Now that you know what the Feng Shui Bagua is, how do you get one for your home? First, you need to draw the floor plan of your structure. Whether a free-standing house, condo, town house, apartment, barn, garage, RV, yurt or any other rendition of a dwelling, the bird’s eye view of the layout of your space that a floor plan reveals can be analyzed with the Bagua.
As a Feng Shui Practitioner, I ask my clients to draw their own floor plans. The process of investigating and deciphering one’s space can be revealing in itself. However, if you’ve had a recent appraisal it is likely to contain a rendition of the floor plan somewhere within its pages. The drawing is often quite small on the page so I recommend that you use a copier with a feature that will allow you to increase its size. Try to get it to fill as much of a standard sheet of paper as possible. This will make it much easier to see and work with.
If you are working with an architect on a new build or remodel you may have an architectural drawing or blueprint. Ask them to send you a rendition in a standard 8 ½” x 11” format so that you can print it and apply the Bagua. In my opinion, this is the most ideal time to place and analyze your Bagua as you can improve situations that may not be ideal now rather than needing to adjust any Feng Shui imbalances after the building is completed.
For those of you without an appraisal or blueprint drawing, here’s the simple, step-by-step approach I share with my clients on How to Draw a Floor Plan:
Step 1
Start with a clean 8 ½” x 11” piece of graph paper or white paper and a pencil with a good eraser.
Step 2
Choose a room in a far corner of the house and begin there. Measure the width and length of the room, drawing the shape in the same far corner of the paper. You may use a measuring tape if you like, but you may also measure by pacing out the space. If you think you are able to make fairly even steps, use steps. If not, pace placing your feet toe to heel and measure that way. The measurements don’t have to be exact but try to keep the dimensions of the room in proportion. Be sure to note any angles or changes in the shape of the room if it is not a square or rectangle.
Step 3
After completing the first room, move to the next adjoining room and repeat the procedure. Work around the structure until you’ve drawn all of the rooms.
Step 4
Next add any outside features that are attached to the house such as a porch, deck, balcony, breezeway, garage or barn.
Step 5
Be sure that all interior walls are indicated, including hallways, and all interior doors are drawn as well. It is useful to show whether the doors swing in or out of the room.
Step 6
Note all exterior doors and windows. You can also include the outline of any skylights with a dashed line.
Step 7
Draw in any stairs, chimneys and fireplaces, cathedral ceilings, closets or other special features such as built-in cabinets, kitchen islands or a sunken living room.
Step 8
Finally, add the major plumbing and appliance components including sinks, tubs, showers, dishwasher, kitchen stove plus the washer and dryer if you have one. Label and date your plan for future reference.
To get the most complete Feng Shui analysis from your Bagua, it is essential that you prepare a floor plan for each level of your home. Repeat the process above for a second story, loft, usable attic, basement or other floor. They need not be the total area of the first floor’s plan but should be in the same proportions so if they were to visually “sit” on top of each other their dimensions would be similar to the original structure.
Congratulations! You’ve created your home’s floor plan. I suggest you make 3-4 copies for future use and always keep a master copy in case you make changes to the structure or interior of your home.
You can get my FREE Feng Shui Bagua Map Download here so that you will be ready to when I explain how to place the Bagua on your floor plan drawing.
You will become so much more aware of your home when you engage in this process. Some homes may have many additions, angles or other architectural oddities which are not covered above. If you need additional guidance, contact me directly, and I’ll be happy to work with you individually. Share your creations with us so we can all see the various ways the Bagua Map is applied to our floor plans.
Have fun,
Carol
Just found your page through Pinterest I love feng shui and in the process of changing my life again doing a big redecorate of the home and preparing for what I want. New home new career 😀I have many goals I want to achieve and am starting at source 🙂 I have been running into some issues that I have tried to research read about and learn but still a little confused. I live in a condo and floor plan is weird front door isn’t used much it sits right by the stairs to go up to other apartments outside big cement structure not good lol We have a garage and use that the most it opens into the mud room then kitchen.
So my two huge questions are where is the best place to store all of my shoes and where is the best place to have an in home gym with weights. I know the weights have been weighing down in my map and need help. All of our shoes are kept tidy in the mud room I read to keep all shoes together and not in closet… idk but I know that’s not the best place to walk into that energy especially because it’s in my prosperity area.
I have tried to search for these two problems and the remedies but have come up short anyone have suggestions ???
Help please!!! thank you all blessings!!!!
Hi Giovanna,
It’s great that you have such an interest in Feng Shui and are educating yourself on how to use it to achieve your new home and career goals. Your questions on shoes and weights are interesting and where hard and fast “Feng Shui rules” that you sometimes read about may need to be looked at with a bit more moderation.
Since I have not seen your floor plan, I can only recommend that you keep a couple general Feng Shui concepts in mind. First, match the activity with the room. An in-home gym is a very active, Yang endeavor so a bedroom or dining room should be avoided. If you have a spare bedroom that you can dedicate to this activity, that is fine. Even if it is used as an occasional guest room, assigning an extra bedroom to more Yang activities such as exercising, office work or music making is fine. The living room is also very Yang so, if space is tight, you could get an attractive basket or storage container for the equipment you only use occasionally.
Also, I was taught, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” How is your prosperity? If it’s doing well then the shoes may not be an issue in their current location. If it is challenged, try putting those pairs you don’t use regularly in the closet. Personally, my husband and I keep most of our shoes in our joint master closet. Shoes are sometimes given a bad rep because they bring lower energy, “dirty” Ch’i into a space. Perhaps the larger issue regarding Ch’i flow for you may be your front door. Experiment with opening it once a day, inviting new, fresh energy inside and fine tuning and focusing on your personal intentions.
Let me know how these ideas work for you.
Hello, I want to rebuilt my house according to the principals of Feng Shui, My house faces north, to me the kitchen and the master bedroom are most important, although I understand it would be better the whole house be in compliance with the Feng Shui principal. I have a hard time using the Bagua map. I need to have the proper house plan to present to town hall,please help.
Designing and building a home is a wonderful but complex undertaking. I suggest starting with the general Feng Shui principles of siting the home in the Seat of the Armchair, creating a wholesome shape, having a prominent front door, a smooth Ch’i flow inside and outside and designing so the stove, beds and desks are in the Power Position. All of the tips in my post Use Feng Shui to Buy Real Estate are considerations. I also offer a blueprint or floor plan consultation to brainstorm Feng Shui solutions to your home’s layout both inside and out. Contact me personally for more information on that. Is this helpful?
I have a major situation My husband , years ago completely closed off the front door so it hasn’t been used ever since our kitchen door is used as the main entrance how do I apply the bagua map???
Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am trying to Feng Shui my house I don’t know what my next step should be. I’m a beginier on this & it makes total sence to do this , but I’m at a loss
hope to hear back from you
Barb
Barb, I understand why you would be unsure of how to proceed. Generally speaking, it is always recommended to use the architectural front. I’m not sure that I have enough information to comment. How did he “close off the front door”? Was there a remodel that eliminated the door entirely or is it simply covered up or sealed in some way but isn’t operational? If the kitchen door is on the same side of the house as the front door, use that same side for the Bagua Map, however, that would not address the situation with the front door. Please reply.