How to Choose Feng Shui Colors for your House and Office

As we delve deep into the season many of us feel the need to bring some color into our homes and do some Feng Shui decorating. Using colors based on Feng Shui Elements (aka Feng Shui Colors) is the easiest and least expensive way to bring a new look into our house and work place, and in light of this current day and age of “challenges” it can help lift even the lowest of moods with just a small budget.

In general, to create a psychological sense of stability and harmony in an interior, it is better to choose a more classic selection of colors in an environment. Having a lot of contrast, though it may be eye-grabbing at first, cause us to feel “unsettle” and “restless,” feelings that most of us find unappealing in the day-to-day crunch. (Though it can work for short-term advertisements, so it’s there we should leave it’s use for now).

For a good Feng Shui house– or a good Feng Shui office (where stress control is a priority)– a more harmonious choice is always preferable because after all, you’re going to be looking at it for several hours every day for weeks, months, and years. So the goal is really to have color embrace you, not punch you all the time.
A few accents of darker or saturated colors are acceptable, but the overall feel for the room should be of lightness and comfort.

Highly saturated colors (such as with “higher” density or darker) usually provide a high contrast and painting the entire room with one of them– or more than one– may not be the best solution. De-saturated colors (such as those “lighter” or more in the “pastel” color family) are easier on the eye and make you feel immediately comfortable.
In addition they reflect the light and bring more luminosity into a room, hence maximizing natural light rather than dimming it down and making it necessary to use artificial lights. You can understand right away how a dark room is not that inviting. Softer colors soften the light “radiance” too, so they do well in room with excessively bright light exposure.

One of the most popular color trends today is the extensive use of grays or gray-based colors. Major paint companies launched lines of gray-based colors with the tag line “anybody can mix and match them and still make them work”. As enchanting of a concept as that is (“easy” always seems to do it) most of the colors in the fan deck looks like rain, fog, and mud. And you do not need to be living in California to appreciate a sunny day.

If you look around in nature on a sunny day the colors are all clear and vibrant. However, on a gloomy, rainy, or foggy winter day everything takes on a tinge of gray. Most of us cannot help complaining after a few days of winter weather as we wish for the sun to come out again. And countries in Northern Europe (such as Scandinavia) have gray winters that last for months where people often become depressed and even suicidal because of the sad mood that a gray landscape brings on over time. So why are we subjecting ourselves to gray-based colors? Seriously???

I have been in many buildings in my profession, as you can imagine, including historical buildings that have been the homes of kings and queens and I never saw any gray-based wall colors, tapestries, or upholsteries. The Feng Shui color palette was always composed of clear colors like aqua, pinks, reds, azure, turquoise, greens, yellows, and gold– no browns, no grays.

In an office, gray-based colors can easily have adverse effects, not only in the mood, but also in the creativity, focus, and productivity of anyone from the receptionist to the CEO. The only offices that can really do well with the use of gray-based colors are those in which people spend the majority of their time staring at a computer screen. In this case the off time from looking at the computer screen with a gray-based color wall helps with the “balancing” of the eyes. But other then that, no grays– not on the walls, not on the floor, not on the ceiling, not on most of the furniture.

To find the most suitable colors to enhance the Feng Shui of a building that accommodates multiple people is really the work of an expert, as it is defined by many variables and a wide scope, impossible to be fully covered in an article.
However, to further assist you in choosing your personal ideal Feng Shui colors, I have created a list below based on your Feng Shui Trigram (Gua). Your Feng Shui Element is based on your date of birth. If you do not know your Feng Shui Trigram, you can find it in the chart posted here.

Once you have identified your Feng Shui Trigram you can  include them in your house or office by painting the walls, choosing a sofa, chairs, curtains, etc. Overall, I’d suggest for you to pick a clear version of the colors rather than grayish ones. Also a lighter, not very saturated color is preferable.

Feng Shui Trigram (Gua) ———————–Natural Element and Feng Shui Colors

Zhen ————————————————————-Wood: Aqua Green, Bright Green
Xun ————————————————————–Wood: Aqua Green, Bright Green
Li —————————————————————–Fire: Red, Vermillion, Cadmium
Ken —————————————————————Earth: Indian Yellow, Yellow Ochre
Kun ————————————————————–Earth: Indian Yellow, Yellow Ochre
Qian————————————————————–Metal: White, Gold
Dui —————————————————————Metal: White, Gold
Kan—————————————————————Water: Lavender, Blue, Azure, Black

Note: If you’re planning a larger project and feel overwhelmed by your choices, feel free to contact me at 310 860 8989 or dr.simona@fengshuiarch.com and I’ll be happy to assist you.

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