Steps for Achieving an Optimal Feng Shui House Layout

Developing the proper feng shui house layout is vital to creating good energy flow in your home. Whether you are creating a new house layout from scratch or working with a house layout that you have, there are ways to optimize the energy flow throughout the home. There are also some frequent pitfalls that you can avoid if you want to create the best balance in your home’s layout.

Ideal Feng Shui House Layout

Ideal Feng Shui House Layout

Feng shui design optimizes the energy flow throughout the home. There are certain house layout shapes that make this an easier prospect. One of the most ideal feng shui home layout designs is a square, rectangle, or round shape. These shapes are symmetrical and allow for a balanced energy flow.

Some of the most challenging house layouts for feng shui purposes are asymmetrical shapes because they have blocked or awkward areas. It is important to note that these shapes don’t mean that good feng shui is not possible, only that remedies like optimal furniture placement must be employed to create good energy flow.

Feng Shui House Layout and the Bagua Map

The bagua map is an essential tool that feng shui practitioners use to optimize a current house layout and balance the energy throughout the home’s floor plan. There are several types of bagua maps that feng shui designers from different traditions use.

The Nine Sections of the BTB Bagua Map

The most common bagua map used in the west is the Black Sect Tantric Buddhist map, known as the BTB bagua map. This map contains eight sections arrayed around one central section. You can superimpose this grid of nine sections over your current house layout to see which sections of the map align with which section of your house. Begin by aligning the front section of your home with the career area on the bagua map to achieve the correct orientation.

Each of the nine sections represents an area of life and one of the five feng shui elements: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Use this map to optimize the energy in your home by considering the best colors and symbols to use in particular areas.


Career Front Central Area

You should align this section of the bagua map with your home’s entrance. Use this area in your home’s layout to boost your opportunities in your career and work life.

  • Element – Water
  • Color – Black and deep blue
  • Symbols – Pictures and symbols of water, water features like fountains or aquariums, wave shapes, and symbols that relate to your job or passion

Knowledge and Self-Cultivation – Front Left Area

Proceed through your home’s layout directly to the left. This section signifies knowledge and wisdom. This area is ideal for a home office, study, or reading nook.

  • Element – Earth
  • Color – Blue, green, and black
  • Symbols – Natural materials such as pottery, crystals, books, natural stone, inspirational quotes

Family – Middle Left Area

The family section of the bagua map is the area on your home’s layout in the middle left. This area signifies our family, both past and present, and even new beginnings.

  • Element – Wood
  • Color – Green
  • Symbols – Displays of family photos, real plants, images of plants and growing things, shades of green decor

Wealth and Prosperity – Rear Left Area

This area signifies our interactions with wealth and prosperity. We can also use this area to symbolize our gratitude for the abundance we possess.

  • Element – Wood
  • Color – Purple, blue, and red
  • Symbols – Decorative items or wall paint that are shades of purple, blue, or red, items that symbolize wealth such as money or jade plants

Fame and Reputation – Rear Middle Area

The back central area of your home represents our connection to our reputation in the wider world. Use this area to enhance your fame and reputation.

  • Element – Fire
  • Color – Red and orange
  • Symbols – Candles, fireplaces, artificial lighting, red and orange paint and decor, awards, and honors

Relationships – Rear Right Area

This area in our home’s layout signifies our connection with other people, both romantic and platonic. This is a good place to create an area for intimate conversation and connection.

  • Element – Earth
  • Color – Red, pink, and white
  • Symbols – Use paired objects and symbols that represent love and commitment. Paint and use decor that is red, white, or pink.

Children and Creativity – Middle Right Area

This is the right middle area of your home’s layout and signifies the children in our lives but also creativity and pursuits that bring us joy. This is a good area for a children’s playroom or work area.

  • Element – Metal
  • Color – White
  • Symbols – White color schemes, metal objects like wind chimes, circular objects, mirrors, bulletin boards, items that bring joy or create inspiration

Travel and Helpful People – Front Right Area

The front right area of your home’s layout signifies the travels that you take as well as the people who help you along life’s journey.

  • Element – Metal
  • Color – White and gray
  • Symbols – Maps, mementos and pictures of mentors, globes, and travel souvenirs

Health – Center Area

This is the central section of your home’s layout. This area represents the heart of the home and health.

  • Element – Earth
  • Color – Brown and yellow
  • Symbols – Natural earth textures like stone, pottery, and crystals. Keep this area as clean and decluttered as possible in order to allow energy to flow through your home freely.

