How to Bring Good Feng Shui Into Your Home Office

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese belief that the positive flow of energy (chi or qi) around your home and office can impact your life. Your office and desk are connected to your career. Arrange the best feng shui office layout to boost your professional productivity.

According to office feng shui rules, the placement of your desk is the most crucial aspect to fix or shift to achieve good office feng shui or good luck in that area of your life. Your desk should be within a clear line of sight of the door; the room should have good natural light and remain clutter-free.

Whether you’re setting up a new workspace or looking to refresh your existing space, here are some office feng shui principles for proper furniture positioning, the use of color, and how to incorporate the five elements in your office space.

Five Natural Elements of Feng Shui

Feng shui divides the world into five natural elements, each invoking a unique mood. To have good office feng shui, you must incorporate each element into your living and working spaces in a balanced way.

Fire

Fire evokes expressiveness and boldness. It promotes inspiration and enthusiasm, though too much fire can lead to irritability and impulsiveness. Balance it carefully in an office space. If you lack the fire element, welcome in more natural sunlight, burn candles, or add red or pink accent colors.

Water

Water is often associated with emotions and spirituality. Incorporating water into your space can bring a sense of wisdom and insightfulness. However, an excess of water can make you feel overwhelmed or overstimulated. To balance this element in your space, you can use dark tones, wave-like patterns, and features like fountains with water flowing.

Earth

The earth element generates a feeling of strength and grounding in the room. Too much earth may make you feel heavy or sluggish, but with the right amount, you will feel organized and stable. Anything in earth tones, such as green, brown, or sand, will help you achieve balance. A painting or photograph of a landscape and low flat surfaces also bring this element to your space.

Metal

Metal will be felt in the room in characteristics such as focus and organization. It will help with mental clarity and intelligence. Too much metal, and you may be prone to speaking hastily and overly critical thinking. Any object made of metal, such as iron or silver, as well as rocks and stones, will add this element to the space. The colors to add are white, gray, and silver.

Wood

Wood symbolizes growth, strength, and flexibility. It harnesses creative energy. An excessive amount of this element can make you feel overwhelmed and inflexible. You can introduce this element into your space by adding houseplants or trees, using natural fabrics like cotton, or incorporating wood furniture.

Incorporate Feng Shui Into Your Desk

First, ensure you have a dedicated desk representing a stable career. If you can put your desk in a separate room used only for work, that’s ideal. However, that isn’t always possible.

If you need to put your desk in a multifunctional space, try to choose a room other than the bedroom. Having your desk in your bedroom can distract you when trying to work and make it harder to wind down at night.

If a desk in the bedroom is the only option, separate the space with a room divider, bookcase, or curtain, and be sure to put away your work supplies at the end of each day.

Position Your Desk for Success

To create good feng shui, you'll also want to ensure that your desk is in the command or commanding position. From this position, you can see the room door while sitting at your desk without being directly in line with the door. You will feel more in control of your life and career because you can see anything approaching. The command position works subconsciously, too, even if you aren't expecting guests in your home office. 

You may be a little more limited in the placement of your desk if you travel to an office outside your home, but it's worth checking if it can be positioned this way in an "away" office as well. If you can't set up your desk in this way, place a mirror so that you are looking at the reflection of the door while sitting at your desk. Moving your desk is the best solution, though.

Create Good Flow

Pay attention to the flow in your office. Is there enough space around your desk? Are there any obstacles that prevent you from easily getting to your desk chair? These could represent blocks, which could mean that you are making things unnecessarily challenging for yourself.

If you notice any physical blocks or obstacles, see if you can remove or rearrange them. You want to be able to approach your desk and your career with ease while having room to grow.

Choose the Best Desk

When choosing a desk, select one that is solid and sturdy to help you create more stability in your career. Make sure it’s also big enough for you to work on comfortably. Ideally, you’ll want to avoid desks with a glass work surface because ideas and projects can energetically fall through and become lost.

