Looking through interior decorating and design websites searching for examples of good bedroom feng shui isn’t as easy as it sounds. Ironically, the bedrooms that purport to have good feng shui are many times the worst offenders.
There are often many problems with most bedrooms when you are viewing them simply from a feng shui consultant’s perspective.
Let’s look at some of the bedroom problems with an eye toward feng shui that are the most problematic.
1. Big bed, tiny bedside tables.
One of the critical aspects of feng shui is the idea of balance, and in design terms, balance can often refer to scale. When you have teeny tiny bedside tables and lamps that are next to a big king size bed, it looks silly and out of proportion. Make sure your bedside tables are equal in scale.
2. Mismatched nightstands.
Sure, the design trends have geared away from matching nightstands, but a balanced and proportional bed with two similar nightstands and lamps is best in feng shui.
That’s because two matching tables looks balanced to us and that’s restful to your eye – and your mind, key to helping you relax and rest.
Another nightstand no-no? Just having one nightstand. This shows that someone is getting the short end of the stick in the relationship, and feels unbalanced.
3. Beds on the floor.
This is a casual and often contemporary way to place the bed, but it’s not good feng shui. It doesn’t allow the sleeper to easily get out of bed and instead has to crawl out of the bed to get up. This isn’t a command type of sleep position when you can’t stand up when getting out of bed. It also symbolizes a lack of control in one’s life.
4. Pendant lamps over nightstands.
Although popular in decorating now, having something hovering over your head isn’t good feng shui in general, and particularly so, when you’re in bed. It can cause a sense of irritation, stress, and a feeling of pressure that can result in insomnia or create arguments between couples.
5. Overhead accessories.
When sleeping in bed, having a large piece of artwork, shelves, and accessories is not just bad feng shui but it can also be harmful. In California where earthquakes are more common, Californians know that having a large piece of artwork over the bed could be dangerous in the event of a quake.
In 2004, R&B singer Teena Marie was struck on the head by a large piece of artwork that left her with seizures until her death in 2010, which some say was by a seizure that was a result of her 2004 injury. Today even clocks are being placed over beds and this is a very negative symbol for the sleeping and prone body that is representative of death.
Keep any artwork or accessories very simple and small, and avoid hanging pendants or hanging items from the ceiling over the bed. This gives a feeling of pressure and makes it difficult to be fully rested.
6. Shelves.
Shelves come with a set of feng shui concerns, especially those that you sit in front of at work or that are aimed at you when you’re in bed. In general, shelves should be closed in the bedroom and shelves that float and have open corners, are especially harmful in the bedroom. Another serious feng shui problem is a shelf over the head of the bed. Avoid these and they add pressure to the occupants of the room and, potentially, arguments or headaches.
7. Plants
It seems like good feng shui, and they’re perfectly fine to have in a photograph of a bedroom if your bedroom is being featured in a decorating magazine or website, but outside of that, plants and flowers should never be in any bedroom. They create a drain on relationships and health. Although regarded as good feng shui for bedrooms, plants are anything but that.
8. No headboard.
There’s a casual decorating look of going without a headboard, but instead of appearing casual, it looks unfinished, like a chair without a back.
A bed without a headboard creates a sense of discomfort and inability to relax fully or feel supported. A bed always looks better, sleeps better, and provides more support and enjoyment when there is a solid headboard behind it.
Read more about bedroom feng shui
