I reached out to three feng shui designers to get their take on which shades will leave you counting sheep and which ones are better left outside of the boudoir. Since each color is associated with a certain energy, you’ll want to make sure that you’re thinking carefully about what room you’re placing it in. Rebecca West, a design psychology coach, interior designer, and author of Happy Starts at Home, gives the following example: “Orange might be well-used in a family room where you wish to promote social interaction and a lively, fun feeling, but it might be at odds with your goals in a quiet room meant for reflection, like a bedroom.” In other words: While a bright, fluorescent shade may not be inherently “bad” in feng shui, that doesn’t mean it belongs in your sleep space. To start, try to introduce more earthy colors to the area directly across from your bed since it’s probably the last one you’ll look at before closing your eyes to fall asleep. You can bring them with a fresh coat of paint—yes—but also with smaller accents, accessories, and art. “The easiest way is to check into what makes your heart sing,” says Cho. “That would be the best color for you.” Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
