7 things that are considered good fengshui in your house

If you believe in fengshui, you'd know how important it is when buying a house. Even if you're selling your house, knowing what is good fengshui in your unit will help you to market it better to prospective buyers. 

For the uninitiated, fengshui is the spatial arrangement and orientation of your home so that there is an optimal flow of positive energy (also known as qi) in your house. This will help you in various aspects of your life such as wealth, health, career, love, relationships and more. 

So, how to spot good fengshui? Here are seven things that are considered good fengshui in a property. 

1. Having an ideal kitchen layout

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your house as it's the main place where you prepare food to feed the whole family. Hence, good fengshui in the kitchen would positively impact your family's health and wealth. 

One good sign of fengshui is when the stove is not directly opposite the sink. The stove is regarded as a fire element while the sink is regarded as a water element.

Hence, placing them opposite each other will be conflicting and may cause quarrels and tension between family members.

The position of the kitchen in the house is also an important factor for good fengshui. Generally, a good layout would have the kitchen in the south or southwest corners of the house based on the ba gua (energy map).

Fengshui relies on the ba gua which divides the house into nine sectors, each relating to a certain aspect of your life like wealth and prosperity, love, health and so on. 

The kitchen should also not be at the centre of the house too as it symbolises "fire attacking the heart". The fire represents the stove in the house while the heart refers to the centre of the house. This might cause bad luck and health issues. 

2. Main door is not facing the kitchen 

The main door of a house is important in determining good or bad fengshui as it's where the qi enters. So it's important that it is in the right location and facing the right direction. 

A sign of good fengshui is if the main door is not facing the kitchen. 

A rule of thumb is that the kitchen door or stove cannot form a straight line with the front door. The "fire" energy of the kitchen will clash with the qi entering the house.

Some of the negative effects of having such an arrangement are health problems, financial problems, disharmony or even freak accidents. 

An example of good fengshui can be seen in this three-bedroom dual-key floor plan from new launch boutique condo, Enchante. There is a divider between the entrance and the kitchen and the entrance to the kitchen is from the living/dining area. 

3. Front door is not facing the lift and staircase

If your front door is not facing the lift and staircase, it's a good sign.

The opening and closing of the lift door has been likened to a tiger opening its mouth and getting ready for its next meal. If your front door faces the lift, it might cause disharmony, fights and accidents in the family. 

Although this is not a common belief shared by all fengshui masters, there's also a practical reason. If your front door is facing the lift, there will be no privacy. 

The front door should also not face the staircase. It is believed that if the front door faces a flight of steps, the energy will constantly flow out of your house and move downwards. This indicates financial loss as it's easier for your wealth to "roll" down the stairs. 

4. Bathrooms are properly positioned

Bathrooms are a spot in the house where a lot of water is coming in and out. The "water" element in fengshui is related to wealth. So, if your bathroom is positioned wrongly, it signifies flushing your wealth down the drain. 

One thing to avoid is having the bathroom door directly opposite the front door. Similar to the kitchen, having this arrangement would cause qi entering the house to go straight into the bathroom and be flushed away. 

Another sign of good fengshui is that the toilet should be positioned at the perimeter of the unit and share an "external wall" of the unit. 

As you can see in this unit layout of Enchante, all the toilets in the bathrooms are placed against an external wall. Although the common bathroom, Bath 2, is located near the front door, the developer has ensured that the bathroom's entrance is not directly opposite the main entrance. 

5. Doors are not facing neighbour directly

If you see houses where the front doors are not facing each other, it's a sign of good fengshui. If your main entrance is directly facing your neighbour's, there will be an exchange of energy between both units, resulting in more conflicts and arguments. 

Besides fengshui, it also makes sense not to have your front door facing your neighbour's unit as it would mean less privacy. 

However, as residential units are compact these days, this might be hard to avoid. What you can do is to hang a ba gua mirror on top of your door to mitigate the negative effects. 

6. House is facing an open space 

If your house has open and unblocked views, it is great for fengshui as it symbolises the red phoenix, one of the four guardians of fengshui. 

The red phoenix stands for inspiration and openness to new ideas and opportunities. Hence, having unblocked views and open spaces would help to facilitate a smooth flow of energy without any conflict. If your unit faces a tall building or a hill, this might potentially obstruct the flow of energy. 

Condos and HDBs built around parks and nature reserves generally have stacks facing unblocked views and open spaces. An example is Clover by the Park which has one block facing Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Another project that's also facing the park is Bishan Park Condo.

Similarly, other parks with several condos around them are Dairy Farm Nature Park, Bedok Reservoir Park and Jurong Lake Gardens. 

7. House is not located near an expressway or major road

Most buyers would want to avoid getting a house near an expressway or a major road because of the traffic noise and dust. But another factor for not purchasing such a home is due to fengshui. 

In fengshui, the flow of traffic is compared to the flow of the river and roads bring energy to your home.

Hence, a slow-moving and meandering river is more auspicious than a straight and fast-moving river. That's why houses located on quieter roads or smaller lanes will have more positive energy than those located on busier roads. 

We hope we've given you a better idea of how to spot good fengshui in a house. Whether you're purchasing or selling a house, the layout, direction of the doors and where the unit is facing matters.

ALSO READ: Mistakes first-time homebuyers usually make – and how to avoid them

This article was first published in 99.co.