Lotsa people ask about how to Feng Shui their Living Rooms. Here are some 12 tips on how to improve the Feng Shui of your Living Room while at the same time attracting a better social and personal life. Let’s get started, shall we?
#1 Don’t Walk in and Immediately See the Back of a Couch or a Chair
Your Living Room in Feng Shui is symbolic of your personal joy, your social life and fun – however you define fun. AND you don’t want to stop the fun before it even starts.
To prevent this, make sure the first thing you see when you walk into your Living Room is NOT the back of your couch or chair. If this is the case, try to move it to another location. If that is not possible, put a nice blanket or throw on the back of it to make it feel more welcoming and less abrupt.
#2 Try Not to Place Furniture that Would Have Its “Back” to a Window
You want your Living Room to feel like you, your family or your guests would enjoy staying for a while. Interestingly, how long people stay is often directly related to how comfy they are and how safe they feel. One way people, often unconsciously feel unsafe, is when their back is to a window. We as humans do not like the feel of something being able to sneak up behind us (even what sneaks up behind us is on the other side of a window).
People – and animals – feel most comfortable and cozy when their back is against a solid wall. Try to arrange the furniture to avoid chairs and couches with backs to windows. If this is not possible, consider adding blinds or curtains that can be closed. Another option is to put red tape at the top of the window frame or below the window sill with the intention of keeping outside energy – out and inside energy – in.
#3 Remove Reminders of Work, Chores, Laundry, Bills and Any Other Things Not Related to Relaxation and Fun
As the Living Room in Feng Shui (and life) is the place for relaxation and fun, all imagery, to the extent possible, should feel relaxing and/or fun. For this reason, remove any objects, images or memories that remind you of not-so-amazing responsibilities. This doesn’t mean you can’t fold laundry in here while you watch Netflix. It just means the laundry should stay in there only for the time needed to fold it – and finish the Flix.
#4 Add Reminders of People You Enjoy, Happy Memories and/or Activities You Would Like to Do
Just as you want to remove reminders of not-so-wonderful things in life, you want to add objects, imagery and symbols of fun times you have had and look forward to having. Seeing images of happy times helps ensure happy energy AND that such times keep coming your way.
#5 Don’t Put the Couches / Chairs at Right Angles to Each Other
Living Rooms or other sitting areas where the chairs and couches are at 90 degrees to one another often have households with more conflict than Living Rooms where couches and chairs are directly across from each other. If you have multiple pieces of “sitting” furniture, some across from each other and some at 90 degrees from each other the best thing you can do to achieve optimal Feng Shui is have the most frequently used furniture directly opposite each other.
#6 Don’t Make the TV the Focal Point
The Living Room should be about thoughtful engagement either alone or with others. There is little to nothing about a TV that can be classified as “thoughtful engagement”. With that said, try to not have it be the focal point of the room. Consider moving it to an area of the room where it is not what is naturally seen when people are seated, put it on a cart to roll it in and out as needed or consider concealing it within a cabinet.
#7 Open Windows and Curtains Frequently
Fresh air and bright light = fresh and bright energy. To the extent possible, open your curtains or window treatments daily and open windows at least a few times a week, if not daily, as outside temperatures allow.
#8 Hide Pictures of Family / Friends Who You Would Like to Have Better Relationships With – in The Living Room
The Living Room is one of your home’s most happy places to hang out with friends and family. Unfortunately, we don’t always feel happy about all of our friends and family. If you are looking to repair damaged relationships, or at least feel more comfortable sitting in the same room as someone, put a photo or reminder of them in the Living Room.
Good News Feng Shui can help!
This photo or reminder does not have to be seen to work, so feel free to stash it in a book, in a drawer, behind something hanging on the wall, etc. Extra Credit if you put this photo or reminder in the Family area or the Love & Marriage (love can also be the platonic kind) of the Living Room.
To locate the Family area in Feng Shui, go stand in the entrance of your Living Room and face into it. Look at the left most side of the room and mentally divide this area into three equal (or equal-ish) sized areas. The middle area is the Family area.
To locate the Love & Marriage area in Feng Shui, go stand in the entrance of your Living Room and face into it. Look at the far wall. Mentally divide it into three areas. The right most area (or the far right area from the door) is the Love & Marriage area of the room in Feng Shui.
#9 Declutter
Sometimes when your social life and/or outside-of-work life is not-so-fabulous your Living Room isn’t too fabulous either. And many times, the Living Room is not-so-wonderful because of all the stuff in there – that doesn’t belong there. Start with a corner or a drawer and take a look at everything in this area. With each item, ask yourself, “Do I love this dearly or use it yearly?” If the answer is yes keep it. Then ask yourself, “How does this item support my social life / personal enjoyment outside of work?” If it does support it, leave it in the Living Room. If it does not support it, put it in the logical area it belongs in your home.
#10 Consider the Type of Energy You Want in the Living Room and Choose Colors, Artwork and Accessories Accordingly
Some people want their social life and non-work activities to be quiet, calm and soothing. Other people want them to be energizing and vibrant. Based on what is best for you, choose room colors (earth tones, grays, neutrals for calm environments and brighter more energetic colors for more lively environments), art and accessories for the energy level you want. Don’t be afraid to mix neutral wall colors with energetic art, accessories and furniture.
#11 Have Chairs with Backs on It
Can we be brutally honest for a second? Nobody, and I mean nobody, wants to sit at a dining room table or on a piece of living room furniture that doesn’t have a back on it. There are two reasons for this – first and foremost – they contain exactly zero comfort and secondly, as stated above, people are most comfy and feel the safest when they have something solid at their back.
#12 Leave All Shelves, Tables, Mantles, Walls and Surfaces 50% EMPTY
For Feng Shui to work, energy needs to flow freely and easily – and energy cannot do that if it is perpetually running into a storm of knick knacks. Look at the different surfaces, tables, mantles, shelves etc. and declutter them until they are 50% empty.
