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First, FengShui "colors" are designed to "activate" the Five Elements that are included in the primary FengShui tool, the Bagua map.
We can apply color to "activate" any of the Bagua areas and, in fact, changing the wall colors in a room to harmonize with the corresponding Five Elements color is the fastest way to change the energy to a more positive and nourishing space. To get the most out of your color picks always begin with:
1) Function of room;
2) Color palettes you love;
3) Bagua location of room to be painted;
4) Bagua Area element and corresponding "activating" colors; and
5) Color Journal no more than 2-3 options to pick a final winner.
It's important to note first how you and your family use a room and how it functions in the household before picking a color. Obviously, the function of the master bedroom is very different from that of a dining room, with the master cultivating ease of sleep, resting and intimacy, while a dining room is more about activity, entertaining and lively Qi-filled food. So master bedroom color picks should not be too "active" or yang. Painting the master or any bedroom walls red, for example, is a Feng Shui no-no. Be thoughtful about the actual function of the room you want to paint.
Consider the color palettes you absolutely love and ideas that you would be comfortable with in your own master. Even if you don't know the exact colors you want, the more you can research ideas and begin to narrow down your options by first acknowledging what colors would make you happiest. Maybe you don't really know what colors you like. Sometimes, it's "anything but what we have currently" so that's okay, too, since this process will allow you to decide later.
Next we map the Bagua over your home to learn the Bagua location of the master bedroom. For our purposes, we will say it's located in the "Relationship" area (far right from front door) which is indeed an ideal placement. The "Relationship" area is linked to the specific earth-element colors that include pink, earthy skin-tones, and white.
Once you have decided on two or three workable colors for your master, it's important to understand how a small color swatch will look very different on walls.
Getting started:
1) If you have a partner, be sure to include them in this process. Simply purchase sample sizes of your top 2-3 picks and create 1-foot by 1-foot "brush-outs" on small-medium poster boards that you can move around. You can create two sets of poster boards, if you like.
2) Label the paint color brush-outs. Three of my favorites for Master Bedrooms in the Relationship Bagua area are: BM Proposal AF-260; BM Hush AF-95; and BM White Dove OC-17.
3) Keep track of your impressions of your colors picks in a "color journal" - any notebook will do fine. Again, write down and label brush-outs Color No. 1, 2 and 3.
4) Look at your color picks in the morning, at noon and at night since different times of the day provide varying natural light, and make sure you do this in the actual room you are painting!
5) Simultaneously, place the brush outs on the wall with the most light (opposite windows) and also on the walls that are the darkest (walls with windows). Move the brush outs around, too (that second set of brush outs is very handy now).
6) Record your impressions, for example, it's less brown that I thought or it has more green or is too light or too dark, etc.
7) Review your color journal after three days. Be mindful and notice if there is one color that you and your partner have begun to gravitate toward. Is there one color that emerges as the "one" you prefer during more times of the day, and that also works well on your well-lit and dark walls?
At the end of this process the final color you choose will have the added assurance that you did a bit more of the thoughtful work upfront. This will help you to "know" it's the color that works best for you and this color selection process will help you avoid second-guessing your choice later, when it's on all four walls! This is an ideal outcome since you will sleep better in the color you picked over time, and which is also perfect timing, for sleeping longer and lingering in these late Autumn days.
Reach the reporter at:
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA