Five Feng Shui Tips for Your Small Home
Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash
If you think you can’t apply feng shui to your space because you live in a small space, think again! Whether you live in a studio apartment, a tiny house with roommates, or a huge palatial home, the same feng shui principles apply. In fact, we would argue that in a small home, you can create even more energetically efficient spaces using feng shui. In this post, we’re sharing five of our favorite feng shui tips for small spaces.
Consider your entryway.
In feng shui, the front door and main entrance to your home is called the mouth of qi because this is where most of the energy enters into your space. In smaller homes, the front door often enters directly into a kitchen or living room, and there might not be a defined entryway space. This means that qi is flowing directly into these spaces without having a chance to come in and get settled before it begins moving throughout your home. The solution we suggest is to do your best with the space you have to create a defined entry. You can do this by giving the qi cues as to where to go. Think about how guests will enter your space: what will someone experience as they come towards the door and into your home?
One way to define your front door is to paint it a contrasting color, if you can. Listen to this podcast episode if you need some help choosing a color. You could even paint the inside of the door if you don’t have control over the outside. You can also use a doormat or small area rug outside the door as well as inside, which creates an area for energy to land. Also, think about the walls in this part of your home: strategically adding a mirror can help to create a more expansive feeling. In small spaces, it can be helpful to include a mirror with a small ledge underneath where you can place your keys or a small plant. If you have space, you could even think about adding a room divider or folding screen to create even more separation between your entryway and the rest of your home.
Create defined spaces.
Similar to using a divider to establish a foyer space, it can be helpful to create separation between different parts of your home to create a balance of yin and yang energy. Yang spaces in your home are the more active, public areas like your living room, entryway, and office. Yin spaces are more passive, restful, and private; these include your bedroom and bathroom. In small homes, these areas are often very close to each other, which can be a challenge.
There are several ways to create more separation between different areas in your home. You can use freestanding folding screens, curtains, or even bookshelves to physically and energetically define different spaces. Rugs are another great way to ground an area and create visually separate areas. Even strategically placed plants can create a visual and energetic barrier between different parts of your home.
Nurture yourself with a dining area.
In feng shui, the dining table represents friendships as well as your health. In small homes, it’s often not possible to have a separate dining area, so many people end up eating at their desk, in front of the TV, or even in bed. However, we would encourage you to carve out a small place where you can practice mindful eating and really focus on the meal in front of you. This could be a small table and a couple of chairs, or even a folding table that can be tucked away when not in use. At the very least, try putting away your devices for a little while, setting the intention to nurture yourself, and creating a beautiful little place setting for your meal, even if the only surface available to you is a kitchen counter or coffee table.
Set up a sleeping area.
Your sleeping area should be your tiny sanctuary! Going back to our point about yin and yang spaces, it’s really important that the space where you’re sleeping is primarily yin, because if it’s too yang, this can affect your sleep. This is especially important to consider if you tend to have trouble winding down at night. When it comes to your bedroom, we recommend following all of our usual feng shui tips, like putting your bed in command if you can, or correcting this with a mirror. If you’re not sure of the best location for your bed, check out this podcast episode. Also, try to have a little bit of space on each side of the bed if you can. Your bed also has a yin side and a yang side, and having some room on both sides can help create more balance between these aspects of your life.
When you live in a small home, storage space can be hard to come by, so we understand if you need to store things under your bed. If you are using this area for storage, we recommend sticking to soft and energetically neutral items, like linens, towels, blankets, and maybe out-of-season clothing. It’s best to avoid things that are active, like books or shoes, and anything that’s emotionally charged.
We also recommend creating some visual separation between your sleep area and your work area, using the techniques we mentioned above. When you work from home and don’t have much separation between work and sleep, these areas of your life can start to bleed into each other — you might feel like you’re working all the time, or maybe you feel sleepy while you’re trying to work! If you can see your desk or work area from your bed, do your best to create more visual separation between the two. If you don’t have room to move your furniture around or add something that physically defines these spaces, you can even create a sense of separation by powering off your laptop at the end of the day, putting it away in a drawer, and covering your desk with a beautiful scarf or piece of fabric.
Understand the power of good lighting.
Light, especially natural light, is very healing. When you live in a small space, maximizing light can bring the energy up and create a more expansive feeling, both visually and energetically. If you live somewhere with good natural light and you have windows, choose window treatments that allow you to control the incoming light. Ideally, you should be able to make the room dark when it’s time for sleep, and let light in during the day.
If you have low natural light, consider choosing a white or pale color for the walls and ceiling. By simply painting these surfaces a light color, you create more opportunities for light to be reflected in your space. Well-placed mirrors can also bounce natural light around your space, making a room feel brighter and bigger. Having varying types of light is also helpful because you can turn different lights on and off to create different energetic feelings and make your space feel more expansive when you want. You can also consider adding uplighting, or light fixtures near the floor that shine light upwards, to lift the energy.
We hope this helps you feel empowered to create some supportive changes in your small home using feng shui principles. If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out our new book, Mindful Living: A Guide to the Everyday Magic of Feng Shui.