Feng Shui Your Bedroom

Feng shui -- which literally translates to "wind and water" -- is the ancient Chinese art of placement. Try these nine feng shui principles in your bedroom to promote rest and relaxation.

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Hide CaptionShow CaptionLocating the bed away from doors against a solid wall and headboard imparts a feeling of safety and security. Design by Shelly Riehl-David.

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2. Position Your Bed With Care

In feng shui, the "commanding position" for the bed is as far away from the bedroom door as possible, but which still allows you to keep an eye on the room's entrance. "This gives you a sense of safety and protection while you rest," says Jayme. The corner of the room diagonally opposite the door is usually best, since it distances you from the door while keeping the bed out of direct alignment with the room's opening, which is conducive to sleep, relaxation and healthy chi.

Other guidelines:

Try not to position your bed under the lower angle of a pitched ceiling, a ceiling fan or a heavy beam. These features are thought to contain "depressing energy" that literally pushes down on you while you sleep. If you have no choice, a bed canopy or lengths of fabric suspended from the ceiling or beams are believed to be feng shui "cures" for the problem.

Avoid positioning your bed under a window, which lacks the symbolic support and protection of a solid wall and can lead to fitful sleep as energy enters and exits through the window, David explains.

Headboards, especially solid ones made from wood, are considered good feng shui because they provide additional strength and support behind your head. Footboards, on the other hand, are seen as blocking forward progress in life.

Whatever you do, make sure your feet don't point out the door while in bed. In traditional Chinese culture, this is called the "Death Position" because the deceased are carried out feet first. Practitioners believe sleeping this way can drain your life force. If you can't avoid it, use a footboard or a substantial trunk or other piece of furniture at the foot of your bed to act as a buffer (this is the one exception to feng shui's normal "no footboard" rule). Finally, leave enough room around the bed for energy to flow freely, and for each partner to get up with ease.