Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese concept of arranging a space to invite powerful and peaceful energy to flow into your space. The word feng shui comes from the Chinese words of wind and water. It’s a nod towards flow and how harmony can be created between humans and the world or places they inhabit. Feng shui is a truly mindful practice and has been around for centuries and now has become an integral part of our daily architecture.
The aim of feng shui is to create a space that coordinates and works with the natural elements on earth. The idea is that when our homes and the places we occupy are in harmony with nature, we can thrive and lead healthier and happier lives. Cramped, cluttered, and poorly laid out spaces may block energetic flows and have a negative impact on our mental wellbeing. There’s a simple philosophy that can be adopted around the art of good feng shui - if you want to change your life, you can start by changing your environment. There are five main elements of feng shui that can be considered when thinking about how to arrange your space:
Water - emotions and creativity
Wood - growth
Fire - passion and leadership
Earth - grounding
Metal - focus and organization
11 Feng Shui Living Room Tips
While feng shui energy should be applied to all angles of your home, welcoming it into the living room is going to have a huge impact. For many of us - the living room can serve as the centerpiece for the home. Its where we rest, recuperate, wind down, socialize, connect, and place the beating heart energy of our home. Bringing feng shui energy into your living room can create an energized space that oozes with positivity and has a direct impact on your quality of life. Here are some tips to get you started with feng shui energy in your living space.
Use of Space
Before you get started on your feng shui living room journey, you may want to consider your use of the space. What does your own living room mean to you and what vibe do you want to curate? Is your living room a space where guests come and go and fill it full of life and entertainment or is it a spot for silence, rest, and rejuvenation after a long day? Understanding your space and your needs will help you to harness the right kind of energy you need.
Incorporate the Five Elements
As mentioned above, there are five main elements in feng shui and each represent the different elements on earth - fire, earth, water, metal, and wood. Weaving these different elements into your living room can create harmony, balance, and keep you connected to nature. You can welcome these elements in any way you want - it could be in the choice of colors, textures, materials, or even in shape.
Fire is of course linked to red and orange shades, or it could be candles, or triangular shapes that represent a flame.
Wood is green and blue, can be actual wooden objects, or rectangular shapes
Water is dark blue or even black, you can have water features, or it can be wavy shapes
Earth is muted greens and yellows and can be potted plants or flat shapes
Metal is white or grey, can be made from metal material, or can be spherical shapes
A Balance of Colors, Shapes, Textures
Speaking of the five elements, there are also other ways in which you can welcome feng shui into your home. Balance is everything in feng shui and it helps to have a harmonious makeup of colors, textures, patterns, shapes and more to create the mood or the vibe you want to set. Color can play a huge role in the balance of your home space - you don’t need to go overboard by picking one element and painting it all one shade - you can welcome accents and hues and subtle suggestions to guide the room. You can keep it neutral and let the accessories and features speak for themselves. Making sure that your living space honors each of the five elements through a mixture of color, shape, and texture is a surefire way of balancing out and welcoming harmony into your home.
Let your sofa greet you
Commanding positions and furniture placement plays a huge role in feng shui and the idea of being embraced into the arms and energy of a room. As the sofa is usually one of the largest items in a living room it makes sense to have the sofa be in the commanding position and to serve as the welcoming point. If you can, have your sofa facing the entryway of the living room in some way - not only does this create a welcoming warm vibe for those who enter but it also ensures that those sitting on the sofa have clear insight into who is physically entering the space. If you have more than enough space to play with, you can also move the sofa slightly away from the solid wall as this creates an easy breezy feeling of air and flow and allows every element to breathe.
Create a flow
Creating a sense of flow in your living room can also help the area feel full of Qi. Qi loves openness, clutter free energy, and plenty of space to breathe. You can do this through the simple act of not letting clutter accumulate in your living room and by placing living room furniture like the coffee table and other items with care and thought. Cutting out clutter is actually one of the key principles of feng shui as it is believed to block positive energy and to get in the way of flow. Choosing to declutter your home also helps the mind to stay clear and focused as sometimes too much ‘stuff’ can add to feelings of overwhelm and confusion. Keeping clutter down, not filling every surface or corner, and inviting space and order into your home can all add to beautiful lines and the feeling of a lighter flow.
Mood Lighting
Illumination also matters when it comes to creating a feng shui dream. Mood lighting can be beautifully effective especially in a living room layout that sometimes needs to adapt and function for different feelings. This is where the idea of layered lighting can come in useful with table lamps, bulb choices, and even candles and fairy lights. Don’t forget that light is also reflective of the fire element in feng shui so this can also be tied into your elemental balance and design plans. Bringing soft illumination to darkened corners can also be representative of lending light to the darkness and seeing all corners clearly. This is a truly important factor if you have a small living room as mood lighting can add to that feeling of space, uplift room colors, and invite good energy to thrive.
Decorate with Plants
Plants are a perfect way of welcoming the wood element along with themes of growth, vitality, and life into your space. There are so many great house plants out there and its a really simple method for brightening the mood of a place, encouraging oxygen, and generally just making a more joyful and cozy space come to life. When plant shopping be sure to look for plants that will thrive in an indoor environment and also work well with your own schedule. Some people love to be green thumbs whereas others may not have the capacity to keep up with a constant care and watering routine. Succulents can be a good choice, lucky bamboo can be a good choice, and aloe vera can also work wonders for those who want to invest in plants that are hardy and don’t require a huge amount of maintenance.
Guidelines on Mirrors & Art
Adorning your wall with a well placed piece of art and mirrors can also have an impact when it comes to feng shui. You can choose the art work to represent the elements - ocean views for water, woodland scenes for earth and wood, etc. It is recommended to pick serene scenes and colors that soothe. Metal or wooden frames can also bring in elemental energy and mirrors can be used cleverly to bring light and illumination. It is recommended that you don’t hang art work low as this can actually lower your mood whereas higher hangs can elevate your mood.
Let Fireplace be the focus
Having a fireplace as a commanding position piece is also going to bring amazing feng shui energy into your home. Since ancient times, humans have centered their social get togethers and comfort levels around the flickering fire so it makes complete sense to do the same in your own home in the modern world and to reconnect to those roots. The fireplace can also represent other angles in feng shui such as bringing themes of romance and love and promoting knowledge and health. Keeping your fireplace as a central focus and building the room and other furnishings around that will invite a meaningful vibe. If you don’t have a fireplace, you can consider using candles or even investing in an electric fireplace to recreate the energy.
Open All Windows
Letting air flow come into your living space is about so much more than just freshening up the room. Of course, it's important to rid a room of stuffiness and stale vibes and open windows is a wonderful way to shift stagnant or negative energy. Another reason to open windows when it comes to feng shui is to let in fresh air, new opportunities and also to let natural light cleanse a space. If you cannot open all your windows but still want to shift energy, you can also look to energetic ways of cleansing the space - such as smudging, using essential oils, or using sound to make energy move.
Be Minimalistic
Minimalism isn’t for everyone but in feng shui it is strongly believed that a minimalist interior design approach helps to create a space gives the mind, body, and soul room to ruminate and rest. Having lots of stuff means finding places for all that stuff and as each item has its own energy, your room or space can quickly become crowded out with lots of items vying for attention and gobbling up precious energy. By stripping back to what you truly need or selecting only items that spark sheer joy, you can shape the mood of the room.
FAQs
Which direction should your couch face?
In feng shui, facing your sofa to the southside of the home is believed to be the best direction. If you can keep the back of it close to (but not touching) the wall this will also add to feelings of safety and security.
What color should your living room be in feng shui?
Neutral soothing feng shui colors are considered to be a good choice in feng shui rules as it makes it easier to layer the other key elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water upon that pared down backdrop. Pale colors like soft blues, greys, creams, and whites and other neutrals are recommended.
Where should a TV be placed in a living room feng shui?
Some people use the bagua map when choosing where to place their TV for the best feng shui practice. Placing your TV in the north of a room is believed to bring luck. Placing the TV in the south area of the room could spark fame. It is also recommended to find a way of covering the tv when not in use to avoid the screen becoming a reflective surface that hasn’t been worked into your feng shui plan.
How many plants should live in a living room?
There is no right or wrong number when it comes to how many plants should be placed in a living room. However, remember that one main element of feng shui magic is avoiding a sense of clutter. Depending on your space, placement, and the level of light you can play around with this.
