A reader asked the question: ” Hi Dana, I’m setting up a new office. Could you kindly give me some feng shui suggestions in order to bring in a lot of prosperity? I would really appreciate it if you could give me some tips on the decor, the wall hangings and the color I should use on the walls.”
Here’s my answer:
To get technical, what will be best for you as a working environment will be different for what is best for me, but here are a few overarching guidelines you can follow to set up your office.
1. Make sure that the desk commands the space. Its best to NOT have windows behind you, and always best to be commanding the space with your body facing the main entrance way.
2. SOLID furniture, the biggest you can fit without overcrowding, always wins over flimsy, too small or “patched together” furniture every day.
3. Color is a personal choice, but fire and wood promote activity and motivation. (Reds, oranges, pinks, greens)
4. Fresh foliage (houseplants, trees, a view of trees) provides a sense of growth.
5. A fish in a bowl swimming can always get the motion flowing and provide positive life force. Just please take good care of him!
6. Artwork should be empowering. Nothing too “high concept demolition” in terms of theme or materials in your art in an office, no matter what type of work you do. I once worked in a huge art gallery where you had to walk through a maze of very important artworks including a deadly bronze-cast tree that nearly blinded me three times, a piercing sword sculpture that could easily impale someone and a host of other works that screamed for your attention in an unsettling way. I do not recommend that, ever. Ever!
Good luck! Remember to imprint your office with signs of what spells personal success to you, be it photos of friends, family or animals, your accomplishments (trophies, awards) and you goals and aspirations either literally or figuratively and you will be on the way to a better feng shui!
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If you have a feng shui question that you’d like answered, please join me on Facebook or Tumblr to join the forums of question-askers! I do my best to answer every single general (and sometimes specific) question I receive!
And, if you are ready to design your dream life, you can always work with me one-on-one online or in-person to make the big moves!
Always, I love hearing from you! xoxo Dana
Hi Dana, I love your website & all your practical advice. Your suggestions about a home office make a lot of sense to me, but I have a tricky one…in the house we’re designing I have a Yoga room with sliding glass doors onto the patio to the front and was hoping to have a hidden office to save space, maybe hidden behind a sliding door in the back or side of the room… Which would probably mean smaller furniture and a not very commanding position for the desk? Would love to hear your tips for such hidden offices, perhaps as the subject of another post sometime.. Thanks for all the great posts!
As long as its not where you work 24-7, in a little tiny hidden space, its really not a bad thing. But if it is, I’d consider getting some “out of the house” office space- even free spaces- to give yourself more room to think & grow. Thanks soooo much for the amazing compliments! xxx Dana
Thanks very much Dana – I’m leaning now towards having all my books and folders and files on hand in cupboards in the room, but then taking my “office” outside in the fresh air or wherever suits, in the form of a laptop or iPad, or simple paper and pencil – aren’t we lucky that we have so much flexibility these days! Thanks again.