Bedroom feng shui is the topic I'm asked about most, and it's also where advice online varies the most. So instead of adding another list of tips, I've gathered seven guides by practitioners and writers whose work is worth your time, and noted what each one does well.
They're all linked directly to the original articles. The summaries and comments are mine; please read the originals for the full advice. Where they agree, you can feel fairly confident. Where they differ, I've said so.
How I chose these: each guide is written by a practitioner or a writer working with one, explains its reasoning, and is free to read. I have no business relationship with any of them, and none of them asked to be included.
1. 18 Top Feng Shui Bedroom Tips for Better Sleep
By Dr Michael Oon · michaeloon.com. A London-based consultant working in the traditional school.
Oon organises his tips into three layers: the layout (the command position, windows, doors and full-length mirrors), the decoration (colour, bedding designs, a solid headboard) and the energy of the room (electronics, opening windows). It's a useful structure because it shows the order in which a consultant actually thinks about a bedroom: placement first, decoration last. Full-length mirrors are on his list for a reason; I explain the traditional concern in my guide to bedroom mirror placement.
Best for: Readers who want a thorough checklist from a working consultant.
Read “18 Top Feng Shui Bedroom Tips for Better Sleep” on michaeloon.com
2. Bed placement
By FengShui.info · fengshui.info. An independent feng shui reference site.
This guide starts with three questions you can answer lying in bed (can you see the door, is there a wall behind your head, are your feet pointing straight out) and then gives an order in which to compromise when a room won't allow all three. It also labels each claim as tradition, school-specific, interpretation or design observation, which is rare and very helpful. It pairs well with my own guide to where the head of your bed should go, which uses the same three tests.
Best for: Anyone with an awkward room who needs to know which rule to bend first.
Read “Bed placement” on fengshui.info
3. The one Feng Shui rule that changed my approach to bedroom layouts
By Charlotte Olby, with Suzanne Roynon · Homes & Gardens. A Homes & Gardens editor writing about her own remodel, with advice from consultant Suzanne Roynon of Interiors Therapy.
Olby writes from her own experience of struggling with a bed position during a renovation, and Roynon's tips (clear the clutter, take things down from above the bed, choose nightstands with care) are practical. It reads more like a story than a manual, which makes the advice easy to picture in a real home.
Best for: Readers in the middle of redecorating.
Read “The one Feng Shui rule that changed my approach to bedroom layouts” on Homes & Gardens
4. Feng Shui Bed Placement: Your Confusion Is Almost Over!
By Dana Claudat · The Tao of Dana. A feng shui consultant and long-time blogger.
Claudat makes a point many guides skip: bed placement is personal, and the 'best' wall depends on what's behind it, from plumbing to the layout of the whole home. She's also refreshingly flexible, saying you can break rules for the greater good, with two exceptions she rarely bends: sharing a wall with a bathroom and sleeping under beams. That flexibility matters most in tight rooms, which is why my small bedroom feng shui plan ranks the rules by which to keep first.
Best for: Readers who feel boxed in by strict rules.
Read “Feng Shui Bed Placement: Your Confusion Is Almost Over!” on The Tao of Dana
5. Feng Shui Bed Placement, part 1
By Laura Cerrano · Feng Shui Manhattan (on ActiveRain). A New York consultant with more than 20 years of practice.
A short, clear list of the bed positions to avoid: pushed into a corner (if you want a relationship), a window behind the head, feet straight out of the door, and the head right by the door. It's brief, but it's the most concise statement of the 'don'ts' I've found.
Best for: A quick check of your current layout.
Read “Feng Shui Bed Placement, part 1” on Feng Shui Manhattan (on ActiveRain)
6. 13 Ways to Bring Feng Shui to Your Bedroom for Harmony and Balance
By Anjie Cho · Holistic Spaces. A New York architect, interior designer and feng shui teacher.
Cho's framing is what makes this worth reading: the bedroom is where you spend hours in an unconscious, receptive state, so you absorb its qi more than anywhere else. The post shares her advice from a feature she gave to Insider, and it suits readers who want the 'why' as much as the 'what'.
Best for: Readers interested in the thinking behind the rules.
Read “13 Ways to Bring Feng Shui to Your Bedroom for Harmony and Balance” on Holistic Spaces
7. Feng Shui, Stress & Your Bedroom
By Suzanne Metzger · Feng Shui Consulting Services. A feng shui consultant and teacher.
Metzger focuses on what makes a bedroom stressful: sharp angles pointing at the bed, electronics near your head, a TV, storage under the bed, clutter, and anything to do with work or exercise. Her fixes are simple (cover it, screen it, move it), and the list doubles as a good audit. If you want to run the same kind of audit yourself, my printable bedroom checklist covers her points and a few more.
Best for: Anyone who sleeps badly and wants to find the culprits.
Read “Feng Shui, Stress & Your Bedroom” on Feng Shui Consulting Services
Where they agree
- A solid wall behind the headboard and a view of the door, without lying in line with it.
- Clear the space under the bed, or keep only soft bedding there.
- Nothing heavy or sharp hanging above or pointing at the bed.
- Screens, work and exercise kit out of the bedroom, or covered at night.
Where they differ
The practitioners differ most on how strict to be. Cerrano and Oon lay out firm rules; Claudat and FengShui.info both accept that real rooms force compromises and suggest which rule to give up first. If your room only allows one good bed position, start with the solid wall behind your head.
The seven guides at a glance
| Guide | Main focus | Approach | Best starting point if… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Oon | Layout, decoration, energy in three layers | Traditional, structured | You want a consultant’s order of work |
| FengShui.info | Bed placement and how to compromise | Labels tradition versus interpretation | Your room won’t allow every rule |
| Charlotte Olby with Suzanne Roynon | A real remodel and practical tips | Personal, magazine-style | You’re mid-renovation |
| Dana Claudat | Choosing the right wall for the bed | Flexible, with two firm exceptions | You’re confused by conflicting advice |
| Laura Cerrano | Bed positions to avoid | Concise rules | You want the “don’ts” in one place |
| Anjie Cho | Why the bedroom matters so much | Explains the reasoning | You want the “why” as well as the “what” |
| Suzanne Metzger | Stress sources in the bedroom | Audit-style list | You sleep badly and want to check the room |
Putting the advice together
Read side by side, these guides suggest a fairly clear order of work. Start with the bed itself, because every one of the seven puts it first. The three tests FengShui.info describes, a wall behind your head, a view of the door and your feet not pointing straight out of it, are the same three I use in my bed placement guide, which also covers what to do when the room won’t allow all three.
Next, look at what surrounds the bed. Oon’s “decoration” layer and Metzger’s stress audit overlap here: a solid headboard, nothing heavy above you, nothing sharp pointing at you, and screens and work kept out or covered. If your headboard is barred or split, my guide to headboards to avoid has fixes that don’t involve buying a new bed. Mirrors deserve their own check, because they come up in Oon’s list and in nearly every other source; my mirror guide sets out where one can and can’t go.
Only after that does compass direction come into it. None of these seven guides makes it the first priority, which matches what most practitioners say. If your room is small and the bed only fits one way, Claudat’s point that you can break rules “for the greater good” is worth holding on to, and my small bedroom plan ranks which rule to keep. For a one-page version of all of this, the printable bedroom checklist on this site pulls the agreed points together.
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