Background
A couple of years ago, I developed a curiosity about Feng-Shui. I was not really sure about it, and much of what I read was confusing, complicated, and contradictory. (Several different schools of Feng-Shui exist; and each has its own "rules", which can be at odds with those of another school). One day, while browsing the Internet, I came upon an article whose title jumped out at me. I do not remember it exactly, but it was something like "When Should Your Front Door Not Be Painted Red?"
I had a red door! And up until then, much of what I had read the promised idea of painting the front door red – a very auspicious color since it is associated with wealth, power, and happiness. And the front door (or more importantly, the main door used most by the family even if it's not on the front of the home) is particularly important in Feng-Shui. It is considered the "Mouth of Chi" or energy. And obviously you want the energy entering your home to be good energy (that is, good fortune), not bad.
I absolutely loved my red door. It was a gorgeous deep shade of red that perfectly matched the color of the shutters on my home. And yet, I began to wonder … my husband had been struggling to find a decent-paying job in his field; and I was totally unhappy and stuck in a job that was also not paying as much as it should. We were certainly having money issues. Since a red door was definitely not "working" for us, maybe there was something to this!
According to the article, although it's true that many serious practitioners of Feng-Shui do paint their main door red because of its powerful association with wealth, it is far more important to select a color based on the direction your door faces. In my case, it was North, which in Feng-Shui, is associated with the water element. Water colors include blue and black.
Interestingly enough, I had been toying with the idea of painting my front door a glossy black for some time. I had fallen in love with the look while perusing various home decorating magazines. But I really did not have the nerve. No one in our neighborhood or circle of friends had a black door. It seemed somewhat radical. And I knew that what works well in a high-end magazine shoot does not always translate well in real life.
But the article's promise intrigued me. I decided to go ahead and paint my door black. The worst that could happen would be that I would absolutely hate the color. And that could be fixed easily enough by re-painting.
My Experience
So even though it was a cold November weekend, I went ahead and did it. Fortunately, there was a glass storm door that provided some protection from the cold. The front door opened inward into the foyer, and I had a space heater to help me keep warm. And before I even got the first coat of black finished, I knew I loved it! It was exactly the rich, elegant, stunning look I'd seen in the magazines – and it looked great on my door. It even complemented the red of the shutters.
As I finished putting the second coat on late Sunday afternoon, I playfully thought to myself, "OK, I wonder how long it will take for my luck to change." I really was not very serious about it, as I was just more thrilled that the door had turned out so well.
Results
The next morning, I had been at work for maybe 20 minutes when my phone rang. It was our HR department telling me I had won 2nd prize in our in-house United Way Prize Drawing … a flat screen TV! Now, I had never won much of anything before in my life and had not even seriously considered that I might win a prize in this drawing since I never had in my 16 years of working there and and we have over 3500 employees. And interestingly enough, my husband and I had been wanting a flat screen TV, but could not really afford to buy one at the time.
And our "luck" really did not stop there – although other results were not quite as striking. These included easily finding prime parking spaces, even at a super-crowded event with overflow parking only. And our favorite restaurant that day was over-booked and difficult to get into. We were put on standby but still "managed" to obtain a table for the six of us by a window overlooking an idyllic scene. And for about a year or so after that, everything seemed to "flow" very easily for us; even to this day, several years later, we do often seem "blessed" in this regard.
But did we become instant millionaires? No we did not. And although I do not hold Feng-Shui totally responsible for this, I know that it is an extremely complicated science and there are many, many things that can extremely affect your luck. I'm still very much a novice and still have many more changes to make.
Neverheless, this was enough to show me that there really is something to this, and I'll continue my studies and experimentation. I offer the list below, based on my own research, with a disclaimer that I am not an expert, and that you should do your own research as well. Keep in mind that you will find many, many contradictory statements regarding Feng-Shui. (I have since found a few articles on the Internet depicting that a north-facing door should be painted red … but I'm not changing mine! Also be aware that there are quite a few charlatans and individuals passing themselves off as experts who are not.
Suggestions for Door Colors
The number one rule would be to choose a color you love and that compliments your home. Certainly it would not be good "chi" if you hate the color of your main door. That would make you unhappy. But if you'd like to experiment with this Feng-Shui idea of painting your main door based on compass direction in order to enhance your luck, a list of the directions and their associated colors is offered below. You can always change the color back again if you do not like it – or if you're not happy with the "luck" you receive!
- North: Water colors (Shades of Blue or Black)
- Northeast: Earth colors (Shades of Brown, Beige, Terracotta, Ocher, or Peach)
- East: Wood colors (Shades of Green or Brown)
- Southeast: Wood colors (Shades of Green or Brown)
- South: Fire Colors (Shades of Red, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Pink, or Maroon)
- Southwest: Earth colors (Shades of Brown, Beige, Terracotta, Ocher, or Peach)
- West: Metal Colors (Shades of White, Gray, Gold, Silver, or Copper)
- Northwest: Metal Colors (Shades of White, Gray, Gold, Silver, or Copper)