Feng Shui and TV … in the Bedroom?

Take a look at this beautiful, custom master bed by Pagomo Designs.  Attractive and soothing curved shelves and drawers are built into a firm yet inviting headboard.  The footboard contains a lift for a flat screen TV.  The bed is perfect for this bedroom, and the rest of the space you can see in the picture is also stunning.  The headboard is against an unbroken wall nestled between columns of stone.  The wood floor and rugs add a warm tone.  Watch the bedroom slideshow on the Pagomo Designs website and you’ll see the bed faces stunning wall-to-wall windows.  (Seen enough? Contact artisan Alexander Ross and commission your own custom bedroom furniture).

Master Bed by Pagomo Designs at CustomMade.com

But how’s the feng shui of this bedroom arrangement?

Feng shui is a traditional Chinese approach to determining the most auspicious orientations and arrangements of buildings, rooms, and furniture.  There are many different schools, philosophies, and interpretations of this practice.  According to interior designer and feng shui consultant Jenny Nakao Hones, who frequently and lucidly discusses the topic of feng shui in her insightful blog, Asian Lifestyle Design, the bedroom is a “yin” space, “a passive, restful area where one can easily relax and unwind allowing replenishment of qi or energy, after a full day.”  What’s the ideal placement for a bed, according to the Form School of feng shui?

The ideal placement of the bed is with the headboard against a solid wall.  A solid wall means a wall without openings, such as windows or doors.  This is the most preferable position, but sometimes the design of the room does not allow this.  In such cases, do not fret about it.  If there is a window above the bed, see if you can cover it using blinds or other window coverings. … While lying in bed, you should be able to see the openings, doors and windows, of the room.  Having full visibility of who is entering the room without having to turn or change position allows one to be in full command of the space.  This affects your qi which leads to a relaxed mental state, contributing to better sleep.

So far, so good.  From this bed, one would have a great view of the openings into this room.

Interior design blogger KristenM, writing for the Interior New York blog, has this to say about feng shui bedroom arrangement:

The bedroom is your sanctuary, so peaceful chi is important.  Use a strong headboard to ensure that your chi is protected while you sleep.  Never place a mirror across from the bed and avoid your bedroom doubling as an office with computers or televisions in it. Work furniture and accessories need to be separated so that you can promote rest.  A bedside table on either side of the bed promotes stability.

Strong headboard? Check.  No TV? … Uh oh.

Is the lift TV cabinet truly a problem if you want to have an auspicious feng shui bedroom design?

The distinction of rooms into predominantly “yin” or “yang” categories is difficult to achieve, let alone maintain, in many contemporary American households.  How many of us have TVs in the bedroom?  If you think those TVs are problematic for a feng shui arrangement, how many us have taken laptops and smart phones into the bedroom?  How about into bed?  While master bedroom designs in general may cling tenuously to the “peaceful sanctuary” ideal, children’s bedrooms are especially prone to having multiple modes: rest space, work space, play space, hiding space, etc.  Indeed, U.S. home life is trending towards multi-purpose rooms and multi-functional furniture.  Setting aside concepts of yin and yang for the moment, familiar distinctions between “home” and “work” spaces are increasingly disappearing, whether by design or by the ever-increasing mobility of technology.

So, is East East and West West and never the twain shall meet?

Not necessarily.  Whether you have multi-purpose spaces in your home by choice, necessity, or fiat, you can still find a path to practical feng shui solutions.  Jenny Nakao Hones observes that, while the homes of the 70s and 80s typically divided kitchens, living rooms, and dining rooms into separate rooms, contemporary homes generally have a “great room” that incorporates these areas, which effectively becomes the living space of the home.  This is a “yang” space of great activity, but it can be subdivided into zones based on the specific type of activities most typical in a given area with décor, furniture, and arrangement options.

If you find parting with your bedroom TV too much to sacrifice for feng shui, here is a suggestion: hide it when not in use.  Create temporal zones if you can’t create spatial zones.  A TV lift cabinet, built into a footboard or console, is one option.  Freestanding or built-in cabinets that close to conceal the cyclops box are other choices.  You can have a custom entertainment center built that will fit your bedroom’s style and provide a peaceful visual respite when the TV is off, like this traditional style, maple wall unit entertainment center cabinet by Martin Roy of Artisan Woodworking.  Contact Martin and discuss how you want your custom TV cabinet to fit into your overall bedroom design.

Wall Unit Entertainment Center Cabinet by Artisan Woodworking at CustomMade.com

Not sure how to conceptualize your bedroom layout in feng shui terms?  Check out Jenny’s discussion of the symbolism behind the four natural features of “mountains, hills, flat land, and water” and how you can find correlations in your bedroom floor plan to these features.  Let this approach inspire you to think of how your dream custom bedroom should look and how it should make you feel.  Whether you’re in the market for specific pieces or an entire suite, you can reach bedroom furniture makers interested in bringing your project to life when you post your feng shui inspired ideas on our CustomMade “Get it Made” job board.