7 Vastu tips for making your home a happier place

Sunita Vellapally Sunita Vellapally
Dhiren Tharnani, IMAGE N SHAPE IMAGE N SHAPE Modern Corridor, Hallway and Staircase
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Vastu Shastra is an ancient Hindu system that prescribes the principles of design, layout and arrangement that make a harmonious home. While many people look into it before they build a new home, not as many homeowners use it for making their existing homes happier places to live in. Some professional architects and designers incorporate these principles into their projects.

We’ve picked 7 easy vastu tips that anyone can incorporate into their home, whether it's a house or an apartment, to enjoy harmonious living.

1.​Use Bright Colours

According to vastu, bright colours bring positive energy to a home. However, don’t use dark shades as they have a negative effect. Red in a bedroom is not advisable but is good for a dining area where it helps to increase appetites. If you want to use a dark shade for a feature wall, try to keep it just two or three shades darker than the base tone.

2.​Get Rid of Clutter

It turns out that there’s more to clearing clutter from your home than just to make the place look aesthetically appealing. As per the principles of vastu, clutter brings negative energy into a home. All of us tend to collect or hoard things in the belief that we will use it someday. Enjoy positive energy in your home by clearing up the clutter on kitchen countertops or in closets and getting rid of anything you haven’t used for the past three years.

3.​Grow Indoor Plants

Indoor plants are a great source of positive energy for your home. However, keep in mind that not all of them are energy givers. Avoid growing indoor thorny or milk-producing plants such as cactus or rubber as they tend to upset the balance of harmony in the home.

4.​Add Musical Chimes

Have you ever noticed how the soothing sound of a wind chime relaxes you when you are feeling stressed? Place wind chimes or hang bells around your home as the soft tinkling sound removes negativity and allows positive energy to flow freely through your home.

5.​Flowing water in the North East

Vastu places a lot of importance on the directions where certain elements need to be present in the home. For prosperity and financial wealth, place a small fountain, aquarium or even water plants at the north eastern side of your home. If you don’t have the space for these or the patience to maintain them, at least place a decorative bowl with water and float some candles or flower petals in it.

6.​Use of Mirrors

Mirrors are used in vastu as a simple but effective tool to remove defects within a home. Used correctly, they can bring fortune, wealth and happiness to the home. Place mirrors to reflect images such as beautiful landscapes to increase the positive energy inside your home. However, do not place a mirror directly in front of the main entrance of your home as it might deflect the flow of energy. Similarly, avoid placing mirrors where they reflect your bed.

​7.Wooden Furniture

Choose wood over metal or other modern materials for your furniture as wooden furniture is believed to add harmony to the home. You should preferably select furniture that comes in conventional geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles and circles.

There are a lot of similarities between Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui (which is the Chinese philosophy for adding harmony to the surrounding environment). See this ideabook for some Feng Shui tips for your home.

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