3 Places You Just Have to Have a Rug, According to Feng Shui — Or Else Risk Your Home's Positive Energy

So, you’ve already moved all your furniture, bought a new house plant for every corner, and built up a crystal collection to put the Crown Jewels to shame, yet your home's energy still feels slightly… off. Turns out, where your rug sits might just be the final missing puzzle piece in achieving full Feng Shui zen in your living space.

According to our experts, the positioning of your rug can have a major impact on the Feng Shui of your home. Even more than just placement, the pattern, color, and even the texture of your floor coverings can all work to impact the flow of energy in your home. The ancient Chinese practice revolves around the belief in a universal life force known as chi. To promote and assist the flow of positive chi, and avoid any negative chi, structures and objects were oriented according to established design rules.

This positive life force is a delicate balance of complementary yin and yang energies, achieving balance in these energies is the key to Feng Shui. Beyond yin yang, Feng Shui also emphasizes the importance of balancing the five universal elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each and every item in your home will align with one of these elements, ensuring each of these elements is equally represented in your decor is what will enable you to create this harmonious, peaceful atmosphere in the home.

To best understand the important role rugs play in Feng Shui, it is helpful to envision chi in terms of air, as per Dee Oujiri, owner of Homes that Heal. As Dee describes, you want the chi to circulate freely and saturate your home, not stagnating in corners or immediately flowing out your doors. With this in mind, rugs can act as enablers of this circular energy flow. Their softness slows the movement of chi, allowing it to linger in a space as opposed to immediately rushing through. As Dee explains, "If chi is zooming through your home like a freeway, a rug can act as a speed bump."

In Your Bedroom

Understanding your Feng Shui bedroom layout can be a particularly helpful tool in designing your space of slumber as it can allow you to create a space that prioritizes relaxation, peace, and rest. Anjie Cho, a Feng Shui expert and educator, says that it can be useful to have your rug placement underneath the bed as she says it helps "support your sleep and rest."

Alexandra Berhault further supports this belief, saying: "In the bedroom, position the rug under the bed, extending outwards, to provide a sense of comfort and stability."

Beyond the orientation of the rug, it is also important to consider the energy the rug you choose brings, as this will impact the balance of your space. Interior designer Gala Magrina explains: "A round plush rug is considered to be more Yin and may work well in the bedroom or bathroom, whereas a rectangular rug can provide more of a grounding feeling, especially if it’s large."

In Your Living Room

Much like in the bedroom, the living room is a space in which relaxation and harmony are key. However, the living room is generally a more social space than the bedroom, and this should be reflected in the room's Feng Shui.

Encouraging the growth of positive relationships is another goal of this practice and good living room Feng Shui only comes when you design a space with intention in mind. Anjie Cho recommends placing the rug "underneath the sofa and other seating in the living room, to encourage stability and harmony with all the family members in the home."

Feng Shui expert Simon Brown praises the ability to create a "softer, warmer feel" in living rooms. In order to foster this harmonious, warm atmosphere, Alexandra focuses on the importance of placing furniture upon the rug, as "they bring cohesion when all furniture rests on them." She suggests "centering the rug under a coffee table or seating area to promote harmony."

In Your Entryway

Your entryway sets the tone for the rest of your home, so creating the optimal flow of energy here should help establish good entryway Feng Shui in this space as well as the rest of your house.

Like all other guests, energy enters your home through the front door, making it an important Feng Shui hotspot. Anjie suggests bringing "a runner at the entry to invite stable and nurturing qi (life force energy) into your home from the outside world."

While the living room or bedroom are spaces that welcome large, sprawling rugs, Alexandra warns people against choosing a rug that may overwhelm their entryway. Instead, she recommends opting for a smaller rug, as these can help introduce positive chi energy without crowding your space.

How to Select a Rug for Good Feng Shui

One of the main ways in which the elements are represented within your home is through the colors you choose to bring into your space. While creating a balance between these five elements is the key to a harmonious room, it is also helpful to consider the tone and mood you aim to create in each room and then select colors and textures accordingly.

"Color influences our moods and even the chi of a room," says Simon, "Colors need to be chosen carefully. Look at the potential rug for a long period and note how you feel staring at one rug compared to another. In Feng Shui the human reaction to something in our home is the main focus, rather than the decor of the house." As Simon explains, color can be deeply personal, and choosing a color that evokes certain emotions within you is vastly more important than complying by established rules. Nathalie Khouri further reflects this sentiment, saying, "Color plays a major factor, probably the most important and, as mentioned, should be based on your home's own personal chart. One may have positive energy with a red rug while the same rug may cause negative energy in someone else's home."

However, there are helpful guides you can follow to understand the relationship between color and the five elements. Anjie explains that fire is represented in reds and oranges and helps promote inspiration and visibility, while earth can be found in earthy yellows and browns and helps build stability and self-care. For joy and precision, bring more of the metal element into your home, reflected in whites and silvers. Darker colors like black and charcoal are connected to the water element and bring wisdom and intuition into your home, while colors like blue and teal are of the wood element and foster growth and fresh starts.

Think About Function

As with all design decisions, considering the atmosphere you are hoping to create within your space is the first step to choosing a rug that will support the flow of positive energy.

"If you want something more vibrant and upbeat," says Gala, "say for a home office where you need to be productive, then I would choose something with vibrant colors. If you want something to ground you and create more sanctuary and calm, I would focus on a large rectangular rug in the bedroom or living room."

Just like color impacts the rug's energetic balance, so does its shape. Gala explains this, saying, "A round plush rug is considered to be more Yin and may work well in the bedroom or bathroom, whereas a rectangular rug can provide more of a grounding feeling, especially if it’s large. A rug that is a geometric or triangle shape would be considered more Yang and bring a little more vibrant/Fire energy into the room."

FAQ

Where Should I Avoid Placing a Rug?

Items that have been soiled or somehow damaged will have the most detrimental effects on the chi energy of your home, so it’s important to avoid placing your rugs in areas where this is more likely to occur.

This means anywhere near a sink, like bathrooms or kitchens, can be riskier spots for your rug. Alexandra also recommends against placing rugs in "South-facing areas with strong Fire energy" as this may energetically overwhelm your home.

Our Favorite Rugs for Good Feng Shui

If all this rug talk has got you thinking about swapping out your worn-out floor coverings for something more energetically aligned with your home, take a look at our favorite recent rug trend; cut out rugs.