Home Office Feng Shui

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Feng Shui for the Home Office

These feng shui home office tips will show you how to bring harmony and balance to your home office for greater productivity, creativity, contentment, comfort, and success.

Working from home (or WFH) has become a really big “thing.” It is now so important to modern life that we must take the design and management of the home office space seriously.

Elsewhere we discuss several home office setup ideas. But here we take a look at how to optimize the home office by applying feng shui principles.

We have broken this down into some separate feng shui home office tips.

• Related post: Home Office Design
• Related post: Feng Shui for the Home

Separate Space for the Home Office

Feng shui requires us to keep our personal and professional lives separate. This means that, unless circumstances dictate otherwise, we should keep the home office as far away from the bedroom as possible. And, preferably, the home office should have a separate entrance.

This arrangement is best for feng shui and it is also much better for productivity. And in this same vein, your home office should look and feel different from the bedroom. So use different design features for each room. 

When you go into your home office, you want to feel like you are “going to the office.” It will help you adopt an “office mindset.”

If you can’t avoid having the home office in the bedroom, then at least screen it off to give it as much of a feeling of separation as possible.

Commanding Position

The commanding position is a fundamental concept in the feng shui of any room. And the home office is no different. Feng shui requires that your desk is in the commanding position.

We discuss the commanding position in some detail elsewhere on this site. But basically, it assuages our feelings of being threatened by what might be “coming at us” from outside. If we can see where a threat might intrude, we feel more in control. If we can’t, we get feelings of anxiety.

By the same token, if we are in the commanding position, we are also better able to see and take advantage of any opportunity that may present itself.

The commanding position of the desk in the office is similar in principle to the commanding position of the bed in the bedroom. So here are the rules, and also workarounds or “cures,” for the placement of your home office desk:

• The power position is that place in the room that is farthest from the door and diagonally from it. At the same time, it should give you a view of the door from your desk chair.
• If you can’t see the door directly, place a mirror in such a way that you can see a reflection of the door from where you sit.
• Your desk chair should have a solid wall behind it for support, not a window.
• Your desk should not face the wall because the wall is an obstacle to opportunities reaching you. If you have no choice but to face the wall, then “disguise” it with artwork or a wall hanging. 
• Your desk should not be under a beam. This depresses chi energy. If you can’t avoid being under a beam, then paint it the same color as the ceiling

Once the commanding position is established, we can move on to the application of other feng shui home office tips.

Choice of Home Office Desk

Choose a sturdy wood desk. Wood is one of the elements featured in feng shui. It signifies vitality and growth. 

And the best shapes for the desk are rectangular, kidney-shaped,  or L-shaped. Make sure that the desk is big enough to handle all your paperwork, writing materials, and, of course, your computer.

Avoid Poison Arrows

Sharp or angular items in the home office that may point at you are called “poison arrows.” They cause negative energy, also called “sha chi.” So choose a desk and other office furniture that has rounded corners. And arrange other sharp-angled items in such a way that they are not pointed at you.

Bagua Energy Map

Once we have established the desk in the commanding position, we need to know where our home office lies on the Bagua energy map. We have explained the Bagua map elsewhere and have included an illustration. 

Put the map over a floorplan of your house with the North edge lined up with the wall containing your front door. You will then find the square that corresponds to the location of your home office.

Within that square, you will find the element, color, material, and shape that should inspire accents in the decoration of your home office and maximize the flow of positive chi energy within the room.

Feng Shui Colors for the Home Office

We talk about room colors and how they affect mood elsewhere. But here is what feng shui has to say about colors:

• Green is associated with growth, success, and wealth.
• Purple is associated with clarity and wisdom.
• Black represents money. 
• Earth tones stabilize and relieve tension and stress.
• White and pastels stimulate creativity

Use these colors as you wish. However, only use black as an accent. And stay away from red, except also as an accent. Red can give rise to feelings of anxiety and anger.

For colors that calm and energize consider pale tones of yellow, gold, orange, green, and blue. 

• Related post: Room Color and Mood

Ensure Natural Light and Air

Feng shui requires good quality air and light for the promotion of good health and stability. And, of course, this is just feng shui confirming what we already know.

