Probably 9 out of 10 feng shui masters would dismiss the choice of sofa design making a significant impact on the feng shui of a house.
And the tenth person would probably back-track a little once he realizes that 9 others in his profession have debunked it.
The fact is that the placement and orientation of the sofa set carries the bulk of the burden in blending the furniture with the cosmic energy roaming about the house. Not the type or characteristics of it.
This is generally accepted by the feng shui community.
However, the shape, size, and color, etc, of a sofa set does not pose a significant enough factor to affect the feng shui of a space such as the living room.
If you are in this camp, then let me pose a question.
Would the below sofa set affect feng shui enough to warrant a change?
Because if you flatly dismiss the features of a couch influencing feng shui, you need to leave the above sofa set in the living room instead of condemning it to a place where it will never see the light of day… forever.
And if placement is all that matters, then serious practitioners would probably recommend that it be placed in the junk yard.
It would be pushing the limits of unique taste even if you are of the ox zodiac.
Don’t get me wrong.
I also lean towards the camp that don’t feel that the color or shape of a sofa set can play a significant role in feng shui. But I also believe that they can be very potent when done right.
After all, the above picture is a great example of the selection of sofa done wrong.
And there is no wrong unless there is right. Just like if there is no yin, then there cannot be yang.
So if you are a feng shui geek or have feng shui OCD, you’d agree that the selection of a feng shui sofa that is a right fit for a house is not as negligible as many think.
And this discussion is for you because we are going to dive into this topic like never before.
The assumption is that you have already identified the best position to set up the sofa set.
If not, then you can read up about sofa placement rules here.
Choosing the color element
The first thing that most people think about when linking feng shui with sofa design is the color.
It’s not surprising as sofa color has to blend nicely with the interior design so that even a metaphysically-inclined choice of sofa will add to the aesthetics of the premises instead of destroying it.
Whether it’s leather, PVC, fabric or faux, there are 4 ways to decide on a color.
- Element of the space
- Flying stars
- Personal favorable elements of bazi
- Direction the sofa is facing
And they are all authentic practices. The only difference is that they might originate from different schools of thought.
Space element
The 4 cardinal and 4 ordinal directions all have a make up of a base element.
So whichever directional sector of the house the living room is, or the room where the sofa will be situated, the color of the sofa should represent an element that is in harmony with that residing base element.
The details about elements and their directions can be referred to here.
This means that if the living room is at the north area of the house, the sofa set can be of a harmonious color representing water, metal or wood.
This means colors like blue, black, white, green, etc, are acceptable to feng shui standards.
Water would beef up the present water energy of the north, metal would enhance the strength of the water base energy, and wood would be strengthened by the predominant water energy present. A red colored sofa will be smothered by the water energy… taking the residents with it.
Flying stars
This method of sofa selection depends on what types of flying star combinations reside in that particular space, and whether you want to energize it or dissolve it.
To put this concept of feng shui into practice, one would need to know which sector the room in which the sofa be placed is in, and the star combinations that reside there.
If for example, the water star 8 is in the living room (a yang area) and you want the sofa to play a part in invigorating it, then a fabric sofa in red (fire energy) would power-up this water star to increase wealth luck.
However, if the sickness star 2 is around and you want the sofa to have a role in suppressing it, then a white (metal) sofa can be useful in exhausting it.
And a red one would send you straight to the hospital.
More about flying star feng shui can be learned here.
Bazi favorable elements
Bazi is a method of destiny analysis (or Chinese astrology) that tags an element to an individual.
Based on the elemental makeup, every aspect of life can then be deemed favorable or unfavorable to this person in question.
If for example, you have a self-element of weak wood, then you need more water or wood energy to strengthen yourself.
In this case, sofas in black, blue, or green, etc, can be the color of choice.
It goes without saying that you need to know your bazi to apply this method of feng shui sofa color selection.
Sofa facing direction
The basic concept of directional feng shui is that the direction one is facing take priority over everything else.
