Living Rooms and Feng Shui
In feng shui, each room has a different meaning and association that is based on its mundane uses, location, and its energetic connections to certain aspects of our lives. If you think about your living room and even the name “living room,” what images or ideas come up for you? The living room, of course, is a room where we live. In our modern homes, our living rooms tends to serve as a place to connect with the members of our household and family, as well as areas where we greet and welcome guests into our homes. You may also spend downtime relaxing in your living room, whether you’re reading a book or having a conversation with a family member. These practical uses of living rooms have a lot to do with the meaning of living rooms in feng shui. From a feng shui perspective, the living room really represents a place to gather.
Color and Feng Shui
Color is a powerful tool that you can use to change the feng shui or the life energy of your home, especially your living room. As humans, most of us are very connected to and affected by color. Color is a form of light, and different colors have distinct vibrations and associations. In feng shui, we often use the five element color theory to give insight on the best colors for a particular person and situation. The five elements system that we work with in feng shui comes from Taoism. The five elements are earth, metal, water, wood, and fire, and each one is connected to certain types of energy, as well as specific colors. When you do have an aspiration to improve the feng shui of your living room, you can think about what colors may embody certain energies that you’d like to cultivate in your life, based on their connection to the five elements. It’s also a good idea to be aware of which colors make you feel good, and which ones you tend to gravitate towards. For instance, there may be a color that you dislike or one that brings up negative memories for you. Even if it is connected to a certain intention you want to bring forth, that doesn’t mean it’s the best feng shui color for you. There are many ways to bring color into your home. You can paint the walls or your furniture, or you can add color in smaller ways, like artwork, vases, accent pillows, or other decor items. If you’re feeling creative, you may even want to DIY some art for your space.
The Best Colors for Your Living Room
Here are a few suggestions for colors you may want to bring into your living room and what they represent:
Earth Element Colors
Earth is connected to brown, yellow, and warm earthy tones. These colors can be especially supportive for a living room because they’re very nourishing colors. Earth helps to ground, stabilize, and provide coziness, which are all positive attributes for a living space. Bringing more earth element into your home can also help you to connect more with the earth.
Metal Element Colors
Metal is represented by whites, metallics, off-whites, and grays. These are great colors to bring into a living room because they can complement many other colors. On a practical level, they help reflect more light into a space. Energetically, the metal element is related to bringing more joy into your life, and it also supports any children in your family.
Water Element Colors
The water element is related to black and deep charcoal gray. Water is connected to our wisdom, as well as our ancestors and social connections. If you want to connect more to your community, you can bring in accents of black or dark charcoal to invite in more water element qualities. As you do this, you may also want to visualize or imagine that you are creating flowing rivers that connect you to other people in the world.
Wood Element Colors
Wood is connected to the colors green, blue, and teal, and it’s related to the qualities of growth, vitality, and healing. If your family or your living space could use more healing or uplifting energy, you may want to try adding wood element colors.
Fire Element Colors
The fire element is represented by red, as well as very fiery pinks and oranges. It’s related to the very strong, bright, and vibrant energy of the sun. Fire is also connected to our inspiration and how we’re seen in the world. If you’d like to be more visible in your community, you can bring in fiery red accents. Red is a powerful color, so a little goes a long way.