So, if possible, make sure your home office has a window or skylights to let in natural sunlight and as much fresh air as possible. This promotes the flow of positive chi energy into the room and will help with your office productivity. Add appropriate window coverings to control glare.

Supplement natural lighting with a tiered ambient, task and accent LED lighting plan for controlled brightness, complete coverage, and to avoid eye strain. And you should consider including circadian rhythm lighting too.

• Related post: Air Quality at Home
• Related post: Interior Lighting
• Related post: Circadian Rhythm Lighting

Declutter and Organize

Feng shui dislikes clutter because it obstructs the natural flow of positive chi energy and attracts negative chi. And it is known in modern medicine that clutter can affect our physical and mental health. 

At best, clutter is an energy drain and a distraction from our work. So eliminating clutter frees our minds and boosts our focus and the productivity of our home office.

And clutter has a habit of accumulating. It is something that we constantly need to stay on top of. So we must start by making sure we have the right tools to control clutter and a plan to stay organized. 

This boils down to having a storage system, an organized desk, and an ongoing decluttering program.

• Related post: Reasons to Declutter
• Related post: Decluttering Tips

Storage System

Decluttering starts by having a storage system. If you have a place to store your paper files and working papers out of sight but easy to reach when you need them, you have largely solved the clutter problem.

• Create space in closets
• Use a simple file cabinet with racks of organized folders.
• Use wall shelving.
• Buy a desk with built-in storage.
• Go paperless and file everything in the cloud with a hard drive backup. 

Desk Organizing

• A rat’s nest mess of cables belonging to assorted electronic devices is very distracting to the eye. Use cable organizers to bring the computer and related cords under control. 
• Devise a logical workflow system so that only one notepad, one pen, and one piece of working paper appear on your desk at any one time. Use a simple “In, Out, & Pending” stack of trays off to one side to achieve this.
• Keep stationery supplies in organized drawers out of sight.

Decluttering Routine

• In case you have let anything slide during the day, make it a rule to use the desk organizing system you have devised to clean up your desk at the end of each workday. 
• Put a monthly decluttering session on your calendar. The purpose of this is to go through your filing cabinet and other storage areas to make sure everything is in good order. Remove what you no longer need.

Inspiring Images

When decorating your home office, add “inspiration” pieces to keep you motivated and focused. These can be family photos, motivational quotations, symbols, or images of inspirational people that you admire. And choose pieces that are related to your specific career field.

Plants

Green plants are always good for positive chi in any room and the home office is no exception. Plants are also good for maintaining indoor air quality.

But make sure that you keep the plants alive. Dead or dying plants bring negative chi energy together with feelings of depression. 

Bamboo is considered a lucky plant in the feng shui tradition. And plants with rounded leaves are also considered good feng shui.

Home Office Smells

There is an unofficial connection between feng shui and aromatherapy. Feng shui and aromatherapy, as alternative medicine, operate at the level of energy. And to this extent, the use of scents forms part of a comprehensive feng shui design.

So consider having an essential oil diffuser in your home office. And you might try the oils of geranium, lemongrass, bergamot, or rosemary. Any of them could uplift the mood and balance in your home office.

• Related post: Aromatherapy

Home Office Sounds

Think of sounds that make you happy and relaxed. Instrumental music playing low in the background is a good choice. Avoid music with lyrics. These can be distracting.

And don’t forget natural sounds. You could have a small decorative fountain in your home office. This gives you the sound of water and will also bring in the positive chi of the feng shui water element. Water symbolizes prosperity, abundance, and income. So it is entirely appropriate for a home office.

Final Thoughts on Home Office Feng Shui

The feng shui home office tips we have laid out here will help you create a healthy and balanced working environment flowing with a high level of positive chi energy.

Observe the commanding position and use the Bagua energy map to balance out the elements, colors, and shapes appropriate for your home office space. Then add in a decluttered workspace, light and air, some inspirational artwork, plants, sounds, and smells.

All of this together will give you the impetus to pursue your quest for prosperity in a calm, supportive, and motivating space.