The rooms should all be in proportion to the rest of the house. It is bad ch‘i, for instance, to have a house with an enormous living room and tiny bedrooms. The rooms should be regular in shape and the ceilings need to be of sufficient height. The rooms need to be looked after and appear fresh. This applies even to door handles working properly and windows opening smoothly. If the house is kept in good condition, an abundance of ch‘i will be present.
The living rooms should be larger than the bedrooms. The reason for this is that bedrooms contain yin (female) energy and the living rooms yang (male). In feng shui, even in these days of equality, the male should always be the more dominant one.
The living room should not be on a higher level than the dining room or kitchen. This is because it is the room used for entertaining visitors. If the living room is higher, the ch‘i from the house will flow to the visitors rather than the people who live in the house. Single-level floors create and contain much more ch‘i than split-level floors.
The front door is of extreme importance and the wrong placement can destroy all the other beneficial aspects of the house. The door should be in correct proportion to the rest of the house to create the correct balance of yin and yang. It should not be attacked by shars, such as roof angles from nearby houses or a steep driveway heading directly towards it. Poison arrows such as these can be eliminated by planting shrubs or plants, or erecting a screen to conceal the shar.
The front door should be wide and open into a bright, cheerful-looking room. This can be a separate entrance hall, but it should offer a view of the interior of the house. The entrance should be as open as possible to allow beneficial ch‘i to enter easily. Dark or narrow entrances deter ch‘i and make the house gloomy and unappealing. This can be averted by installing lights and a large mirror. The front door should not face a window directly, as it is believed that open windows allow the good energies to escape before they have been around the entire house.
The house must contain a back door. It is dangerous to live in a house with just the one entrance and exit. Ch‘i tends to stagnate in this situation and stifles wealth, health, and happiness.
The inside doors should all be of a similar size. Three or more doors in a straight line are considered bad as the arrangement allows the ch‘i to come in and then go straight out again. This is especially critical if one of these is the front or back door. Ideally, one of these doors should be blocked off. If this is not possible, a screen placed in front of one of the doors will force the ch‘i to flow around it. Another remedy is to place mirrors on some of the doors.
The layout of the house should be designed to allow ch‘i to flow effortlessly throughout the house. Straight lines promote negative ch‘i, so doorways, arches, and other openings should never be placed in a straight line.
The interior of the house should be bright and well lit. Dark rooms allow the ch‘i to become stagnant. This is why gloomy-looking houses often have a strange feeling to them. Chandeliers are favored by feng shui masters as they not only provide an abundance of light, but also contain crystal to amplify the light and enervate the ch‘i.
Dark-colored ceilings create bad ch‘i as they symbolize a dark cloud overhead. This portends bad fortune as it does not allow the ch‘i to circulate freely.
Anything made of wood should have the grain in a vertical direction. It is very bad feng shui to have the grain going in another direction as it takes away wealth. Conversely, prosperity is increased when the wood is in the same direction it was when growing as a tree.
Desks and beds need to be placed against a wall. The occupants lose power and authority if their desks and beds are in the center of the room. If they are standing by themselves in the center of the room they are said to be “floating” and in the “coffin position.” This tradition goes back to the days when the Chinese placed the coffins of their deceased relatives in the center of the temple yard while waiting for a suitable burial site to be chosen.
I had a striking example of this with the eleven-year-old son of a friend. He had placed his desk in the middle of his bedroom in imitation of his father’s desk at work. Ever since doing this his school work had suffered and his parents were concerned. I suggested that they move the desk back to its original position, and immediately the boy’s school work improved. Incidentally, the father was so impressed that he changed the position of his own desk at work and within three months received a promotion.
Beams
Exposed beams create negative ch‘i. They impede financial progress and create stress and tension. Sleeping under an exposed beam is especially bad and can lead to headaches, dishonesty, and bad luck. For these reasons it is also very bad feng shui to site a desk or chair directly below an exposed beam.
Stairs
Whenever possible, staircases should curve gently and open onto a wide hall. The stairs themselves should be wide and rounded. Spiral staircases are very bad, particularly if sited near the center of the house. It is also bad feng shui to have stairs opening onto and facing the front door. This allows ch‘i to escape out the door.
Staircases should be solid. Those made from individual steps allow money to escape. Staircases should always be well lit to allow the ch‘i to flow smoothly.
Toilets
The Chinese are naturally modest and prefer their toilets to be concealed. Consequently, toilets must not directly face front doors, dining rooms, living rooms, or offices. A toilet facing a front door is believed to flush away all of the ch‘I that enters the home. The same thing occurs even when the toilet is at the end of a long hallway with doors in between. The doors to toilets and bathrooms should be kept closed.
Kitchens
The kitchen should be as close to the dining room as possible. Family problems can arise if these two rooms are far apart. The kitchen should be light and airy. As this is where the food is prepared, ch‘i should be allowed to flow in as unimpeded a manner as possible. Windows, fresh air, color, and light all encourage beneficial ch‘i.
The position of the stove is extremely important as it is related to the health and prosperity of the occupants. Ideally, it should face towards the center of the house as this will increase the family’s prosperity. If it faces towards the front door the family’s health and financial well-being will suffer.
Dining Rooms
Dining rooms should be spacious. Round tables are preferable to square or oblong ones. A large mirror that can reflect the food on the table is very beneficial, as in effect, it doubles the amount of food available. This helps create feelings of wealth and abundance. Illustrations of food on the walls also symbolize abundance.
Bedrooms
It is common in many Western homes for the bedrooms to be placed in a line along a passage. This creates negative ch‘i for two reasons. The long hallway, being a straight line, creates negative ch‘i. Many doors opening onto the passage create antagonism and frustration.
Great information! However, I would love to know more on how to remedy such situations mentioned-above. Thanks!