By Kathryn Weber
For almost all homes, the front door is set in alignment with the front of the house. But, occasionally, the doors are around the side, off center, or even turned to face a different direction completely. This can cause some confusion about what direction the house faces. So when the door is on the side of the house or turned and not facing the street, it can be hard to determine your home’s facing direction. Here are some important points to know.
Step 1. Determine the facing direction.
Usually, this is the street. It is the front of the house that faces the street, and this is typically the area that is widest and has the broadest view. Sometimes, but rarely, a home that faces an ocean or downtown city view will be the facing direction. However, it is almost always the street side.
The difficulty comes when the door is offset from the center of the house, turned away from the street, such as perpendicular doors (see image), or is located on the side of the house. Then, what is the facing direction? Is it always the direction from the door? No.
Step 2. The yang view determines your facing direction.
The yang view is the view that is widest and most receptive and has an open area in front. Again, this is typically the street side of the house. When this happens, you will determine your home’s facing direction based on the most yang view, which is most often the street, driveway and sidewalk side.
Step 3. Determine your center palace.
To get the accurate reading of the home’s direction, it’s important to stand in the center of the front of the house. Standing there, you then read the compass direction. On your home’s diagram or floor plan, you will assign the direction, say, for example, south, and add it into the center sector or palace, and that is how you will determine your whole home’s directions.
Step 4. Understanding your door
Whether your door is on the side of the house, turned and is perpendicular to the front of the house, or is off center, it’s always important to use the center front as your facing direction, and as the center sector so that you can correctly assign all nine sectors.
See this house for example. The door is on the front of the house and it faces the street, however, it is located to the side of the house. You can take the reading there, which will be the same as the center palace, or take it from the center of the house. This is important to note. So although the door will be south-facing in this particular home, it will fall in the southwest sector.
Step 5. When the center isn’t the center.
Occasionally, when a house has no windows or way for energy to enter the facing direction, you may want to use the direction of the door to orient from, but this is a very infrequent occurrence, and may be best to have a feng shui consultation to help you determine what the direction is for your home.
