Do you feel unsupported by your bed? Or perhaps, your entryway is crowded with clutter. Maybe your desk's layout feels blocked in. These are just three of the Feng Shui mistakes that practitioners clock the moment they set foot into your home.
If you're keen to flood your home with good energy, familiarizing yourself with the principles of Feng Shui is essential. And these popular faux pas are the red flags you should look out for.
And they aren't just chosen at random. Each mistake has a clear reasoning behind its negative influence on the energetic ambiance of your home. So let's take a look at why these are best avoided and what you should be doing instead.
1. A Neglected Entryway
Color: Light Wood
This Hattie Storage Bench from DUSK is one of my favorite ways to organize your entryway and keep clutter at bay.
One of the biggest entryway Feng Shui mistakes involves turning a blind eye to the build-up of clutter. "In Feng Shui, the front door is known as the 'mouth of chi'," says professional practitioner Marie Diamond.
"It's the primary entry point for energy, opportunity, clients, relationships, and financial flow. When this space is crowded with shoes, deliveries, storage items, or dying plants, the message is clear: there is no space for new opportunities to enter."
Marie explains that the entrance should feel bright, clean, intentional, and welcoming. "Good lighting, healthy plants, an unobstructed pathway, and a door that opens fully without resistance all signal openness to abundance," she notes. "If your front entrance feels chaotic, your life often reflects that same pattern."
To that note, it's also important to know the Feng Shui entryway houseplants to avoid, so your efforts don't go to waste.
2. Unsupportive Beds
"Your bedroom governs restoration, relationships, and personal stability. One of the most common issues I see is a bed positioned directly under a window or floating without a solid wall and headboard behind it," says Marie.
"Without proper backing, your energy drains during sleep. Over time, this can manifest as instability in the emotional, financial, or relational areas of your life. A bed should be placed against a solid wall with a strong headboard and balanced space on both sides."
She also points out that creating the perfect Feng Shui layout for your bedroom includes prioritizing support behind you while you sleep, which in turn translates into support behind you in life.
Don't underestimate simple changes like this. A good Feng Shui headboard can make a major difference.
Size: King
I love the look of this bed from loaf in the 'Frothy Milk Clever Slubby Cotton' for a clean, supported bedroom.
3. Wall-Facing Desks
According to Marie, when it comes to good home office Feng Shui, your desk placement reflects your professional outlook. "When a desk faces a blank wall, your energy and your opportunities can only move as far as that wall," she explains.
"It often corresponds with stalled growth, limited vision, or feeling overlooked. The ideal placement is the 'power position', where you're seated facing into the room with visibility of the door and a solid wall behind you."
She finds that this creates authority, awareness, and control over incoming opportunities. "When you can see what is coming, you are better positioned to respond to it," she adds.
By avoiding bad home office Feng Shui, you can prioritize energy that evokes success in this highly important zone of your home.
4. Improper Mirror Placement
It's no secret that mirrors are powerful amplifiers of energy. "They double whatever they reflect. In a bedroom, which is meant to be a Yin, restorative space, a mirror facing the bed creates excessive stimulation," she says.
"This can result in restless sleep, subtle tension between partners, or a feeling of being watched or unsettled. Symbolically, mirrors reflecting the bed can represent third-party interference in relationships."
Whether interpreted energetically or psychologically, Marie explains that the effect is often disruption in what should be a sanctuary. "If possible, remove the mirror from direct view of the bed," she suggests. "If not, cover it at night."
Designing this reflective decor into your bedroom with Feng Shui mirror guidance is the best way to go. And as always, pay attention to the view it's mirroring.
Color: Brown
I recommend choosing a mirror like this wavy wood version from Anthropologie for a Feng Shui bedroom.
5. Bathrooms in Clear View
Marie tells me that in Feng Shui, water represents wealth. And so, she finds that a toilet, especially when visible from the front door, symbolizes money and energy draining away.
"While structural changes are not always possible, simple corrections help. For example, keep bathroom doors closed, toilet lids down, and introduce Earth elements such as stones, ceramics, or neutral earthy tones to stabilize the water element," she says. "Small adjustments can significantly reduce the feeling of energetic loss."
While you're removing bad energy from your home, I also recommend reducing the drainage effects in your bathroom. It'll help this space step into an even better plane of energy.
Color: Cream
Introducing ceramic decor that's functional, like this Bubbly Stoneware Bowl, will help you improve the Earth energy of the space.
6. Broken Belongings
And finally, while this might seem like an obvious Feng Shui mistake, it's one that all of us have committed at one point or another. "Broken objects carry the frequency of dysfunction and stagnation," says Marie.
"Yet many homes contain drawers, closets, or corners filled with items kept 'just in case'. When broken items sit in wealth areas, relationship zones, or workspaces, they subtly reinforce patterns of incompletion and lack."
Marie's advice to fix this Feng Shui mistake is to repair what is meaningful and release what is not. She finds that this will allow energy to circulate freely for new opportunities to arrive.
Especially since the Year of the Horse has just begun, a quick decluttering of any broken items will help you boost the energy in your home for the rest of the season.
Feng Shui Books to Read
Format: Paperback
'Focused Feng Shui' by Dawn Johanson will introduce you to simple but effective techniques to improve the energy in your living spaces.
Format: Hardcover
Written by TikTok sensation Cliff Tan, 'Feng Shui Modern' is a trove of tips on how to solve the most basic Feng Shui mistakes.
Format: Paperback
'Feng Shui Your Life' by Marie Diamond is perfect for anyone looking to make their way into the world of this ancient Chinese philosophy.
Speaking of the energetic emblem for 2026, now's also a good time to learn about the Feng Shui mistakes for the year of the horse. Taking a more specific approach to weed out the faux pas will help you intentionally tailor your home to the theme of the year.
