The front door is a critical aspect of a house according to feng shui as it is regarded as the main entry point of energy.
According to classical feng shui text, this means that no matter what sitting or facing a property is orientated, the nature of energy determined by the sitting and facing will still enter from the front door.
But we must be mindful that in ancient times, houses are typically built in squarish or rectangular shapes with the front door situated right smack in the center of a particular wall. Which is usually the wall at the facing of the house.
In modern times, houses, apartments, and buildings takes the form of all types of shapes and sizes.
And the front door of a property can literally be anywhere. Even from the basement or a level above ground floor and even the rooftop!
Because of these changes with the times, the sector of the house where the front door is located has become more significant for more specificity.
This is as opposed to the direction it is facing.
This means that even if a main door is facing the northeast direction, if it is located at the east sector of the house, then the energy entering the house from the main door has an energy base representative of the east rather than northeast.
Some people (you could be included) might ferociously argue against this. But let’s just use a simplified example to drive home this point.
If A front door is clearly located at the southwest corner of a house, but has a facing direction of north due to an architect trying to make a statement about his creativity, should we determine that the Chi entering the house of being of a north or southwest nature?
It’s southwest. I rest my case.
It must be noted however, that if 8 mansions feng shui is solely used, then directions will still be the feature to track as 8 mansions is a school of thought that is based on directions.
More about this later.
As I was saying, the sector of a house is prioritized for modern homes when identifying the type of energy that is entering the house from the front entrance door.
While getting the front door right in feng shui is not all about color selection, the choice of color can play an important role in harmonizing energy according to the relationship between the 5 elements.
For the purpose of this discussion, we will use 5 colors that is representative of 5 elements as examples. There are definitely more than 5 colors that represent the elements so do read up about the relationship between them to discover more colors.
We will use:
- Blue as water
- Green as wood
- Red as fire
- Brown as earth
- White as metal
As mentioned, if you are considering using a color not listed here, do refer to the color elemental charts for better clarity.
The color of the front door serves one of 5 purposes.
- To energize and amplify good luck energy entering
- To enhance and invigorate entering energy that will give a boost to energy already present in the area where the front door is located
- To harmonize conflicting energy of that entering and that is already present in the area
- To exhaust and dissipate bad energy entering
- To outright block the entry of bad energy
Let’s get to the colors.
Blue front door
As blue is a characteristic of the water element, and north is associated with the water element in general, it would be ideal for a front door facing north only if the door is also located at the north area of the house.
Blue doors are suitable for enhancing energy when they are located at the north, east and southeast.
They can be used to exhaust energy when located at the west or north west.
Bear in mind that whether an energy source entering from a specific direction or area is good or bad cannot be determined here.
This also does not mean that a feng shui consultant who advises you to paint a door blue is absolutely wrong as the door resides at the west of the house.
He or she could have reason to offer such recommendations and I cannot say for certain what it is unless the details of the property is studied.
For all you know, a blue door might be used to combat bad energy instead of enhancing good energy. Black has the same connotations as blue in this case.
Green front door
Green is the color of wood. This should be intuitive as plants tend to be green unless you spray paint them by mistake.
A green front door at the south, southeast and west will help energize energy at the entry point. All the more if the door is facing west.
While being at the north will weaken energy upon arrival.
If for example, an extremely poisonous source of energy is coming from the southwest due to a building opposite “shooting an arrow” at you, a green front door at this area can help to defend the house as the energy entering from this sector of the house is of earth element by nature.
Red front door
Firstly, it is well-known that many Chinese households like to paint their doors red.
While I cannot speak for them, I believe that this is more down to culture and superstition. After all, Chinese culture has used red as auspicious colors for generations.
Thus a red door meaning is one that invites prosperity and happiness.
A red door meaning in feng shui takes the elemental nature of energy into account.
Since red is symbolic of the fire element, it helps to fire-up energy when the front door is located in the south, northeast, and southwest.
South facing doors, located in the south sector, with red doors should be careful with the application of red colors.
As in feng shui, this can result in a fire energy that is too strong and dominant causing fire energy to be simmering… waiting to explode into life. In other words, potential fire hazard.
When the main entrance door is at the east or southeast, it helps to keep the power of entering energy under control.
But at the west and northwest, it melts down the residing energies. The latter can also be viewed by some as a variation of the infamous affliction fire at heavens gate.
Brown front door
Brown is a characteristic of earth energy. So is yellow. And is linked to the northeast, southwest, and center of a residence.
Since the center is an unlikely place to locate a front door, only northeast and southwest is factored as potential door locations.
In the current year, which is in the period of 8 according to flying stars feng shui, nothing can be more contrasting than these two directions even though they are of the same elemental base.
The northeast is a wealth area since it is timely, while energy from the southwest can cause sickness to members of the household when not kept in check.
Brown doors can be used as energy enhancers in the northeast, southwest, west, and northwest.
White front door
White is slowly becoming an overwhelmingly popular color as main doors due to the movement towards minimalist interior designs.
For some reason, white is used prominently in such design planning.
Since it is representative of metal, it can be used as an enhancer in the west, southwest, and north. West facing front doors will reap the most benefits.
And will subdue energy when located in the southwest and northeast.
Summary
We have discussed the choice of color for doors according to the elements.
For easy reference, here is a listing of the usage of colors according to directions.
- North can be strengthened with blue and white. And can be weakened with green.
- Northeast can be strengthened with brown and red. And can be weakened with white.
- East can be strengthened with green and blue. And can be weakened with red.
- Southeast shares the same characteristics as east.
- South can be strengthened with red and green. And can be weakened with brown.
- Southwest shares the same characteristics as northeast.
- West can be strengthened with white and brown. And can be weakened with blue.
- Northwest shares the same characteristics as west.
Before picking your color for the front door, remember what was mentioned earlier about you needing to determine whether an energy entering a house from a particular area is either good or bad for the house.
Reckless behavior can cause your to energize bad energy coming into your house!
To identify the nature of energy, either use the flying stars or 8 mansions feng shui.
I personally prefer the former, however the latter is easier for feng shui beginners to undertake.
The same concept can be applied on a smaller scale to regular doors to rooms and basically any door within the house.
When in doubt, just refer to the fundamental relationships between the 5 elements to determine what color of a door would be suitable for feng shui as the application of door colors is all about managing the entering Chi with the presence of elements reinforced by door color.
Finally, if you have read this far, don’t make the mistake of choosing a color just for sake of it.
