Case Study #1
Dear Kartar: I am Kua number 3. My bedroom is in the southeast of the house. But in order to place my bed in the command position, the headboard is orientated southwest, which is my obstacles direction. Can you please suggest a remedy. Please note that the southeast wall (the only auspicious direction) has a window, the northwest wall is the wall with the door and the northeast wall is in line with the door.
Answer: You asked a common question about how to reconcile the contradictions which exist among the various branches of Feng Shui. The Eight Mansion Ba Zhai School places much emphasis on positioning furnishings, house types and sleeping directions based on your best personal directions. This is derived from your birth year.
However, all schools of Feng Shui incorporate Form School, qi flow theory, where the bed in a bedroom has ideal locations based on the other features such as where the door is located, windows and other limiting aspects such as a closet wall.
Consider yourself lucky if you can “have it all.” Most people have to make a compromise with regards to these seeming contradictions. In most cases, “qi flow” wins out, where you orient the bed in the best position away from direct alignment with the room’s door and away from under a low window. If it happens to be a good direction for you personally, that is great.
Many people are more affected by the qi flow than by personal directions. You can always run a comparative experiment to see what seems to affect you the most: good personal direction/bad qi flow or good qi flow/bad personal direction. There is no “remedy” for this contradiction; you just have to see what affects you most, or default to the best qi flow for the room.
Case Study #2
Dear Kartar: We live in an old house. Our bedroom has a fire place on NE wall of bedroom, and two alcoves either side of fire place, window on SE wall, door on SW area. So when you come into the room, the window is diagonal to the door. There is also a heated radiator under the window. The window is double glazed. Can you help me to place the wooden rectangle bed in the best position with two wooden side tables and two wooden wardrobes?
Answer: You asked a very specific question about bed placement, in a room which has a fireplace, windows and a door to all take into consideration. You question reminds me of a saying amongst fellow Feng Shui practitioners, that “Feng Shui Theory and Feng Shui in practice are two different things.” This is because finding perfection is a challenge. We can only hope that with enough knowledge, we can make the most out of any situation and that includes furniture placement.
Furniture placement is important in Feng Shui because it has the ability to direct or re-direct qi flow (air currents). This can cumulatively influence the health and well-being of occupants.
We also factor in the birth data of occupants because each person has best and worst personal directions for entrance, sleeping and work stations.
With any given bedroom, we prefer to position a headboard side of the bed against a solid wall and not in direct alignment with a low window if possible. We prefer to not have the bed aligned with the room’s door and ideally there are no large mirrors in the bedroom, such as is common with mirrored closet doors.
If you have no choice but to have the bed aligned directly with the room’s door, then keep the door partly closed or completely closed when trying to sleep.
If you have no choice but to have a bed under a window, then get a solid headboard that covers part of the window, or use window coverings when trying to sleep.
If a bed has a fireplace at the foot of the bed or side, this is a minor issues compared to the door and window placement.
What is not evident is if your bedroom is big enough to have two nightstands (side tables) and two wardrobe closets. One thing you don’t want is a cluttered room or too much furniture for the size of the space.
I hope this helps guide you for the best arrangement.
Case Study #3
Dear Uncle Dixer: I am still a little bit confused about which way my bed should be positioned in my room. I read the article on bed placement rules of conflict but I just still am unsure.
We have the head of our bed under a window with a good headboard and heavy draperies (and we have a good view of the door). I know being under the window isn’t good, but our only other option is to put the head of the bed against the same wall as the bathroom. The toilet is on the other side of the wall so the bed head mostly shares a wall with the shower. This is not in the command position either (it shares the same wall as the door entry), but it is the only solid wall in the whole room.
My Kua number is 5 as well (I’m not sure if that helps at all). I just don’t know if being under a window is better than having a solid wall but not being in the command position. Thoughts? Thank you!
Answer: You do have a difficult room to locate the bed according to Feng Shui rules. It’s a good idea to move your bed to try both options you mentioned: under the window like you have it now, and then against the only solid wall you have in the room. See which placement one helps you sleep better and feels more comfortable.
Placing cures like a solid headboard and heavy curtains can provide you with proper support and disrupt the rushing Qi that comes in from the window. In practical terms, sleeping next to a window is usually not recommended because it allows light and noise pollution to disrupt your sleep. You can minimize this disturbance by wearing an eye mask and earplugs while you sleep.
While there is no cure for a bed placement out of command position, you can try the option of placing your bed against the solid wall if you have a cushioned headboard between your bed and the wall. This can help to muffle the sounds from the bathroom so that it doesn’t disrupt your sleep.
Under your restricted situation, it is better to use trial and error to find a solution than to try to comply with a set of predetermined theoretical rules. You can also bring in a feng shui expert to do a professional assessment for your home.
Kartar Diamond of Feng Shui Solutions® has a full-scale consultancy, including assistance with property searches, design phase and existing homes and businesses. She is the author of three books, 6 ebooks, 36 Cast Study Lessons and more to come. See the books she’s authored or browse through her online Traditional Feng Shui school.