Colors play an important role in feng shui. Each color is associated with a feng shui element, Bagua direction, and certain kind of energy, which means you need to consciously choose paint colors for your home and follow feng shui rules when decorating. Below, we share common feng shui colors, what elements and directions they pair with, and where to use them throughout your home.
Ignite Your Passions with Red
Photo via @the_good_painter
- Element: Fire
- Bagua Directions: South, southwest
- Best Rooms: Living room, office
The color red symbolizes fame, reputation, and passion. Whether you decide to paint or accessorize a room with red, it’s good to use this color in moderation. Since it represents the feng shui element of fire, too much of this color can stimulate aggression. With the right amount of red, you can bring joy and excitement into your living space. Try designing and decorating rooms like your living room with red furniture or red paint accents.
Use Orange to Create a Social Space
Photo via @relevanceinternational
- Element: Earth, fire
- Bagua Directions: Center, south
- Best Rooms: Living room, dining room, kitchen
Orange is often associated with the element of earth in feng shui, but it can also represent fire if you utilize shades of orange that are closer to red. In feng shui, orange is known for being a social color, promoting conversation, connection, and good times. When decorating your home, use orange decorations in social areas where people often gather like living rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens. Terracotta decorations are a nice, natural way to style your room while giving you the grounding power of the earth element.
Center Yourself with Healthy Yellow Hues
Photo via @thepaintspotcos
- Elements: Earth
- Bagua Directions: Center
- Best Rooms: Kitchen, living room, bedroom
Symbolizing health and well-being through its connection to the feng shui element of earth, yellow tones create a warm, welcoming feeling when used in your living space. In a bedroom, you can incorporate warm yellows like gold or mustard to promote rest and relaxation. In a kitchen, a soft yellow can be used to stimulate nourishment and positivity throughout the room. You can also use tones from sunny yellow to pale yellow in rooms that may not receive a lot of sunlight to help brighten up the space.
Get a Fresh Start with Shades of Green
Photo via @aglassofbovino
- Element: Wood
- Bagua Directions: East, center
- Best Rooms: Bedroom, foyer, living room, office
Green is a perfect feng shui color for those looking for a fresh start. Representing the wood element, green works with nature to calm your nerves and bring healing vibes to your space. Similar to a tree, green also symbolizes the life and growth of your family. For the healing effects of this feng shui color to work, you need to use several hues of green in a room. For example, you can paint the walls green in your bedroom and add more shades of green through pillows and bedding. Another easy way to add some green is with houseplants!
Use Shades of Blue for Self-Cultivation
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- Element: Earth, water
- Bagua Directions: Northeast, north
- Best Rooms: Living room, kitchen, bedroom, office, dining room
Encompassing the feng shui qualities of knowledge and self-cultivation, blue is a great color to use in a wide range of rooms throughout your home. Its varying shades and tones encompass both the water element and the earth element in feng shui. Use earthy gray-blues in the northeast part of your home to cultivate knowledge and self-growth. Try adding blue artwork into a home office for positive career energy. Or utilize dark blue in living rooms to create the feeling of security, personal wisdom, and serenity.
Surround Yourself with Purple’s Wealth & Prosperity
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- Element: Wood, fire
- Bagua Directions: Southeast, south
- Best Rooms: Office, living room
In feng shui, shades of purple are related to wealth and prosperity. This power color should be used in the southeast sector of your home to enhance your reputation. Purple is also a high-frequency color, meaning it’s associated with spirituality and should be used in moderation. Consider incorporating a light shade of purple into a home office or a living room to stimulate creativity and abundance. Or stick to using purple as an accent color with paint, decorative pillows and throws, and other home decor items.
Showcase Unconditional Love with Pink
Photo via @ournestintheglen
- Element: Earth
- Bagua Directions: Southwest
- Best Rooms: Bathroom, bedroom
Representing the feng shui element of earth and known as the color of love, pink can be used to enhance feelings of love in familial, friendly, and romantic relationships. This color is best used in intimate shared spaces like a bathroom or bedroom. With a variety of pink hues, you can harness everything from the inner warmth of pale pink to the passionate energy of a bold magenta. If you’re looking to add this sensitive color without painting your walls, try adding pink accents through curtains, towels, flowers, carpet, or tile.
Take Root in Brown Hues
Photo via @homeonhighlight
- Element: Earth, wood
- Bagua Directions: East, center
- Best Rooms: Living room, kitchen, office, bedroom
If you’re looking for a natural color to use in either the northeast or center areas of your home, consider brown. Representing the earth, brown is the color of dirt and roots, signifying comfort and safety, which is why this a great color in family-centered spaces, such as the kitchen, living room, or bedroom. Brown in feng shui appeals to the feeling of being nurtured and grounded. You can easily incorporate these earth-tone hues into your kitchen by staining cabinets brown or choosing a wooden table. With bedrooms, you can ground your space by choosing earthy brown bedding set against wooden bed furniture.
Embrace the Boldness of Black
Photo via @emilykayrichardson
- Element: Water, metal
- Bagua Directions: North, northwest
- Best Rooms: Office, dining room
Used for feng shui energies around career and life paths, black is all about the feeling of power and protection. The color black is tied to the feng shui element of water, as it invokes the color of the night, deep waters, and the void. When used in rooms in the north of your house, a watery black adds depth and strength to a room. Black is also tied to the feng shui element of metal, and when this dark color is used in the northwest of your home, it can promote creativity and wanderlust.
Inspire Travel with Gray
Photo via @emilyhartphoto
- Element: Metal
- Bagua Directions: West, northwest
- Best Room: Entryway, mudroom, bathroom
Want a calming color in your home? Use the color gray! Associated with the feng shui element of metal, gray represents helpful people and travel. Gray is often overlooked because of its simple palette, but there’s so much you can do with it! You can use gray to paint your furniture or cabinets or simply lay down a gray rug in an already colorful room. It’s also good to incorporate this color into a foyer or mudroom since these are well-traveled rooms within the home and can inspire you to travel and help others on your journeys!
Focus on Children & Creativity with White
Photo via @gazette_peninsula
- Element: Metal
- Bagua Direction: West
- Best Room: Kids room, living room, entryway, office
Using white in the western areas of your home can promote strong relationships with your children, as well as creativity. One of the few colors that can work in almost any room, white is versatile and timeless. In family-centered areas like kids rooms and family rooms, white is a creative presence that keeps positive energy flowing. And if you have dark rooms that feel overwhelming or overstimulating, you can use white decor to brighten up the space and give it some life!
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