Feng shui interior design is the practice of arranging a home according to the ancient Chinese belief that "chi" - the flow of energy through a space - directly affects wellbeing. Rooted in ideas of wind and water ("feng shui" translates literally), it aims to organise light, colour, shape and layout so that energy moves through a home in a way that supports better sleep, focus, and overall balance.
Enthusiasts have reportedly included Boy George, Julia Roberts, Tommy Hilfiger, Steven Spielberg, and even British Airways - proof that a four-thousand-year-old practice still has plenty of relevance today. Here's how it works, and how to bring it into your own home.
The history and origins of feng shui
Continuing our journey around the world’s most influential interior design traditions: we visit China to look at the art of Feng Shui and how you can achieve it in the home – including some top Feng Shui lighting tips…Feng shui originated in ancient China roughly four thousand years ago, developing alongside Chinese philosophy and cosmology as a system for orienting buildings, rooms and objects to align with natural energy flows. While its roots are specifically Chinese, similar ideas about the relationship between space, energy and wellbeing have appeared in various forms across other cultures and eras - and even within feng shui itself, approaches and interpretations vary between different schools and practitioners.
This guide focuses on the core, widely-shared principles of feng shui and how to apply them practically at home.
A clean, light, clutter free and balanced home space by Diana Civil. (Image via Diana Civil)
Feng shui philosophy
Good chi, bad chi
At the heart of feng shui is “chi”, the name given to the subtle flow of electromagnetic energy that links all things in the universe. It flows in and out of buildings, not only through windows and doors but even through walls.
What feng shui aims for, in terms of interior design and decoration, is a gentle harmonious flow that enhances daily life. Anything that disrupts chi’s good energy, such as synthetic fibres, dark corners, cluttered rooms and pockets of damp, is to be avoided.
Yin and yang
Feng shui practitioners believe that there are two kinds of energy: passive (yin) and active (yang). This applies equally to objects and home surroundings, as well as people. The sun is decidedly yang and fires up our energy, so south-facing rooms are ideal for those times of the day when you need to be active. If you’re feeling decidedly flat and chi-depleted, they’re a good mood booster. Long narrow spaces, like corridors, tend to be more yin, while round, octagonal or square buildings or rooms are more yang. Yin and yang may be polar opposites but the aim in a home is to find a sense of balance between the two.
The concept of yin and yang also applies to colours, shapes and materials: round and curved shapes are more yin, straight and angular lines and sharp angles are yang. Hard shiny surfaces such as glass or metal are yang and speed up chi energy; softer, textured surfaces such as natural wood or cork are more yin.
The Five Elements
Kitchen by Clare Weeks - Image: My-Studio
The third key principle is that of the Five Elements: Water, Tree, Soil, Fire, Metal, all of which have their own chi energies, determined by the way the sun moves across the sky both during the day and throughout the year. Like yin and yang, the Five Elements can apply to colours, shapes and materials. Want to make a ceiling look higher? Vertically-striped wallpaper (tree chi energy) or tall houseplants are what you need. Or maybe you want a cosier look in a sitting room or reading area? In that case, opt for horizontal or checked patterns (soil energy).
In feng shui, the principle of Eight Directions combines yin and yang and the Five Elements to identify eight types of chi energy, which equate to the main points of the compass and can apply to rooms, people, and times of day. So a north facing room, for example, is linked to the element of water, a middle son, night and darkness, and midwinter.
A 19th century feng shui compass from China’s Anhui Province (creative commons)
A feng shui practitioner or consultant draws on all the above, as well as Nine Ki, a form of astrology, to advise on the most favourable time to make changes, whether you want to apply feng shui principles to your existing home or move to a new one. Alternatively, with a feng shui guide*, some graph paper and a few basic devices, such as a compass and protractor, you can put those principles into practice yourself. (Good planning is the essence of feng shui.)
How to apply feng shui at home
To give you an idea of how you could use feng shui to enhance your home, we’ve put together some suggestions for three different rooms in daily use. If your home is open plan, simply apply the relevant feng shui principles to each area.
Feng shui in the living room
Greg Penn (@manwithahammer) going for green
It’s all about tree energy, so go for tall standing lamps and uplighters, lanky house plants, such as palms, and those vertical stripes to create a sense of height and space. Stripped wooden floors are a great way to keep harmonious chi energy circulating, and pure wool rugs are a better bet than fitted carpets, which attract 'stagnant' energy…
Your colour choices will depend on which direction the room faces. Dark green can be effective in a south-east-facing living room; add paler yin shades for a spacious and relaxing feel.
Feng shui in the dining room
An easy to clean dining table surface is essential and natural woods work well - light softwoods for informal dining (so they would also work well for a kitchen table) or darker hardwoods for very formal occasions. A rectangular table stretches that chi energy more than a square table, so works better for a formal dinner party. For family meals, an oval shape is better than a round table. And try to keep tables clutter free - as far as possible; clutter, anywhere, is not propitious!
