How to Use Color for Good Feng Shui

Color is one of the easiest ways to apply feng shui principles to your home. It also happens to be one of the most effective feng shui adjustments because humans are highly visual. Light and color are what our vision is all about, so why not use them to support and inspire what we want to cultivate in our lives?

Here are some suggestions on how you can select colors for good feng shui.

Colors inspired by the feng shui bagua areas

The feng shui bagua map has nine life areas that have each have a different color association. 

• We recommend that you select no more than three life areas you want to enhance.
• Find the related color(s).
• Then, locate the feng shui bagua area in your home or bedroom and use the color(s) in the corresponding area(s).

Here’s an image of the feng shui bagua energy map. See below for a description of each of the bagua life areas and colors.

Zhen: Family & New Beginnings

• Green, Blue, and Teal
• Family harmony, energy to start new projects, and upward growth

Xun: Wealth & Abundance

• Purple
• Financial prosperity, self-worth, and manifesting abundance

Tai Qi: The Center & Health

• Earth Tones, Yellow, and Brown
• Grounding, creating a heart-center, and boundaries

This peaceful and healing combination of blues and grays invite family harmony and support.

Qian: Helpful People & Travel

• Gray
• Benefactors, support, and exploration of new places and ideas

Dui: Children & Completion

• White
• Inviting joy, completion of projects, and clarified action

Gen: Knowledge & Self-Cultivation

• Dark Blue and Indigo
• Cultivates inward expansion, increases your skillfulness, and magnifies spiritual growth

Li: Fame & Reputation

• Red
• Ignites your passion, inspires activity, and opens your heart to the world

Black accents can be used to invite a flow of friendships and clarify your path in life.

Kan: Career & Path in Life

• Black
• Expands your social circle, deepens wisdom, and can show your your path in life.

The soft, feminine energy of pink can attract a partnership if you are single.

Kun: Love & Partnerships

• Pink
• Invites a new relationship, encourages softness and understanding, and heals the heart

Call in the energy of the five elements

The five elements is a system that is the foundation of feng shui and other Asian modalities. There’s a few ways you can use this ancient wisdom to select the best feng shui colors for your home.

Quickly ask yourself, if I could vacation in any of these five places, which would be the most healing for me? First thought, best thought.

1. Taking a cooking and wine tour in Tuscany, Italy.
2. Looking out the window of the penthouse of a modern skyscraper, in the middle of a bustling cosmopolitan city.
3. Swimming in a deep, dark, cool, and still lake.
4. Hiking in a lush bamboo forest, surrounded by tall trees all around you.
5. Sunbathing on a hot summer day at the beach.

And based on that, here’s the element that is nourishing for you:

1. earth
2. metal
3. water
4. wood
5. fire

• Look at what element is the most nourishing for you at this time.
• We recommend that you select no more than one that you want to enhance.
• Use the color in any or all the rooms in your home.

Earth: Self-care and boundaries

Earth Tones, Yellow, Orange, and Brown

Metal: Joy, beauty, and precision 

White, Grays, and Metallics

Water: Deep wisdom and connecting to the world

Black and Midnight Blue

Wood: Growth, healing, and vitality

Colors: Green, Blue, and Teal

Fire: Passion, inspiration, and visibility

Colors: Red and Fiery Oranges

You can also use all the five elements to balance them for harmony. That would mean at least a little bit of each element color. This image is a great example of all the five elements.

Colors informed by what you’re attracted to!

We’re back to first thought best thought... You can also tap into your intuition, as you can be your own healer. Listen to what you’re most attracted to right now. Then, that’s the color for you. See what that means above, and the information may be helpful now or be more apparent later. 

Red is one of the most powerful colors, so you only need to use a little bit and you'll still get a big effect!

Now what do you do with the feng shui inspired color(s) you’ve selected? 

Here are some ways you can bring in the color:

• Paint the walls
• Paint the front door
• Bring in new accessories like pillows, throw blanket or objects
• Artwork with the color, you can even make your own with a blank canvas and some paint
• Find a crystal with the color
• Bring in fresh flowers that match your color
• Refresh objects in your home with paint or adding a ribbon of the desired color