Add a Desk Blotter

A desk blotter or desk mat adds more earth elements that help you feel grounded and stable. Choose a blotter in a color you're drawn to, or pick one according to the element you want to invite. Here's guidance:

• Water element: Choose a black blotter to invite intuition, wisdom, and social connections.
• Wood element: A green or blue blotter represents growth, new beginnings, and rejuvenation.
• Earth element: Select a yellow or brown blotter to strengthen your nourishment, boundaries, and support.
• Metal element: A white blotter signifies precision, organization, and beauty.
• Fire element: A red blotter may bring you inspiration, passion, and recognition.

Use the Bagua on Your Desk

You may be familiar with the feng shui bagua, a mandala with eight areas around a center. It's often laid over homes or rooms, but it can also be applied to a desk at home or any office outside the home.

Laying the bagua on your desk can give you clues about what might happen in different career areas. For example, look at where the clutter accumulates on your desk.

• Top left corner: Do things often pile up in the wealth and abundance corner in the top left? That cluttered corner can tie up your wealth, sticking you in a money rut.
• Top right corner: If the top right corner or relationship section is cluttered, it could symbolize blocked relationships or partnerships.
• Top center: If the front and center area is the most cluttered, it's tied to fame and recognition. Clutter here might mean you are not being seen or recognized for your work. 

Choose a Supportive Chair

A comfortable office chair with a high back represents more support in your work life. Choose your chair color by consulting popular feng shui office colors (see below) and the five natural elements. The color of your chair will embody the element you'd like to invite more of into your career.

Activate the Wealth Corner

One of the areas of the feng shui bagua is the wealth and abundance corner, called "xun" in Chinese. This area of an office is very popular, and activating it invites more wealth and prosperity to flow to you.

To find the wealth corner of your office, stand in the doorway facing in and locate the left corner furthest from you. You can also locate the wealth corner of your desk similarly. Place an amethyst or citrine crystal here to activate the wealth corner of your office or desk.

Boost the Fame Area

The fame and recognition area, "li" in Chinese, relates to how others see and recognize you. Imagine a three-by-three grid overlaid on your office space or desktop to find it. The fame area is the center section along the far side when looking into your office or sitting at your desk.

If you feel like you are sometimes overlooked at work and want to be recognized more for what you do, or if you are working on a business that could use more visibility and recognition, this can be a helpful area to activate. You can do this by adding something red to this part of your desk or office or adding life to the spot by adding a houseplant.

Incorporate Feng Shui Office Colors

The colors you incorporate into your home office impact your feelings and should be chosen with intention. It helps to approach it like you would when selecting colors for any room in your home using the 60-30-10 rule. Choose a main color and two less dominating hues using these feng shui color guidelines:

• White (metal element) represents mental clarity, productivity, and completion.
• Warm, earthy grays with some brown (metal) point toward helpful people and calmness.
• Green (wood element) in feng shui represents growth, renewal, fresh energy, action, and vitality.
• Yellow (earth element) is associated with the sun's energy, joy, and harmony.
• Black (water element) is associated with stillness, wisdom, purpose, quiet contemplation, and money and wealth.
• Midtone blues (wood element) represent growth, vitality, and compassion.
• Purple (fire element) invites nobility, wealth, harmony, and balance.
• Red (fire element) is powerful and auspicious, activating and energizing.
• Earthy browns and neutrals (earth elements) are grounding, balancing, and easing stress and anxiety.

What to Avoid for Office Feng Shui

Of course, there are things to avoid doing when optimizing your office according to feng shui, such as:

• Clutter: Clutter in any area of your office will block opportunity, stifle creativity, and decrease mental clarity.
• Sitting back-to-back or face-to-face: If you share an office, do not sit face-to-face (confrontational) or back-to-back (you won't have each other's back).
• Sharp angles: Do not have any sharp angles pointed towards you, including sculptures or a piece of furniture set at an angle. A jagged edge or angle pointed at you can direct too much "chi" or energy your way, which can be damaging.
• Too much color: Too much of one color, even white, can feel unsettling, overwhelming, and distracting. Balancing colors in your office will help you feel levelheaded.
• No natural light: A dark, drab office will not feel energizing. The more natural light you can let into the space, the better—minus the glare.
  
• Dead plants: Get rid of dead plants. They do not have any positive or life energy left in them.