Feng shui is meant to improve the energy in the spaces where you live, play, and work by placing certain features and elements in specific rooms and sectors of the house. Sometimes, though, people misplace features and elements in ways that can create harmful energy, instead. To give your home or space the best energy possible, avoid these common feng shui mistakes.
Having a Water Feature in Your Bedroom
Sure, it can be super relaxing to drift off to sleep to the sound of a trickling fountain or to relax as you gaze at a photo of moonlight on the surface of the sea from your bed. But having water energy in the bedroom — while it may look or sound soothing — actually brings active, moving energy into a space where you should be relaxing so you can sleep. It's overstimulating in an environment meant to have calming energy. Skip any water elements in the bedroom, from fish tanks and fountains to paintings and photos of lakes, rivers, or the sea.
Placing Family Portrait Over the Fireplace
Above the fireplace seems the perfect place for a large family portrait, but it invites an energy that can cause family discord. That's because you're placing a representation of your family right above a fire element, which invites that energy to burn it up. In this case, the fire element destroys the good vibes a family has and can lead to strife between the people in the photo.
Placing a Mirror Across From the Front Door
Hanging a mirror across from the front door is a trick some people use to make small vestibules and entryways feel more spacious. But in feng shui, it's believed that positive energy enters through the front door and flows throughout the house. When there's a mirror directly across from where that good energy enters, it can bounce it right back out the front door, leading to stagnant or insufficient energy throughout the rest of the home.
Putting a Bed Directly Across From the Bedroom Door
Energy flows throughout your home through doorways and windows. So if you place your bed directly across from the door that enters the bedroom, you'll have active energy flowing across you all night long, which isn't conducive to restful sleep. If the only wall you can place your bed on is across from the door, move it so it's offset from the door so the energy doesn't sweep over you while you try to sleep.
Leaving the Toilet Lid Open
In general, feng shui isn't super fond of bathrooms because they have "waste" energy, but they're a modern necessity unless you're totally into having an outhouse in your backyard instead. But the worst feng shui bathroom mistake you can make is leaving your toilet lid open. Why? Because water represents wealth and abundance, and leaving your toilet lid open is the energetic equivalent of flushing abundance down the drain. And when you do have to flush? Close the lid before you do so you don't pull abundance energy from the rest of the house, too.
Holding Onto Clutter
Clutter is the enemy of good feng shui. Even if your clutter is restricted to cupboards, drawers, and closets, it creates chaos that blocks, disrupts, and scatters the healthy flow of energy throughout a space. For the best feng shui, minimize clutter so the energy can flow properly.
Having Fake or Dead Plants
Plants bring incredible energy to spaces, and many plants have great feng shui. Unless, of course, they're fake (because they have no energy of their own), they're dead (because they have dead energy), or they're poorly maintained (because clutter). So if you want to bring plants into your home for beneficial feng shui, keep any dead parts trimmed off and dust the leaves regularly. Avoid spiky plants like cactuses, which disrupt feng shui, and opt for well-cared-for plants with smooth, rounded leaves.
Invite Good Energy in Your Home
Feng shui has a lot of rules and guidelines that can help you optimize the energy in the spaces where you work, live, and play. So if you want to cultivate the best possible energy, avoid these common feng shui mistakes.
