THE MODERN DRAGON FENG SHUI

Guide to Colouring Your Home or Business with Feng Shui

One of the most impactful ways to infuse Feng Shui principles into your living space is through the strategic use of colour. By combining general insights from the colour wheel theory, the Feng Shui Bagua map, and colour psychology (see dedicated post on this topic), you can paint your living space with intention, creating an environment that nurtures the physical and emotional well-being of occupants. 

How do you intentionally choose colours for your living spaces?

Desired Mood and Atmosphere 

The first step in choosing colours for your home or business is to consider the mood and atmosphere you want to create in each room. Are you looking for a room that energises or calms?

• Warm Colours are generally known for their energising and stimulating qualities. They can promote feelings of warmth, passion, and vitality, making them ideal for social spaces like living rooms, dining areas, and productive areas in business.
• Cool Colours evoke a sense of calmness, serenity, and relaxation. They are well-suited for bedrooms, bathrooms, meditation areas and staff rooms where you want to encourage rest and rejuvenation.
• Neutral Colours provide a versatile backdrop that can complement any colour scheme. They create a sense of balance and neutrality, allowing other colours to shine while promoting a feeling of spaciousness and tranquillity.

How to Tell if a Colour is Warm or Cool

Warm colours typically include hues like red, yellow, and orange, while cool colours encompass shades such as blue, green, and violet. However, subtle variations exist that blur these distinctions, leading to warm-leaning blues and cool-leaning greens. For instance, a lush olive green may contain more yellow undertones, giving it a warmer feel, whereas a magenta red tinged with violet may possess more blue undertones, rendering it cooler in tone. Observe a colour's underlying tones to discern whether it is warm or cool. If the undertones tend towards yellow, the colour is considered warm; conversely, if they lean towards blue, the colour is classified as cool. Another way to observe is to look at the colour and ask yourself if it makes you feel cold or warm. Rooms painted in warm colours (red, yellow, orange) are perceived as 3-4°C warmer than they actually are, according to a study on the "Relationship Between Colour and Emotion" (by Kaya, N., & Epps, H. H. (2004). College Student Journal, 38(3), 396-405,)

Is the room balanced?

In creating a harmonious room, it's important to consider how well-proportioned the room is in relation to its inhabitants. For example, a bed in a big room may lack the cosy, relaxing, cocoon-like feeling that smaller spaces often provide. Some individuals may find it more challenging to create a sense of intimacy and comfort or can induce a feeling of loneliness in a large bedroom, which could affect their ability to relax and unwind before sleep. The same can be applied to business; a single desk in a big room might induce feelings of isolation, detachment or loneliness.

• For large rooms that need to feel cosy, a darker palette is best 
• For small rooms that need to feel expansive, best to opt for a lighter pallet

Mapping Your Space with the Bagua

The Bagua Map is a Feng Shui tool that divides your home into nine energy centres, known as guas, each associated with a specific life area. By aligning your colour choices with the corresponding guas on the Bagua Map, you can enhance the energy flow and balance in your home:

Career & Life Journey (North): 

• Black or dark blue hues can promote a sense of stability, focus, and ambition in your career endeavours.

Knowledge & Self Cultivation (Northeast): 

•  Blue or dark purple tones can encourage wisdom, learning, and personal growth in your intellectual pursuits.

Family & Community (East): 

• Green or brown colours symbolise harmony, growth, and stability in your familial relationships and home life.

Wealth & Prosperity (Southeast):

• Purple, red, or gold hues symbolise abundance, prosperity, and success in your financial pursuits.

Health & Self Love  (South): 

• Red or vibrant colours promote vitality, energy, and well-being in your physical and emotional health.

Love & Relationships (Southwest): 

• Pink or white shades foster love, harmony, and connection in romantic and familial relationships.

Creativity & Children (West):  

• White or metallic colours represent creativity, inspiration, and joy in your artistic pursuits and relationships with children.

Choosing a Balanced Ratio of Colours For Your Living Spaces

1. Start with a Colour Palette: Decide on a colour palette that reflects the intended style, whether the room needs to feel cosy or expansive (darker colours or light colours), what energetic areas you are looking to enhance (via the Bagua) and what mood you want to create in each room (calm or energised). 
2. Choose a Dominant Colour: Select a dominant colour that will set the tone for the room. This colour can be used on larger surfaces like walls, rugs, or large furniture pieces. This should make up about 60% of the room's colour.
3. Choose a Secondary Colour (optional): Introduce a secondary colour to complement the dominant colour and to add visual interest. A secondary colour represents 30% of the room's colour.
4. Add Accent Colours: Accent colours can be used on smaller elements such as throw pillows, curtains, artwork, or decorative accessories. An accent colour represents 10% of the room's colour.

Applying the Colour Wheel Theory for Choosing Secondary Colours and Accents

The colour wheel is a valuable tool that can help you create harmonious colour schemes by understanding the relationships between different hues. There are six different types of ways to use the colour wheel; however, the most harmonious approaches are:

• Analogous Colours: Analogous colours are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel, such as blue, green, and teal. They share similar undertones and create a sense of harmony and cohesion when used together. Experiment with analogous colour schemes to create a unified look throughout your home.
• Complementary Colours: Colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as blue and orange or red and green, create a dynamic contrast when used together. Consider using complementary colours to add visual interest and balance to your space.