Feng shui in the bedroom
Softness, serenity and a headboard for a good night’s sleep. Image credit.
Practical, ample storage is essential so that anything you are not using or wearing can be put away at night. Opt for soft, yin lighting and lampshades that can diffuse electric light. If your bed is not against a wall, think about adding a headboard for neutral chi energy (and sound sleep). Position your bed so that you can see the door and the windows. Choose furniture, such as chairs or bedside tables, with round edges; ideally, no sharp corners should face the bed.
And we hate to break it to you but en suite bathrooms can drain healthy chi; if you have one or more in your home, keep the en suite bathroom door closed whenever possible. On the other hand, that en suite bathroom is just the right place for a mirror, as mirrors in bedrooms are a feng shui no-no...
Feng shui lighting tips
In feng shui, light waves are believed not only to bring energy into a space but enhance a room’s existing chi energy too; in other words, light waves make a good thing even better. The aim is to encourage as much natural light into a room as possible, so the bigger the windows the better - and feng shui consultants will often recommend a skylight or atrium for rooms directly under a roof space or in areas surrounded by other buildings or high walls.
As for lamps and shades, here’s how to do it the feng shui way…
1) Go for green – get some of that tree energy with green shades and standing lamps. A tall standing lamp with a green, vertically-striped shade is an easy way (and rather chic way) to bring tree energy into a room.
Darcy standing lamp with an Empire shade in Verdant Tapers
2) Use uplighters for wall lights – uplighters throw a lovely wash of light for warmth and ambience, and cleverly trick the eye into thinking a room is taller than it is.
Half Moon wall light in antique brass
3) Try natural materials – for dining tables, a pendant in a natural material like rattan or cane is a lovely choice: rustic, understated, and unlikely to overpower the room's balance (a nice touch of chi harmony in itself).
Albus pendant light in natural cane
4) Diffuse the light in the bedroom – steer clear of harsh or direct lighting if you are going to get a good night’s sleep; for overhead lighting, avoid more exposed fittings and think about a pendant, lampshade or fitting that diffuses light.
5) Focus light for reading – adjustable lighting is perfect for the bedside, letting you focus the light exactly where it's needed. A wall-mounted adjustable fitting, paired with a soft-toned lampshade in a warm pink or dusty rose, brings just the right feng shui colour balance to a reading nook. (See How to light your bedroom for a better night’s sleep post for more suggestions.)
Cooper wall light fitting in antique brass
For more interior design inspiration, browse our tips-packed blog. And see our full range of lamps and shades here.
*Want to know more about using feng shui in your home? We recommend tracking down a copy of Practical Feng Shui by Simon Brown. Published in 1998, it remains one of the most accessible introductions to feng shui, with easy-to-follow advice and instructions. And if you are looking for a feng shui consultant, the UK-based Feng Shui Society has a list of registered practitioners.
Image top: styled by @tobyshome
FAQs about feng shui in interior design
What does feng shui literally mean?
Feng shui translates literally from Chinese as "wind and water", the two natural forces believed to carry and disperse chi, or life energy. The term reflects an ancient belief that the movement of wind and water across the landscape shapes the energy of the places we live and work, which is why traditional feng shui pays close attention to a building's orientation, its surroundings, and even nearby watercourses.
How do I know if my room is feng shui?
There's no single test, but one place to start is room shape: square or rectangular rooms are generally considered more balanced in Feng Shui than irregular ones with odd jutting corners or an L-shaped footprint, since energy is thought to gather unevenly around missing corners. Beyond shape, a simpler practical check is how easily you can move through the space without rearranging things around obstacles.
What is the luckiest feng shui item?
There's no single "luckiest" item, since Feng Shui luck depends on placement and which of the Five Elements a space needs, but a few objects come up often in feng shui practice: money plants and lucky bamboo for wood energy and growth, wind chimes to keep chi moving near entrances and hallways, and citrine or other yellow crystals for grounding, earth-associated energy. The effectiveness of any of these has far more to do with where and how they're placed than the object itself.
What is bad feng shui for a house?
Certain structural features are considered particularly unlucky in feng shui: a staircase running straight down to face the front door (said to let chi rush straight back out), a home at the end of a T-junction facing oncoming traffic, and exposed overhead beams cutting across a bed or sofa (thought to create pressure on whoever sits or sleeps beneath them). At a smaller scale, broken or non-functioning items left unrepaired are considered a common source of disruptive chi.
What colours are good for feng shui?
Colour in feng shui is tied to the Five Elements, so the "right" colour depends on which energy a room needs, greens and browns bring wood energy (growth, vitality), reds and oranges bring fire energy (passion, energy), yellows and earthy tones bring soil energy (stability), whites and metallics bring metal energy (clarity, precision), and blues and blacks bring water energy (calm, flow). Rather than picking one colour for a whole home, most feng shui guidance suggests matching the colour to what each individual room is meant to do.