So the color choice of the sofa should reflect a color that the facing direction is associated with.
To refresh that little nugget of information, the directional elements are as below.
- North – Water
- South – Fire
- East – Wood
- West – Metal
- Northeast – Earth
- Northwest – Metal
- Southeast – Wood
- Southwest – Earth
The colors that are associated with the elements can be found here.
The perfect color
While any concept of feng shui you apply for the choice of sofa color can be accepted, it is implicitly understood that the color choice would be most ideal if it adheres to all 4 feng shui concepts.
For example, the color of the below sofa set meets all the rules of the above 4 methods. This makes it an ideal choice.
A brown sofa facing northeast, in the northeast sector of the house, with a water star 8 based on a natal chart for period of 7 facing E1, and the owner with a personal element of weak metal.
In this case, a brown sofa set signifying the presence of earth element would tick all the boxes. And you can forever forget about the question of whether the couch is a good one in terms of feng shui.
Choosing the shape element
From a top view perspective, the default shape of a sofa set is almost certain to be rectangle or L-shaped, which is associated with the wood element.
So the choices you have with this factor of the sofa probably has a predictable outcome.
However, let’s not simply brush off the fact that there are indeed couches that are built in circular, round, or curved shaped.
And then even with a rectangular shaped sofa set, homeowners can still orientate them into square or triangular positions.
So if you are going for anything other than the standard oblong, consider the different shapes that are representative of different elements.
- Triangle – Fire
- Square -Earth
- Waves – Water
- Circle – Metal
- Rectangle – Wood
This leads us to the next factor to consider for a feng shui motivated sofa decision.
Choosing design
Unless you have a loud taste in stylish design, you are going for a solid color.
However, manufacturers these days have the foresight to fabricate audacious designs to enhance the appearance of their furniture.
Technology has made it so easy to produce them by the masses.
This is why we see various sofa designs these days that incorporate prints, embroideries, special cuts, etc.
If you are going for anything other than a solid color, consider meanings of shapes and colors as discussed previously.
If a funky design or a unique one is a must in your opinion, then the safe thing to do is to buy a sofa set that have a wide selection of removable covers. This way you can remove an “artistic” design when you eventually regret it later and change back to a solid color.
Sometimes the designs associated with a sofa has nothing to do with the prints or fusion of colors.
Sometimes, it is the very reason that differentiate them from others.
Chesterfield sofas for example, are unmistakably distinctive in appearance.
But from certain angles and in certain colors they can resemble sweet corn, bee hives, pores on the nose, etc.
I have nothing against them. And I actually find them absolutely gorgeous… as long as they are not viewed with creative minds.
If you must have them, do ensure that they blend in nicely with the interiors.
Also make a mental note that Chesterfield sofa sets that are made with bad workmanship can sometimes create indented lines caused by the buttons.
These lines can sometimes appear wavy, and with triangular tips resembling that of a saw blade. Imagine sitting on an oversized blade while watching television.
Moreover waves represent water and triangles represent fire, which are conflicting elements.
People sitting on these defective Chesterfields would probably quarrel often.
Is there an ideal feng shui sofa to buy?
While most feng shui practitioners would probably answer no to this question, I’d disagree and say that the answer is not absolute as there are circumstances when a sofa can play a perfect role for feng shui in a room.
Yes, I know that no matter how fengshuied a sofa set is, it counts for nothing when the overall feng shui of a house is bad. Just like some might argue that it would be pointless to change the engine oil when the car is running perfectly fine.
But I still love my car enough to schedule the change regularly.
In an example above, I’ve already presented an example where a certain type of sofa would be a great feng shui addition to a living room with certain attributes.
Yet in most cases, I have to agree that the choice of sofa is not going to help bring residents of the household luck. The placement should remain the precedence.
And the focus of sofas for feng shui would be mostly on the prevention of bad luck rather than the attracting of good luck.
