When space is at a premium, many remodeled homes frequently create a new space over the garage. Often this will be a family or master bedroom. Then, too, new construction is looking for ways to create more bedrooms and living space and will often build over the garage as well. Today it’s very common to find a master bedroom in new construction built directly over the garage.
But is this a problem? It could be.
On the plus side, bedrooms over a garage are usually roomy and have plenty of space, making them very spacious. But that’s usually where the benefits stop. There are, however, a number of problems with a garage over the bedroom.
The first problem is the simple mechanics of this kind of placement.
Depending on where you live, the garage is often not insulated as well as the rest of the house. It also has large doors to permit parking of cars. This can lead to the room being too hot or too cold, depending on your climate. So be sure to take into consideration your area’s temperature variations and make sure the room has adequate insulation, heating and cooling.
The other consideration is noise. Because the garage doors will be going up and down, consider whether a spouse leaving early in the morning will wake you up. Garages are also close to the street, so this makes bedrooms more likely to hear street noise. Again, good quality insulation will ensure that the noise is kept to the minimum.
What about feng shui implications?
It’s often widely known that having a bedroom over a garage isn’t ideal. Most people would say that they know intuitively that this doesn’t seem like a good idea, but can’t put their finger on why.
Well, in feng shui, the idea is that the garage is not considered a proper living space because this is not a space where people reside, it’s a place for cars. The garage will either house cars going in and out of it or serve as a storage room for the family. The best location for bedrooms is always over a living space, such as a living room or dining room.
A garage has cars which are essentially large hunks of metal that represent movement and motion. The garage is also the place where chemicals are stored, there may also be a washer and dryer there or a water heater. Metal tools are also stored in the garage, making this a very yin, metallic atmosphere.
When sleeping over all this metal, it’s possible that the occupants of the room will experience…
- Less peaceful sleep
- Cranky, unhappy or unsettled outlook
- Loss of income related to loss of rest
- Feeling of floating and not being anchored while in the bedroom
- Sense of lack of moving ahead in life
What to consider in feng shui
- Temperature, either too cold or too hot
- Ability to position the bed on a solid wall
- Flying stars of the room
- Noise, insulation from the garage below and street
- Your feelings about the bedroom
The purpose of a bedroom in feng shui is to enable complete rest. In the list above, one of the feng shui considerations is your feeling about the bedroom. If you’re looking at a house to buy with a bedroom over the garage, consider whether you like this or not and the way you feel about it.
Your outlook, no matter how good the feng shui is, bears a big impact on the feng shui of your home.
If you don’t like something it doesn’t matter how good the feng shui is, it simply won’t be beneficial for you. Another consideration is the flying star energy. If it’s favorable, that’s a point in the bedroom’s favor. If not, it could compound the problems associated with a bedroom over the garage.
How to handle a bedroom over the garage
There’s a few feng shui basics you’ll want to make sure you cover if you have a bedroom over the garage. Here are some tips:
- Check on the flying star. Remedy any problems.
- Add extra insulation to stop noise from the street, cars parking underneath and the garage door opener.
- Make sure the bed is properly positioned in the room against a solid wall and that feet aren’t lined up with a bedroom door or bathroom door when sleeping in bed.
- Watch for slanted walls. Bedrooms over garages often have slanted walls. If your bed is placed under one of these walls, it will create more difficult feng shui and feelings of oppression.
- Add carpeting to slow down the chi. Hardwood floors are great, but carpeting is best in a bedroom over the garage to slow down fast chi and insulate the room from the “in and out” movement energy of the garage.
- Keep the bedroom in balance. The bedroom will need extra care to be neither too yin or too yang, but well balanced in the lighting and décor in the room so you can rest properly.
- Be sure that the way your bed is positioned that you aren’t sleeping over a washer and dryer or a water heater.
- Keep any chemicals, pesticides and paint locked in a separate cabinet in the garage.
- Check ventilation in the room to make sure it is adequate and that there aren’t any leaks or smells from the garage such as from car exhaust.
- Refrain from starting the car in the garage with the door closed.
- Add an additional rug over your carpet under the bed for extra grounding, quiet and rest.
