Feng Shui Definitions: Color

Because color is a very personal and powerful tool for enhancing the Ch’i in your home, make sure to surround yourself with the colors that feed and nurture you. New colors can be easily introduced via flowers, candles, fabrics, and other decor. However, to remove or replace paint, carpet, and upholstery colors in your home is usually a big job. You can’t just throw them off at the end of the day like a bright red shirt or yellow dress. In other words, you will live, eat, and sleep with those color choices for a while.

This isn’t to suggest that you should be timid with color, just smart. Experiment with color before ordering enough to fill a room. For instance, before buying a bright blue couch, lay out bright blue paper or fabric where the couch will be and live with it for a week or so. Are you still as in love with the color on the eighth day as you were on the first? If certain wall colors look good in a magazine, try painting a section of your wall that color, put your furniture or artwork against it, and live with it for a few days. You may find that you’d like it deeper, richer, paler, or not at all. If you live with other people, make sure they like the colors you’re choosing. Take your time. When chosen well, colors add a powerful healing quality to your home.

When working with the Bagua Map, use the color associations that you find appealing. Don’t feel pressured to use black to enhance your Career area, or red to bolster your Fame and Reputation area unless you like these colors. Any color enhances the Ch’i if it inspires you each time you see it.