How to place a bed: three of the most common questions, and solutions that need no renovation

In on-site consultations, the most frequently asked question is not the wealth position, it is the bed. The reason is practical: people spend a third of the day in bed, and if it is placed wrongly, the body notices first.

The following three items are the most asked about. For each, I first explain how tradition sees it, then why it holds up physically, and finally give an approach that needs no renovation.

Traditionally this is called having no backing: with no solid wall supporting you overhead, it is said to cause restless sleep and nervous tension. If a straight road directly faces the window, there is an added layer of road clash.

Physically it is not hard to understand. The window is the worst-insulated side of the whole room. Temperature differences, air currents, outside light and sound all come in from there. Sleeping with your head against it, a light sleeper will wake several times a night without necessarily noticing.

Approach: move the headboard to a solid wall. If you cannot move it, draw thick curtains fully closed and add a piece of substantial furniture between the headboard and the window, such as a bedside cabinet or a bookshelf. The point is to create a layer of separation, not to place some ritual object.

Traditionally this is called seeing the bed when the door opens, or coffin sha. The name is rather frightening, but the issue to be dealt with is real.

The door is where the airflow in a room is fastest. When lying down with your feet pointing straight at the doorway, as soon as someone pushes the door open, both sightline and airflow land directly on you. Half asleep, a person is constantly reminded that someone is coming, and cannot truly relax.

Approach: shift the bed sideways so that when lying down you can see the door but are not directly facing it. If you cannot move it, place a low cabinet or a screen between the foot of the bed and the door to break the straight line.

Tradition says a mirror reflecting the bed causes frightening dreams and frequent arguments. The cause of this one is the most direct: waking in the middle of the night, the mirror reflects the room light and your own image back onto the bed, and the person is startled.

What to do: turn the mirror away, move it, or cover it with cloth. The mirror door of a wardrobe is the most common case; switch to a door panel without a mirror, or simply close the cabinet doors at night.

The three items above are general rules that hold for anyone. But with the same bed, one person sleeping well and the other sleeping poorly usually requires looking at a second layer: which star of the Xuan Kong flying stars falls in that palace, and each person s favorable and useful five elements in BaZi.

For example: the Two Black falling in the master bedroom is itself only slightly weak, but add the water pipe running all night behind the wall at the head of the bed, and the one who sleeps lightly is affected first. For a person whose day master is wood and whose favorable elements are water and wood, turning the head of the bed to the east will be felt more than by the other person.

This layer can only be calculated with the actual dimensions and facing of the room; general rules cannot cover it.

The Feng Shui editor on the site lets you skip scanning: drag walls and place furniture yourself, build a room and see how the flying stars read; for a home you have already scanned with an iPhone, you can open the chart directly and pin the flying stars onto the actual floor plan.

If you need someone to be there in person and give you a report you can keep, certified masters are available for booking on the platform.