Trust your Instincts. 

Don't forget to include your own judgment when it comes to balance. Trust your gut feeling. If something feels off, it likely needs adjustment.

Software to Help You Choose Colours 

www.visualizecolor.com / Visualise colours on your walls.

www.dulux.co.uk / Digital view of paints on your walls via the new 'Visualizer App'. 

www.ikea.com / 'Ikea Place' helps you view their products in your room.

What Type of Paints to Buy 

• Toxic Free / No Volatile Organic Compound
• Electro Magnetic Field Shielding Paint  

See the 'How to Reduce Toxicity in Living Spaces' post for more about toxic-free paints. 

Choosing Specicifc Colours Using Psychology

The next step is to consider how colour psychology affects our emotions. Our reaction to colour is instantaneous and profoundly impacts our choices. General responses to colours are based on research, the historical significance of colour, word association studies, and cultural significance. 

RED

The colour red is strongly linked with two very opposite emotions:

1. Love - red roses, rosy red lips, red hearts, sexy red dress. 
2. Aggression - seeing red, red in the face, fast red sports car, red power.

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Increases enthusiasm
• Stimulates energy and can increase the blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat, and pulse rate
• Encourages action and confidence
• Provides a sense of protection from fears and anxiety.

ORANGE

Fun and flamboyant orange radiates warmth and energy. There is usually a strong positive or negative association with orange, and true orange generally elicits a stronger love-it-or hate-it response than other colours. 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Stimulates activity. 
• Stimulates appetite. 
• Encourages socialisation. 
• Increase creativity. 
• Increases libido and fertility

YELLOW

Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness.  Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colours, instil optimism and energy, and spark creative thoughts. 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Stimulates mental processes. 
• Stimulates the nervous system. 
• Activates memory. 
• Encourages communication. 
• Increases joy and can be very soothing. 
• Empowers us and supports us with our purpose. 

GREEN

The natural greens, from forest to lime, are seen as tranquil and refreshing, with a natural balance of cool and warm (blue and yellow) undertones. Green is considered the colour of peace and ecology. However, there is an institutional side to greens, associated with illness, government, and military, that conjures up negative emotions, as do the slimy greens. 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Soothes 
• Relaxes mentally, as well as physically. 
• Helps alleviate depression, nervousness, and anxiety. 
• Offers a sense of renewal, self-control, and harmony. 
• It’s also the colour of growing abundance. 

BLUE

Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable, and committed. The colour of the ocean and sky, blue, is perceived as a constant in our lives. It invokes rest and can cause the body to produce calming chemicals; however, not all blues are serene and sedate. Electric or brilliant blues become dynamic and dramatic; some shades of blue may come across as cold or uncaring. 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Calms and sedates. 
• Cools 
• Aids intuition 
• Assists with communication and speaking our truth. 
• Supports in business as blue is the colour

INDIGO 

Indigo, a deeper blue, symbolises a mystical borderland of wisdom, self-mastery, and spiritual realisation. So, while blue is typically the colour of communication with others, indigo turns the blue inward to increase personal thought, profound insights, and instant understandings. Blue is the least gender-specific colour, having equal appeal to both men and women. 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Calms and sedates. 
• Cools 
• Aids intuition 
• Great colour to have in a yoga/meditation room.  

PURPLE

Purple embodies mysticism and royal qualities; purple is a colour often well-liked by very creative or eccentric types. It is not so good for the bedroom; it can lead to sexual frustration 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Uplifts 
• Calms the mind and nerves 
• Offers a sense of spirituality. 
• Encourages creativity 

BROWN

Brown says stability, reliability, and approachability. It is the colour of our earth and is associated with all things natural or organic. 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Feeling of wholesomeness 
• Stability 
• Connection with the earth 
• Offers a sense orderliness 
• Great colour for the bedroom 

WHITE

White projects purity, cleanliness, and neutrality. It is the absence of colour. Doctors wear white coats, brides traditionally wear white gowns and a white picket fence  surrounds a safe and happy home.  

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Aids mental clarity 
• Encourages us to clear clutter or obstacles 
• Evokes purification of thoughts or actions 
• Enables fresh beginnings 
• Fertility 

GREY

Grey is timeless, practical, and solid. A longstanding favourite suit colour, grey can mix well with any colour. Although well-liked and often worn, people rarely name grey as a favourite colour, possibly because some shades are also associated with old age, death, taxes, depression or loss. 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Unsettling 
• Expectant  

BLACK

Black is authoritative and powerful but can evoke strong emotions; too much can be overwhelming. A classic colour for clothing, possibly because it makes the wearer appear thinner and more sophisticated. In the Western hemisphere, black is also associated with grieving. 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Feeling inconspicuous 
• A restful emptiness 
• Mysteriously evoking a sense of potential and possibility 
• Protection 

PINK

Pink is the most calming of all colours. Brighter pinks are youthful, fun, and exciting, while vibrant pinks have the same high energy as red; they are sensual and passionate. without being too aggressive. Toning down the passion of red with the purity of white results in the softer pinks that are associated with romance and the blush of a young woman's cheeks. 

Mental & Physical Reactions:

• Bright pinks, like the colour red, stimulate energy and can increase blood. 
• pressure, respiration, heartbeat, and pulse rate. 
• Encourages action and confidence. 
• Bring out feminine qualities.