the place farthest from the door, in view of it, but not in direct alignment with it. This dominant position is usually where you spend most of your time, such as your bed or, for an office, your desk.
Set up your bedroom for the benefits of Feng Shui.
The Bedroom
The bedroom, where we all spend a lot of time, is a perfect place to apply some basic Feng Shui principles. A balanced layout and a few color and decorating changes will help create a sense of harmony, relaxation, and wellness that will lead to more refreshing sleep and rejuvenation. Here’s a general guide for arranging elements of your bedroom to reap the benefits of Feng Shui.
The Bed
- Place your bed in the command position. This means that from your bed, you should be able to see the door, but not be directly across from it. The best placement is on the wall diagonal to the door. If you can’t place the bed so you can see the door, place a mirror you can see from the bed that lets you view the door.
- Your bed should have a headboard, symbolizing support for your life energy, and be placed against a solid wall. These two elements give you strong support from your command position, allowing you to relax more deeply. In other words, don’t place the bed in the middle of a room or on a wall with a window directly behind the bed.
- Center the bed so that there is ample space on both sides; that is, don’t put one side against a wall. This openness allows yin and yang energy to stay in balance.
- Make sure the area above your bed is not sloped and doesn’t have beams or other impediments. Open space above the bed is important for chi energy flow.
- Don’t place the bed on the toilet wall. The bathroom in Feng Shui is believed to be a place of negative chi because it flushes away energy.
Balance and Nature in Design
Harmony and relaxation are enhanced when the room is balanced. The best way to do this is to have pairs of everything, such as:
- Two identical nightstands, one on each side of the bed
- Two bed pillows
- Two identical or very similar lamps
- Two chairs for relaxation
Incorporate Natural Objects
To enhance the sense of harmony and relaxation, include other objects associated with Feng Shui in your bedroom. This would include live plants, crystals, candles, natural fabrics, woven baskets, and objects in wood and stone, as opposed to man-made materials.
Use adjustable blinds on your windows to allow you to optimize airflow. Open windows regularly to keep the air fresh and clean. Fresh air has been shown to enhance good sleep.
Color and Lighting
To feel soothing and relaxing, bedroom colors should reflect nature. Soft earthy tones in green, blue, gray, and brown are good bedroom choices and will provide a feeling of restful calm that will help you get to sleep. Similarly, your bedroom lighting should be soft and not harsh. A dimmer switch can help you regulate the light level. Incorporate candles into your lighting scheme if you like.
Choose hotel quality bedding and other fabrics to complement your overall room design. Fabric patterns should be simple and not overly busy, again to promote calm and relaxation and use natural fabric materials. Sobel’s luxury bedding, made from natural fabrics, like cotton, wool, or silk, further enhances the connection with nature while adding a touch of elegance.
Things to Avoid for a Better Feng Shui Experience
There are a few don’ts with Feng Shui as well. Avoid including objects that stimulate yang energy, resulting in overstimulation and discouraging rest. This would be items like exercise equipment, computers, desks, and, yes, even your laptop and cellphone. Electromagnetic radiation emitted by electronics disrupts energy flow and will reduce the quality of your sleep, so don’t use these items in the bedroom, or at least turn them off fully before you go to bed.
Don’t place a mirror facing your bed. A mirror stimulates energy and may disrupt your sleep. Also, don’t place the bed under air conditioners, ceiling beams, or sloped ceilings. These all create conditions of poor airflow that will impede your ability to sleep well.
Don’t allow clutter to accumulate in your bedroom. Clutter disrupts the chi energy flow. This also means don’t use your bedroom for storing items, including under the bed.
Don’t include water features or sharp objects in your bedroom. Water is seen to carry energy away, which is not preferred for a room meant to restore you. Sharp objects, such as knives or swords, may stimulate negative feelings as well and are best excluded from your place of harmony.
Choose Quality Bedding for Your Feng Shui Bedroom
Sobel Westex specializes in creating beautiful bedroom experiences with some of the world’s best luxury hotel linens. Designed to appeal to demanding hospitality professionals and their discerning guests, Sobel’s products provide the comfort and quality you want for your Feng Shui enhanced bedroom experience. Check out our hotel quality bedding, bed sets, pillows, comforters, bath sets, and more at sobelathome.com.
