Feng Shui Tips for Beginners

If you’re new to feng shui, here’s the perfect guide for you about feng shui principles and tips for beginners. Get the rundown on the five elements—earth, metal, water, wood, and fire—and how they translate to home design and decor choices. Also, consider a few tips for decorating, keeping feng shui in mind.

Feng Shui Tips

• Five elements: Discover how the five elements can interact with your space.
• Commanding position: Determine your power position in the room.
• Main doorway: Keep the main entryway free of clutter.
• Living room: Seating should be ample, facing each other, with no backs to the entryway.
• Kitchen: Maintain cleanliness for good health.
• Bathroom: Keep the door and toilet seat closed.
• Bedroom: Avoid storing items under the bed.

Read on to learn the feng shui basics, plus more details about these easy tips you can implement in your home immediately.

Five Elements

Feng shui uses the five-element system, which comes from Taoist philosophy. This system looks at the cycles of nature and how they work together to be in balance. The five elements are earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. Each element is associated with certain qualities, colors, and shapes that can be used as design elements if you’d like to enhance those qualities in your home and life.

Earth

Earth is related to self-care, boundaries, and nourishment. It’s connected to earthy colors like yellow, orange, brown, square shapes, and heavy objects.

You can add the earth element to your home with a square yellow rug or a solid rectangular desk.

Metal

Metal has the qualities of joy, beauty, and precision. It is represented by white, gray, and metallic colors, as well as circular shapes.

Add a round, metallic planter or light fixture to add metal to your space.

Water

Water represents deep wisdom and a connection to others and the world. It’s tied to black, very dark blue, and wavy shapes.

You can add water to your home with a water fountain or artwork with watery images.

Wood

Wood is related to growth, healing, and vitality. It is represented by green, blue, teal, and tall, columnar shapes.

Green houseplants are an especially great way to introduce the wood element to your home.

Fire

Fire represents passion, inspiration, and visibility. It is related to fiery colors like red, bright orange, and triangle shapes.

Light is also connected to the fire element. Lamps are a great way to add the fire element to your home.

Commanding Position

The commanding position is one of the fundamental basics in feng shui. Your bed, desk, and stove must all command the space since each represents a significant aspect of your life. Your bed represents you, your stove represents your wealth and resources, and your desk represents your career and path in life.

To place your bed, desk, or stove in command, find a location where the following is true: when you’re sitting at your desk, lying in bed, or cooking, you can see the door without being directly in line with it.

The idea behind this position is that you have a good view of anyone or anything coming in through the door, which helps you feel more at ease on a subconscious level. It also means that you are more aware of potential opportunities that might be coming towards you.

Room by Room Tips

Entry

The entry, called the mouth of qi, is where energy enters your space. People also see it from outside your home, representing your face to the world. Keep this area clean and clutter-free so qi can flow through easily.

It’s also important that your front door is easy to find. It should be labeled well and free of obstructions. Your friends, as well as delivery people, should be able to see and access it easily.

It’s also a good idea to keep this area clean. Sweep your entry regularly, and remember to wash your door. You may also want to add a light fixture to keep this area bright and introduce the fire element.

Living Room

Living rooms are places where family and friends gather, so they should feel cozy and welcoming. Make sure you have comfortable seating—enough for everyone who lives in the home, plus a few extra seats for guests. To encourage connection and conversation, face chairs and sofas towards each other. Avoid having the backs of chairs facing the door as much as possible.

Healthy green plants can also be a great addition to the living room, as they add vital life force energy and the wood element, which represents kindness and compassion.

Kitchen

The kitchen is an important area of the home because it represents nourishment. One way to improve your kitchen feng shui is to ensure your refrigerator is clean and tidy. Remove all expired items from your refrigerator. Clear out anything that’s no longer useful to you and compost it. Wipe down the inside to create a space where you can nourish yourself.

Bathroom

Because bathrooms have a lot of drains, they can be a source of downward and depleting energy. To minimize this, it’s a good idea to keep the bathroom door and toilet seat closed as much as possible. Since water represents the flow of wealth and money in feng shui, this can help to prevent money from flowing away from you.

Bedroom 

Your bed and bedroom represent you, so they are critical areas in feng shui and a great place to start. Your bed should be in a commanding position, backed against a wall, and easy to walk around. You should not store things under it. It's best to have air circulating freely around you as you sleep.

You can also add the earth element for support and nourishment; a great way to do this is with a square earth-colored rug under your bed.