LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Feng ShuiBring Balance to Your Home Office


A desk in the commanding position helps strengthen your office's feng shui.

With home offices common in many homes these days, what are the secrets to making a functional, well-designed, and highly creative space for your business? And what are common feng shui mistakes that many Bay Area entrepreneurs make when setting up an office at home?

I recently met with a Lamorinda client about this issue, and included a few of my client's questions, and my responses below:

Q: Should I work from my dining room or kitchen table?

A: Running your business from the dining room or kitchen table is less auspicious than designating a room to conduct your business. Using the dining room table for what it was intended and designed to do - gathering around to share celebratory food with family and friends - is ideal. A home office in this area can create unwanted untidiness in plain view, reduce privacy for sustained focus, and foster unwanted interruptions. Kitchens tend to be where the family congregates and can be noisy and chaotic, so they are typically not the best locations for setting up your home office. There is an inherent strength of placing your office in a strategic position of the Bagua, and it is also important to work from an actual desk and to pick a strong placement for your office desk. Your desk can be designed with flare and be creative and unconventional, but your work will have a different result when you have set aside a space specifically for that purpose versus a more temporary place like a dining room table. These considerations have a profound effect on whether or not your business thrives or not.

Q: Should I set up my desk and computer in my master bedroom?

A: In the bedroom we map everything back to the two R's - rest and romance. Both R's are considered more Ying or less active. Master bedrooms ideally are restful and serene and evoke a more Zen/yin-like quality, blended by specific serenity in our choices of color, lighting, art, bedding and a truly integrated design. Computers and work are much too Yang/active and are undesirable for the only room in which we are meant to power down our selves, recharge restfully with sleep and reconnect with our partners. Failing to honor and observe the main function of any room and engage in activities that the room is not primarily designed to support, is counter productive to the purpose of feng shui.

Q: Are plants a good idea in my home office?

A: Plants are an excellent addition to any space, they introduce live Qi and clean the air. Avoid spiky, prickly plants, unless you want that to be a dominant trait of your business. Fresh flowers are also worthy of a home office space and there are many reasonable options. Enjoy the fresh "blooming" Qi, allowing your business to blossom with delightful growth, solid financials, and harmonious, sweet smelling relationships.

Here are a few tips for setting up a home office with feng shui design principles in mind:

PLACEMENT ... First and foremost, if you are able, place the desk in the all-important commanding position - the furthest corner of room away from the door, but facing the door, with your back to a solid wall, not a window. Your back should not face the door either. This placement in many cases also allows for a view out a window, hopefully providing respite or inspiration. If your office easily accommodates the commanding position for the desk, place that piece of furniture first, then find place the other pieces. The commanding position is the single most important feature of any office with auspicious feng shui.

DE-CLUTTER ... Keep your desk from turning into a dumping ground. If you want to move forward with your business, clean your office and keep your desk as tidy as possible. It is a complete myth that "messy" desks are a sign of creative genius. Staying organized and on top of your business allows you to respond versus react to new opportunities. Remember the law of attraction: Chaos attracts more chaos.

LIGHTING ... Allow for full and proper illumination of the work you do in your home office by checking to make sure you have 100-watt bulbs, at a minimum. Use floor and desk lamps, and drum shades to effectively create a clean, updated, and crisp work environment while still remaining consistent with your home office location.

ART ... Fill your walls with inspiring pieces that remind you of the meaning of your work and what you share with the world. There are specific places for your credentials to be displayed, and apply the five elements (earth, fire, metal, water and wood) to create an additional level of vibrant energy in your environment.

DISTRACTIONS ... Remove as many reminders of home-based distractions as possible, with the intention to focus on your work even if your office is in your home. This will help so you are not constantly reminded of the distractions of home that may keep you from timely completion of tasks.