The past three articles have introduced you to some easy Feng shui “cures” for your home.   Introducing balance in the first article and the options available through placement of plants and mirrors have helped you see that these small changes can make a big difference in your Oconee County home.

Let’s move to a larger challenge.  Let’s talk about your bedroom.

Grandma always used to tell me, “Don’t sleep with your feet pointing out the door or that’s how they’ll carry you out when you are dead!”   I don’t know where a tiny southern Woodland, Georgia woman got such a notion, but it turns out that rule is a Feng shui principal and one of the most practiced applications.

Here are a few quick tips for arranging your bedroom in a Feng shui-correct manner:

• It’s best to have the head of your bed supported by a solid wall directly behind you.
• If you have a bathroom connected to your bedroom, it’s best to leave the door shut.  Remember what Dr. Pan told me about “flushing your good fortune down the toilet”?
• Here’s the most important rule of feng shui ANYWHERE in the home, but most especially the bedroom: CLEAR OUT CLUTTER!  Don’t have clothes and junk piled all over the room and don’t store stuff under your bed! Feng Shui cures  most often compare with common sense in your décor.  To have your bedroom be serene, clean, and calm is going to provide you with a more restful feeling as it represents what is inside your mind.  If there is clutter in your mind, you know how hard it is to sleep. 
• Dr. Pan also told me (imagine the strong Thai accent in his voice)  “NO TV IN BEDROOM!  Bedroom for sleeping and….making looove!” he said.  Television in the bedroom has become an American standard, but I always encourage my clients not to have a television in the bedroom.  It not only puts out electronic clutter but the constant noise squelches all possibility for calm and serenity.  If you enjoy catching the weather or the news while you get dressed for work, put a tiny television or radio in the bathroom if you must...but try, really try, to make that morning routine be calmer and more relaxing as you get ready for your day.  You can always flip on the TV once you get to the kitchen for breakfast, or listen to the weather report in your car en route to work.  Keep your bedroom area sacred and peaceful.
• One of the best and least expensive ways to create serenity in your bedroom along with furniture placement  is to choose colors in paint or wallpaper and bedding that make you feel restful when you look at it.   No matter what the color is, as long as it seems restful to you, that’s the color you should choose.  If a dark red or burgundy with rich golds and blacks on your bedding feels luxurious and restful to you, go for it.  If soft blue or green make a calm wash over you, choose those colors.  If a Victorian rosy pink makes you want to curl up for a nap, that’s your color.   Many children’s rooms have bright walls, and that’s okay, but at night soften the color with closed shades or drapes and a tiny nightlight, so that the color changes to a more serene tone.

These are just a few tips to get you started.  Have fun seeking your own information on Feng shui through books, videos, and even software, or just use the tips I’ve given you here and you will see a big difference in your sleeping space. And who knows where else a good nights sleep might lead (wink)!