5 Feng Shui Living Room Colors for a Peaceful Space

Feng Shui is a practice which calms the mind and home. It involves the movement of energy and looks at how pieces are used around a space to create cohesion with the natural world. From plants to colors around the home — for many, this practice is a way of welcoming positivity in different forms.

In Feng Shui, the color theory is essential within the home. It signifies the essence of nature through its natural tones, while incorporating the major elements. Interior designer and Feng Shui expert Julia Sarasola tells us: ‘The five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, and water — describe all the movements of life or transformations observed in nature. Each element has a coordinating set of colors representing its vitality in visible form. You can work with these colors to shift the energy within your space and life’.

So, how do you implement color into your living room Feng Shui and what colors should you bring into your home that will help you find your inner peace? Here is everything you need to know.

Table of Contents

Feng Shui colors

A living room with green chairs and curtains

When choosing a color for your living room, Feng Shui expert Julia Sarasola says you should reflect on the colors you are ‘innately drawn toward’. She adds: ‘Review the attributes of those colors from a Feng Shui perspective. This will provide valuable insight into the areas of your life that feel stable or are in need of extra support’.

She continues: ‘For example, if you’re looking to enhance creativity or passion in your business, with a project or in a relationship, working with reds and oranges (especially in specific parts of your home) could be just the spark you need; providing you with courage and the ability to show up for yourself’.

Julia Sarasola

Feng Shui practitioner, interior designer, and vintage curator Julia Sarasola is known for her holistic approach to design – creating spaces that feel authentic and welcoming, reflecting the unique personalities and lifestyles of her clients. By first tuning into the energy of each environment, she emphasizes the importance of finding harmony with one’s surroundings. Sarasola Interiors is a multidisciplinary studio with clients across the East and West Coasts, stretching as far as Alaska and Argentina.

1. Yellow

Modern Living Room Interior With Sofa, Potted Plants And Yellow Color Wall

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Bold, bright and beautiful, in Feng Shui the color yellow is a part of the Earth element. It is believed that using this element and color can help channel positive energy throughout your home.

Anjie Cho, Feng Shui expert, co-founder of the Mindful Design Feng Shui School and author of Holistic Spaces, highlights the importance of this color. She says: ‘Earth is the element that provides or looks at how connected we are to being grounded. It also looks at our stability. The color connected to the earth element is yellow. In Feng Shui this color is used for grounding, stability and nourishment in your life and to center yourself’.

Julia says the color yellow also signifies safety, security, health, and wellbeing.

2. Black

Modern interior design of living room. Black sofa and empty mockup wall background. 3D Rendering, 3D Illustration

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The water element, which is represented by the color black is extremely important in Feng Shui. Anjie says: ‘Black is a color that you could bring into your home if you would like more flow to support your connections in the world and also to inspire your intuition. The water element looks at your intuition, it looks at your connections in the world’.

However, Anjie explains that too much black, might not be the best option in a home. She says: ‘Too much black might not be the most appropriate for a home interior because it absorbs light, and can feel too dark and depressing. However, it’s a great choice for dramatic accent pieces. I would say that 95% of the home renovations I’ve done in the past three years include black’.

She continues: ‘It’s quite a dramatic and beautiful color, and it’s really having a moment. I would definitely recommend including black in your home to bring in visual drama. You can also bring in black accents with intention to cultivate wisdom and knowledge. Black chalkboard paint is a fun way to incorporate black into your home decor, and it creates a lot of drama when paired with a contrasting white wall’.

3. Red

A red living room with a round desk table

(Image credit: Farrow & Ball)

An eye-catching presence, the color red in Feng Shui is associated to the fire element. Anjie says this color is all about ‘inspiration’. She continues: ‘It’s about your visibility, and it’s a lot of movement. So if one would like to have more visibility, more inspiration, more passion, more liveliness in your life and in your home, then you could use red, and red is a color which you would want to use sparingly’.

‘Red is also a very auspicious and lucky color, so it’s good if you really want a little extra support and extra life energy, extra ‘Chi’,’ Anjie tells us. ‘Adding a little pop of red can bring in that vitality, because red is the color of our blood and that supports and nourishes us’.

So, if you’re looking for colorful living room ideas, red might just be the perfect choice to add a chic and bold splash into your home.

Anjie Cho

Anjie Cho is a Feng Shui and dharma arts educator. Anjie is the co-founder of the Mindful Design Feng Shui School, co-host of the Holistic Spaces podcast, and owner of Anjie Cho Architect PLLC. She’s the author of Holistic Spaces, Mindful Homes, and co-author for forthcoming Mindful Living.

4. Green

A green living room in shade Green Smoke

(Image credit: Farrow & Ball)

Green, a serene color that reflects nature itself. It is also a representation of the wood element. Anjie says: ‘The qualities of wood are growth, healing, and action. So if you need any of that in your life, you should bring the color green into your Feng Shui’.

There are many colors that go with green if you’re looking to add this into your living room. This includes black, yellow and red — so you can seamlessly combine these color with other Feng Shui shades. Adding elements of green will brighten up your space in many ways, whether that’s through plants, accents, furniture or accessories, it is a trendy shade that will elevate your space.

Livingetc’s Interiors Editor Emma Breislin says the color green, ‘is such a versatile color to use as an accent in your living space — just think of how many different shades of it you can see right outside your window. It adds instant freshness but in a subtle and soothing way. When it comes to using green as an accent color, it doesn’t have to be loud. In fact, I actually classify green as a neutral shade. The accent could be an indoor plant, a dark olive green sofa, or a patterned rug with flecks of green running through it. Perhaps it’s your choice of wall paint color, which could range from a soft, subtle sage green all the way to a rich olive green’.

5. White

white living room with light grey sofa and two white accent chairs in white boucle

(Image credit: Stacy Zarin Goldberg. Design: Hendrick Interiors)

It’s classy, simple and clean. The color white in Feng Shui focuses on the metal element. It emphasizes on clarity, simplicity, as well as new beginnings.

Anjie says the metal element ‘is beauty, It’s joy, it’s precision and it’s efficiency. If you want to bring more organization or precision and if you need to clarify things in your life, white would be a really great color to bring in to your space’.

The color white is great to use in your living room if you are looking to add a minimalist touch to your home. Livingetc’s color and trends editor Lilith Hudson tells us: ‘White living rooms are oft-overlooked. While a dose of color has its time and place, white walls offer the perfect backdrop to experiment with more vibrant furnishings and decor that can be more easily interchanged depending on your mood or season. If you want a living room that feels calming, airy, or minimalist in nature, white is a guaranteed winner. The best part? It’s guaranteed to be timeless, too’.