IS THERE AN AREA OF YOUR HOME that looks tired, worn or messy? Do you feel uninspired and ill at ease there?

One of the Feng Shui principles is that “Everything in your environment is alive.” This room is talking at you every time you enter, saying “Re-energize and refresh me. I’m tired.” This room is thereby draining your energy.

Time for action! A change, a minor facelift will begin to shift your energy stream. This doesn’t have to be a total remodeling; some decluttering, cleaning, a coat of paint, some new accessories or art can do the trick.

For us, this was our master bedroom. It had been decorated many years ago, and the window treatments, wall color and bedding were starting to look old. Knowing that one of the most important rooms in Feng Shui is the master bedroom, and that what you do with your master bedroom has far-reaching implications for your well-being, harmony and relationships, we began our journey of rejuvenation and harmony by giving the room a facelift.

We limited our focus to painting the walls and adding new window treatments, art and bedding. We enlisted the help of interior designer Michael Trahan (www.michaeltrahan.com) who is well versed in Feng Shui. If you use a designer, knowledge of Feng Shui is very important. This allowed us to make the necessary changes following the Feng Shui guidelines for master bedrooms.

Guidelines for master bedrooms

Feng Shui for the master bedroom focuses on serenity, which can be achieved through subtle lighting, peaceful colors and comfortable furnishings. Consider this room your romantic boudoir, your sensual oasis. It needs to be romantic, peaceful and conducive to long, deep sleep — and should not be used as a home office, a media center, an exercise room or a place for storage.

Furnishings and décor

The best bedroom colors are found in the warm skin tones of all races of people, from light beiges and tans to creamy cocoas, blushing pinks and peaches, subtle yellows, earthy reds, copper, gold, bronze — among others. The colors that are too cool and do not work in bedrooms are pure white, gray, black, blues and greens. They may look beautiful in designer showrooms, but when they dominate they create a chilly room versus a sensual one.

Televisions in bedrooms tend to activate you and do not allow for restful sleep. Like many others, we enjoy watching TV in bed, but find we get better sleep when we turn off the TV, close it up and read for a few minutes before “lights out.” The key is to keep the TV in a cabinet or armoire so it can be closed upon retiring. If this can’t be done, I recommend placing a decorative drape over the TV so that the electromagnetic screen isn’t staring at you all night.

Bedrooms should be relatively free of clutter. Especially avoid accumulating clutter under the bed, as it obstructs the flow of Ch’i around the bed, which is a place of rejuvenation.

The rule of thumb for mirrors in the bedroom is “one small one or less, and not facing the bed.” Mirrors are too active for the tranquility of bedrooms. If you have the misfortune of having large closet door mirrors and find it hard to get restful sleep, you may consider curtaining them at night or adding decorative wooden or screen panels instead.

Your romantic boudoir

Your environment can strengthen and nourish, or it can dampen and weaken your intimacy. The more intimate bedrooms tend to be cozy and Yin. In the master bedroom, the art and pictures should represent the qualities of the Love and Marriage area of the Bagua: pairs of items such as figurines and candles, art reflecting couples, pairs or romantic representations, pictures of you and your significant other — it is not recommended to put photographs of your children and family in your master bedrooms. Photographs of your family are better served in areas where family is dominant, such as living rooms, family rooms, playrooms and hallways.

The bedroom is a romantic retreat, not a place to display photos of your parents or the kids.

Single bedrooms

Whether male or female, singles looking for love need to create a romantic boudoir to prepare the bedroom to invite that future special someone: two nightstands, two lamps, two throw pillows on the bed. Remove exercise equipment, family pictures, excess dolls and stuffed animals. Enhance the room as you would the Love and Marriage area of the Bagua, which will further energize your desire and intention to be romantically involved.

Master bedrooms and the Bagua

The Feng Shui Bagua (Ba-gua) Map, from the Chinese philosophy “The I Ching,” meaning “eight trigrams,” is represented as a grid of eight sectors, with the center for grounding and centering.

Master bedrooms are different than other rooms in the house. They need to be decorated using two lenses. First, they should take on the qualities of the Bagua area they reside in. Ideally they should be located in the Love and Marriage area (back right corner), but that doesn’t always happen.

