One way to go about making sure your front door helps your house to feel more like a home — and maybe even bring a little more positive energy and luck inside — is to follow some basic feng shui principles.

What is Feng Shui?

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese philosophy or doctrine that focuses on balancing dualities such as light and dark. Adherents believe good feng shui leads to a more harmonious, pleasant home and that it can also lead to a more personal success and well-being.

One of the principles of feng shui is the concept of yin and yang. In Chinese philosophy, yin represents the feminine, intuitive energy and yang represents a masculine, logical energy.

A Few Basic Principles of Feng Shui

Feng shui practitioners use a compass or bagua to help design an interior space or element, such as a front door. The bagua helps with the proper placement of items relating to the five various “elements” of feng shui: water, fire, wood, metal, and earth.

Each of these elements can be represented in a constructive or destructive mode. For example, in its destructive form, water extinguishes fire but in its constructive mode, it helps wood (plants) grow. Neither mode is good or bad, according to feng shui principles. They’re both required for a balanced world, home, and life.

Your front door is literally the entrance into your living space and the first impression visitors get of your home. In a sense, it sets your home’s “intention” and gives you an opportunity to express what your home life is all about. It’s also the source of your home’s “chi,” or life energy.

That makes the front door an important focal point in feng shui, and worth a little attention.

Simple Tips to Feng Shui Your Front Door

Start by taking a stranger’s view of your home’s entrance. Stand outside and walk up to your front door, then through it while maintaining as objective a perspective as possible. What feeling does this walk-through leave you with?

Next, clear the clutter. “A place for everything and everything in its place” could very well be a feng shui guideline! If there are any elements there that don’t bring you joy or add to the beauty of your entranceway, either remove them altogether or consider replacing them with more attractive and functional options. Decluttering the area of dead plants, empty containers, and anything unnecessary will help open up the flow of positive energy into your home.

Consider giving your front door a fresh coat of paint, preferably a bright, cheerful color. You might even want to explore the associations specific colors have with feng shui concepts, such as love, money, luck, and more.

By the same token, make any small repairs or cleanup jobs necessary to spruce the door up. Cracked glass, dulled hardware in need of a polish, accumulated dirt and grime can all dam up the flow of good energy, according to feng shui.

Add a tall, healthy plant to your entrance area. Healthy growing plants in general are seen as luck-enhancing in feng shui. Just make sure the plant doesn’t block the entranceway or the path through the door, as anything that hampers energy flow isn’t a good choice!

Finally, add some charm and color to your front door and entrance area with a cheerful new welcome mat and a small statue of a meaningful figure — a guardian angel, perhaps, or a laughing Buddha. Figures such as these bring protection to your home, feng shui experts believe.

Help the good energy continue flowing into your home by cleaning and sprucing up the items and furnishings in your entryway, according to feng shui principles. For example, you can add a small water fountain to the right side of your door if you want to bring in good luck every time the door is opened.

And if you’re looking to incorporate more feng shui into your home, check out our Easy Feng Shui Tips for Your Kitchen.

Color inspiration can come from anywhere but not all colors work well in certain areas or for everyone. The hardest part is finding the right colors for your kitchen. We’ve put together a few kitchen color inspiration and tips to consider when choosing a “no regrets” color scheme for your kitchen.

• Select a list of colors you love and you respond emotionally to, it will help you on your day-to-day living there. 
• Be bold.  You can quickly change the appearance of a classical kitchen by adding a zesty color.
• Choose a neutral color for the most expensive items, such as Counter Tops or Granite, and then change the wall paint to your taste.

There are no rules for what are the appropriate colors, but keep in mind that specific colors can impact your mood, so make sure you research the basics of color psychology before choosing your palette and start remodeling! Here are a few colors for your inspiration.

BLUE KITCHEN DESIGN

PINK KITCHEN COLOR

CORAL KITCHEN INSPIRATION

GREEN KITCHEN

ORANGE AND BLACK

CHALLENGING PURPLE

Whether your kitchen is big or a small, there’s a lot of options to make your renovation special.  What’s does your dream kitchen look like – modern, country, classical, contemporary, dark or light cabinets, tile, wood, granite or quartz countertop? 

Take a look at these styles for kitchen design inspiration

CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN DESIGN

A clean and sleek design is a must to accomplish a contemporary kitchen design. Keep in mind that the refrigerator, sink, oven and stove are also key components.

SMALL CONDO KITCHEN

This is a fun kitchen to make, and it’s all in the details. The brick wall is what first catches your attention.  The gray cabinets, matching the countertop along with the wine rack and the kitchen signs make this small condo kitchen a warm and inviting place to spend plenty of time.

MODERN KITCHEN DESIGN

The best part of a modern kitchen is feeling free to play with the design. Step out-of-the-box and use at least two tones of cabinets, as in this kitcken the top cabinets are red and the bottom navy blue.  And to add a bit of fun to the household, use a wall as a chalkboard to write inspirational messages. 

COTTAGE KITCHEN

A cottage kitchen inspires nothing more than carefree living and a cozy ambience which your family will love to spend time in. When remodeling your kitchen to a cottage design consider soft colors, wood, a mix of open & closed shelves, farmhouse sinks, wood floors and pendant lighting.

RUSTIC KITCHEN

A rustic kitchen is for those whom truly enjoy cooking and entertaining.  A list of must elements will create your rustic kitchen design: brick, wood backdrops, wood exposed beams, colored appliances, arches in the design, vintage-style cabinets., wood countertops, fireboxes, antique brass or copper faucet., exposed hanging pots.

CLASSIC KITCHEN

No need to define your kitchen with a certain style, a good-old classic kitchen is always warm and inviting. Keep the cabinets simple, neutral colors, granite or quartz, nice tiled backsplash and stainless steel appliances always look great.

Find more kitchen design inspiration in these 5 popular styles.