The Best Feng Shui Colors for the Bedroom
Your bedroom is supposed to be a haven, but the treadmill over in the corner, piled with clothes, only serves to remind you that you haven't stepped on said treadmill for at least three months. The deep red walls were supposed to make you feel like you were back in the womb, where life was much simpler, but they only hurt your eyes and give you menstrual cramps. Truth is, you really can't stand being in there beyond getting in and out of bed, which is why said bed is never made and you still haven't put away the last month's worth of laundry, which is piled up in baskets on the floor and on top of your dresser.
Ever heard of feng shui? It's pronounced "fung shway," and it's the ancient Chinese art of creating a living environment that doesn't make you want to break out in boils. The goal of feng shui, in a highly Westernized nutshell, is to use color and furniture placement to promote the unfettered flow of qi, which is pronounced "chi" and is the cosmic energy that serves as the life force that flows around us and through us. But when the home merely serves as a receptacle for containing our clutter, qi gets constipated and can't flow properly. As a result, our life kinda turns into one big mess, and it's hard to relax and prosper.
It sounds like your constipated bedroom could use some serious feng shui, and the first order of business is to get that damn treadmill out of there and get rid of those red walls.
Color It Feng Shui
Color is central to feng shui. Each color is an expression of one of the five elements — fire, earth, water, wood, and metal — that govern various areas of your home. Each of these elements features both yin (passive feminine) and yang (active masculine) forces, which are inextricably connected and yet opposing. When you're choosing colors for the home, you should try to balance the elements and the yin and yang so that you, in turn, are more balanced, because the qi is more balanced.
According to feng shui, your ridiculously red bedroom makes you crazy because the color red is about as yang as you can get, which means that there's just too much active dude force in there for you to feel relaxed. Add to that the clutter and that hideous treadmill, and no wonder you can't be in there: the energy is all out of whack, and it's putting you all out of whack, too.
Your bedroom's energy should be primarily yin: calm, nurturing, and relaxing, but it should have a few elements of yang as well, but not in the form of the treadmill. Get that thing out of your room. Get everything electronic out of there — one of the first rules of feng shui for the bedroom is to keep electronics out so that you can focus on the calm, healing energy. Well, that and sex.
Choose "Skin" and "Earth" Colors
The rich, warm tones of skin include corals, pinks, peaches, cocoas, coppers, and terra cottas. The rich, warm tones of earth include blues, greens, and lavenders. The key to choosing the right colors is to decide what energies you want to pull into your room.
Pinks are all about love and passion, but only use lighter shades. Those with a red undertone are too masculine and will be too stimulating for the bedroom. But yang colors should play a small part to help balance out the energies, so a painting that has some red or a red candle by the bed is perfectly okay.
Light blues promote healing, relaxation, and meditation, but if you and your partner are susceptible to depression or have trouble with intimate communication, skip the blue walls and use blues as accent colors.
Purples promote spiritual awareness, and blue-based purples and good for spiritual growth and physical and mental healing. Red-based purples are too yang for the bedroom.
White is neutral yin and fosters confidence and calmness. Use other yin colors to accentuate the white and break it up so it doesn't become overwhelming.
Greens are all about movement, balance, abundance, and growth. Keep the greens soft, like sage, rather than garish, like kelly green.
Browns are quiet and nurturing, and they promote growing roots and staying grounded. Deep, rich cocoas, luscious coppers, and lighter browns are great for larger accents like chairs and other furniture, carpets, and headboards.
Other Ways to Feng Shui
Once you've got the walls painted and have placed appropriately-colored accents to balance out all that yin, it's time to ramp up the calm by properly placing the bed and clearing the room of items that make all that good energy want to pull its hair out.
- The bed should be approachable from both sides, and each side should have a bedside table next to it. Use natural fibers for the bedding, and make your bed every single morning.
- The air should be fresh and clean. Open the windows on nice days, and invest in an air purifier that'll remove allergens and other harmful particles.
- Electronics should be categorically banned from the bedroom. They bring in energy that's hardly conducive to good sleep and good sex.
- The lighting should be soft and warm rather than cold and white. Try to use natural lighting as much as possible by using sheer curtains.
- Mirrors should be hidden away, and you should never place them where you can see the bed in them. Mirrors make the energy in the room bounce around too much, and they can seemingly magnify stress and problems.
What color is your current bedroom?