Some examples of decorating the remaining eight Bagua areas are:

• Career — waterscapes, glass/crystal items;

• Knowledge or Family/Friends — wood element, plants;

• Wealth — purples, opulent items;

• Fame — reds, candles, pictures of people or animals;

• Children/Creativity — metal element, pastels;

• Helpful People — metal element, spiritual guides, travel posters;

• Center — earth element, yellows, ceramics.

Secondly, master bedrooms also need to be enhanced with features from the Love and Marriage area — red spectrum, pairs of items and romantic representations — and the wall colors kept in warm flesh tones.

An example of these together is represented in our bedroom facelift. Our bedroom is in the Knowledge and Self-cultivation corner, which is governed by the wood element. We replaced our faded, wheat-colored walls with a more current warm skin tone, a shade of mushroom. We updated the window treatments, replaced the dark gold bedspread with cream floral brocade, and chose a vibrant picture of Georgia O’Keeffe’s poppies to go above the bed. The poppies, representing the wood element, are consistent with the Bagua area and yet represent pairs and red tones for the romance representation that is required in a master bedroom. For this we also added other red accents, pictures of us and items in pairs such as red candles and throw pillows.

The cream spread acts to lighten the room in contrast to the darker walls, yet the floral texture also represents wood. The process is as important as the product. We’re having fun and feel the energy shifting already!

You can review any of the areas in past columns on my website, www.fengshuibymaria.com.

Affirmations and inner work

In Feng Shui, intent plays a significant role in enhancing the Love area of your home and garden. That’s why all enhancements need to be made with intentionality; written or stated affirmations are very important. It is also important for them to be expressed as if they are already happening. Examples or affirmations for the master bedroom: “I’m in a committed, loving relationship.” “I feel rested and rejuvenated.”

Feng Shui at work

A client and I both shared a similar experience many years apart. We both painted our master bedrooms a peach tone, replacing the stark white walls. When I redecorated my bedroom back in the 1980s, I created a warm, loving environment in peach tones, and soon after I met the man I’ve been married to for 26 years. My client repainted her white master bedroom a warm peach, too. She soon met the love of her life while traveling and they have been together ever since. I now have a warm spot in my heart for peach-colored walls.

The art you place in your master bedroom tells a story. Two of my single clients had unsettling art. One had a single zebra with its head lowered, to me symbolizing loneliness, as the first thing you saw when you entered the room. The other had a large picture of moving water above the bed, creating too much emotional energy. Neither was a serene, romantic representation.

Both clients chose to replace the art, the first with a print of Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss,” the other with a picture of a couple walking hand in hand toward the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Through their positive affirmations and energy flow, they both have found loving partners. I’m so happy for both of them!

Feng Shui on a shoestring

Feng Shui enhancements do not have to cost a great deal. Begin by removing everything you have stored under the bed. By creating a flow of Ch’i all around your bed, you are keeping the energy moving. Even better would be if you can pass on the items that were under the bed that you no longer need.

Questions, questions, questions

I encourage you to email me with questions, to which I will respond in this column or by email.

Reader: “I have a small master bedroom and my bed is positioned so that my feet point to the door. I heard that’s bad. What can I do? I can’t move the bed.”

Dear Reader: The ideal bed position in Feng Shui is the corner as far away from the door as possible so you can see the entire room. You’re right — feet pointing at the door drain your energy from the room. If you can’t move the bed, try placing a symbolic block between you and the door, such as a footboard or a bench at the foot of the bed. Also, make sure that the first images you see from the bed are relaxing, calm, pleasant and harmonious, as this can set the tone for your day.

* * *

FOR QUESTIONS OR HOME CONSULTATIONS email me at mtmccull@aol.com and put “Feng Shui” on the subject line, or visit my website at http://www.fengshuibymaria.com, where you can read past columns, or find “Feng Shui by Maria” on Facebook, where I post pictures as examples to enhancements.

And check out my blog — just go to the website and click on “Blog” and you can view many pictures and I will respond to your questions quickly. I look forward to hearing from you.

Until then … Blessings!

Benicia resident Maria McCullough is the owner and founder of Feng Shui by Maria. She is a speaker and educator with more than 15 years’ experience specializing in residential, landscape and business consultations.