Feng Shui House Layout by Area

Creating a feng shui floor plan from scratch is not a luxury that everyone enjoys, but if you do get the chance to do this, keep these foundational guidelines in mind for each room.

Building Site

Ideal Feng Shui House Layout
Archer & Buchanan Architecture, Ltd

The place where you build your home is as important to the flow of good energy as is the home layout itself. Look for a place with gentle and rolling landforms rather than sharp angles and peaks. Orient your home to receive as much natural sunlight as possible. This often means that your home should face either south or east to receive the most natural sunlight and positive energy.

Driveway and Walkways

Driveway and Walkways

Feng shui practice encourages slight curves in a driveway or walkway and one that is open and clear. This will provide a good path for energy flow. Keep the driveway or walkway width in good proportion to the home. A narrow pathway or driveway will cramp or congest the energy flow.

Entryway

Ideal Feng Shui House Layout

The entrance to your home’s layout is one of the most essential for creating good energy flows throughout your home. The front door of your home should be visible and in good repair as it is one of the most important tools for home protection in feng shui design. Choose an auspicious color for the front door, like black or red, to create good energy. Make sure that this area has adequate lighting that creates a welcoming environment. Avoid aligning the front entrance with exits, as this can create a dynamic where energy enters your house and leaves it as soon as it enters.

Kitchen

Feng shui kitchen

Most feng shui experts advise placing a kitchen in the back of the home, ideally in the rear middle or left areas of the home’s layout. These are the areas on the bagua map that we associate with fame and reputation and with wealth and prosperity. These are ideal for the strength of fire energy. Avoid placing the kitchen in the center of the home. The kitchen is a busy and well-furnished area that may disrupt the flow of energy from one side of the house to another.

Living Room

Living room decor with feng shui in mind

Feng shui practitioners advocate that living rooms should be located in a place that creates a welcoming and inviting space for family and for guests. It is a more public space than bedrooms, so you can locate this space near the front of your home if necessary. Do not locate living rooms above the garage, as this can create conflicting energy. Also, if at all possible, make sure that the living room is on the ground floor to create a sense of stability and security.

Dining Room

Dining room with feng shui in mind

The dining room is an important room in a feng shui layout as this is the place where people connect and gain nourishment. Some feng shui designers even advocate placing the dining room at the center of the home because it represents the mental health and wellness of the family. Do not add excessive amounts of furniture to the dining room if you do position it in the center of the home. You need to allow for the free flow of energy.

Most feng shui designers also recommend a separate dining room apart from the kitchen. These should be connected for convenience but remain two distinct rooms.

Home Office

Home office with feng shui in mind

When considering the placement of a home office, consult a bagua map. This would indicate that a propitious place for a home office could be the knowledge and self-cultivation area or the creativity area. In practical terms, you should locate a home office in a quiet area of the house that does not receive through traffic or noise from other spaces. Feng shui practice discourages home offices in bedrooms as this can create conflicting energies between work and sleep.

Bedroom

Bedroom with feng shui in mind

For the best feng shui house layout, locate bedroom spaces away from public areas. This means that bedrooms should be located toward the rear of the home. Using the back right side of the house would locate a bedroom in the love and relationship section, which creates positive energy in this area of your life. Avoid placing bedrooms above garages or kitchens, as this creates conflicting energy. You should also avoid placing a bedroom directly across from a staircase as this is too public.

Bathroom

Bathroom Decor LED mirrors

Bathrooms are tricky to place in a feng shui design because they are believed to drain energy away from the house. In consequence, the placement of bathrooms is more often a list of where not to place it. Do not place bathrooms near the entrance to the house, as this can cause energy that enters your house to drain away. Also, avoid placing bathrooms near the center of the house as they can disrupt the flow of energy through the house.

Feng shui designers also recommend against placing bathrooms near bedrooms or kitchens. One of the best places for bathrooms in feng shui floor plans is an area with the earth element as earth energy neutralizes water energy in feng shui belief.

Stairways

Stairways feng shui

Staircases are both the literal and figurative way that energy moves throughout your house. Choose an area for a staircase that allows for easy access. Feng shui practitioners recommend avoiding placing a staircase in the central part of the house as this can create too much energy movement and thus destabilize the balance of the home. Also, avoid placing a staircase across from the entrance into your home, as this can create a rush of positive energy up to the second floor and create a lack on the first floor.