How many times a day do you enter or leave your home? Your front door is the portal that separates your busy outside life from the place where you relax and unwind, but sometimes it isn’t that simple. If you’re looking for ways to encourage a tranquil state of mind in your space, feng shui may be a good method to use. It can even start at your front door.
According to the traditional Chinese practice of feng shui, the design, color and usage of your front door may have implications for your daily mindset and energetic well-being. By viewing the front door as your “mouth of chi”—the point where energy enters or exits your home—you can maintain balance and create a home that cultivates serenity inside and out.
Feng Shui Rules for Your Front Door
To invite positive energy into your home, feng shui advocates a welcoming entryway. Let’s explore some of the basic principles feng shui suggests for your front door and the surrounding area.
1. Your Entryway Should Be Clear and Uncluttered
A cluttered entryway is not conducive to allowing positive energy into your home—plus, it creates a stressful first impression for guests. Clean your entryway and door regularly, clearing out dust and trash for a tidy space. Keep decor simple yet impactful.
2. Doors Should Work As Expected
Your door should open smoothly, with a quick-turning locking mechanism and no squeaky hinges. Think of the implications of a door that doesn’t open easily. In feng shui, that could translate to internal or external obstacles in your life. It also may be a sign that your entry door is simply tired and ready for replacement.
3. Doors Should Swing Inward
Most front doors in US homes open inward for practical and security-based reasons, but there are some feng shui-based benefits as well. A door that opens inwards is inviting, encouraging guests and positive energy (or chi) to enter the home. A door that swings outward may require guests to take a step back, pushing that positive energy away from the home.
4. The Path to Your Door Should Be Clear
Keeping the path to your door clear of obstacles is just as important to feng shui as optimizing your home’s interior. Take a moment to walk up the path to your front door, viewing it with fresh eyes as a guest would. Provide an open pathway, with the house number clearly visible from the street. This open pathway can be seen as a way to encourage positive chi and even potential opportunities into your life. You might also just appreciate the neat, clean landscaping look!
5. Use Your Front Door Often
If there’s one feng shui rule you should attune yourself to around your front door, it’s this: use your front door daily and often. In feng shui, a door that is never used is a blocked portal, keeping good energy at bay. Make the effort to use your front door at least once per day, even if you primarily use another entrance. You could make it a small daily ritual, tying entering and exiting your front door to checking your mail or going for a daily walk.
Feng Shui and Front Door Color
There’s more to choosing a new entry door than just deciding on a style. The door’s color itself can have a broader meaning in feng shui tradition. When you choose your front door color, it presents your unique face to the street. Let’s consider how different colors can maintain or even change your energetic flow.
Colors Based on Your Door’s Direction
Feng shui holds to the belief that different directions are associated with different elemental energies, like wood or fire. Different colors, too, can affect your home (and its energy) in different ways. Depending on the direction your home faces, you may choose to change that color to activate the energy of your home. Find inspiration below:
- North-facing homes: Paint your door black or blue to match the north’s water-based energy.
- South-facing homes: Choose red, burgundy or orange for the south’s fiery energy.
- East-facing homes: Shades of green or blue work well to complement the east’s wood energy.
- West-facing homes: A white or gray door works well with the west’s metallic energy.
Colors Based on What You Want to Attract
Wishing to attract specific opportunities or energies to your home? Need ideas on what color to choose? Let feng shui help guide your decision-making.
- Red: Promotes passion, protection and recognition.
- Black: All about wisdom, good energy and making friends.
- Brown: Guides strength, grounding and connection to the earth.
- Yellow: Allow in bright energy, balance and stability.
- Green: Encourages growth and new beginnings.
- White: Fosters purity and joy.
- Blue: Advances knowledge and spiritual maturation.
- Gray: Supports travel and making new connections.
- Purple: Boosts good fortune and abundance.
Ultimately, however, the right color for your front door is the one that you love. There is no one objectively best color. As long as it complements your home and brings you joy, it’s the right choice!
Make the Most of Your Entryway With Window World
A strong, well-maintained front door built to last is crucial to maintaining the energetic chi integral to good balance and flow in a home designed on feng shui principles. We’d love to help you choose a front door that suits your home and style. Ready to get started? Learn your options with a free in-home estimate!