Choosing a feng shui house exterior paint color is more than just deciding which colors you like best. A few handy feng shui tips will help you select an auspicious color for your home.
Feng Shui Exterior Paint and Trigrams
Before choosing the perfect feng shui paint, you want to determine the facing and sitting directions. In Classical feng shui, this is determined by taking compass readings. Typically, the facing direction is the front of your home (front door) and the sitting direction is the back of your home.
Determining the Facing and Sitting Directions
The front door is generally the side of your home where you'll take a compass reading to determine the facing direction. There are certain instances when it could be a different door. For example, a street running along the side of your home with more traffic than the one outside the front door would be the facing direction -- but only if there is a door on that side of your home. Otherwise, you would use the front door. Once you know the compass direction, you can use it as a guide for selecting exterior paint colors.
Exterior Paint Colors by Trigram (Sector)
Once you've determined the direction your home is facing, you're ready to pick the exterior paint color according to feng shui trigrams also called sectors. When browsing the list of colors, keep in mind that any value of the listed hue is fine. For example, if your house faces the Li Trigram (south sector) ruled by the fire element, you don't have to paint it bright red. Any other color value of red or other fire element color can be used.
South: Li Trigram
The Li Trigram represents the element of fire. The colors associated with the south sector include:
- Red
- Yellow
- Purple
- Orange
The wood element fuels fire in the productive cycle, so you can include any of these colors for a south facing house.
- Green
- Brown
Southwest: Kun Trigram
The Kun Trigram represents the earth element. Use the following exterior colors for this southwest sector:
- Ochre
- Light to medium values of yellow
The fire element creates earth in the productive cycle, so you may prefer to use the fire colors to support the earth element.
- Red
- Purple
- Pink
- Orange
West: Dui (Tui) Trigram
The Dui or Tui (depending on dialect) Trigram represents the metal element. The various metal colors include:
- White
- Gold
- Silver
- Gray
- Copper
You may wish to use the earth element since it supports the metal element in the productive cycle.
- Ochre
- Light to medium values of yellow
Northwest: Qian (Chien) Trigram
The Qian (Chien) Trigram represents the metal element. The colors assigned to this direction include:
- White
- Gold
- Silver
- Gray
- Copper
In the productive cycle, earth creates metal, so you may wish to use a yellow color:
- Pale to medium yellow
- Ochre
North: Kan Trigram
The Kan Trigram represents the water element. The following exterior colors can be used for a north facing home that represent its governing water element:
- Blue
- Black
Since metal attracts water in the productive cycle, you may also wish to consider the following colors:
- White
- Gold
- Silver
- Gray
- Copper
Northeast: Gen (Ken) Trigram
The Gen (Ken) Trigram represents the earth element. If your house sits in the northeast, you can use earth colors:
- Ochre
- Light to medium hues of yellow
Since fire creates earth in the productive cycle, a few other colors to consider include:
- Red
- Purple
- Pink
- Orange
East: Zhen (Chen) Trigram
The Zhen (Chen) Trigram represents the wood element. You can use a wood color for an East facing home.
- Green
- Tan and other light browns
Since water nourishes wood in the productive cycle, you may prefer to use a water color.
- Blue
- Black
Southeast: Xun (Sun) Trigram
The Xun (Sun) Trigram represents the wood element. You will choose from the same colors offered by the east sector.
- Green
- Tan and other light browns
Since water nourishes wood in the productive cycle, you may prefer to use a water color.
- Blue
- Black
Feng Shui Cycle Period for Color Selection
Another method you can use to determine the best color for you home is to use the current feng shui period color. The feng shui calendar is divided into 20-year cycles that are called periods. In time dimension, known as the Flying Star Theory, it requires 20 years for the cycle to complete. For period 8 (2004-2024), the earth element is the ruling element. To represent this, you can choose any value of yellow for your house paint color.
Using Handy Feng Shui Tips for Choosing Exterior Paint Colors
Feng shui colors offer you a wide range of values from light to dark. You will typically use more than one color for the exterior of your home. Use the feng shui guidelines and tips to select element appropriate color combinations for an auspicious home.
