Vastu tips for new home© Pexels

The Vastu Tips You Need To Set Up Your New Home

The world we live in is graced with both living and non-living beings and both play a crucial role in creating harmonious symphonies in nature and the spaces you inhabit, that transcend the physical space. Given the unique compositions of energies that make up all types of elements of the world (including you, your dog or even your furniture!), everything around you tends to give off a certain ‘vibe’. Since the energies play a prime role in factoring the very existence of everything around it, Vastu Shastra suggests that you can let the orientation, planning and decor in your home help induce a positive inflow.

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More often than not builders and real estate developers end up overlooking Vastu principles because of limited space, irregular plot shapes or simply due to preference. But, as a client, if you believe in the ancient science and are planning to buy a new house, a few basic tips involving paint colours, directions, room shapes and room layouts, will help you get started. Following these guidelines will infuse positivity and happiness in each corner of your home and ward off negative energies.

For a house to turn into a home, it must contain a certain energy because as per Vastu shastra, which is the broader knowledge about architecture and design theories from ancient India, a person is deeply affected and influenced by the energy of the space they live in. It’s important to understand how certain things can affect the aura of your home and affect your feelings and energy levels as well.

Vastu for home is gaining popularity once again in the contemporary architectural and interior space, with more and more young Indian home owners prefering to buy a Vastu-compliant home.

Basic Principles of Vastu Shastra for a Home

principles of Vastu Shastra©Pexels

One of the first Vastu tips for a new home is to appraise the shape of the rooms and the directions their entrances are facing. As per Vastu, the outline or plan of the home should preferably be square or rectangular-shaped.

The rooms of the house should be well lit, airy, and clean. You should reserve the south-west direction in any room for placing heavy furniture like beds and wardrobes. If you have a multi-storied home, you could also build a staircase in the south-west part of the house. Make sure you don’t place your dining space near the main door.

An important tip is to incorporate indoor plants and all-aqua-everything home decor items such as paintings depicting water bodies, fountains and aquariums into your home, barring your bedroom, for a positive and peaceful atmosphere.

Vastu Direction for Entrance

As per Vastu, the house’s main entrance lets not only people in, but energies and vibes as well. The main entry must always be east, north or north-east-facing, ensuring that the person stepping out of the house is facing either of these three directions. Before buying or building a house, make sure the plan focuses on these particular directions.

Vastu tips for home Entrance©Unsplash

Tips for designing a Vastu-compliant house entrance

  1. Always use superior quality wood to construct the main door and other architectural details.
  2. Avoid placing any fountain or water-centric decor items outside the main door.
  3. Don’t install a shoe rack, dustbin or waste basket right by your door.
  4. Make sure you don’t have a bathroom or powder room near the entrance.
  5. The entrance should be well-lit and the main door must not be painted black.
  6. It’s good to adorn your door with nameplates and auspicious Indian garlands or torans to invite in positive energies.
  7. The swing of the door must be in the clockwise direction when you open it.
  8. Lastly, avoid displaying animal statues or taxidermy figurines near the entrance.

Vastu Tips for the Dining Area

Dining Area Vastu Tips©Pexels

If you’re planning to have a dining area separate from the kitchen, make sure you place it in the west or north-west zone of your house. If that is not possible, then you could position it in the north, east or south direction. Avoid the south-west zone for your dining space at any cost, since that’s not suitable according to Vastu. Another tip is to get a rectangular or square table. Situate the dining table in a way that prevents you from eating while sitting under a loft or a beam.

Vastu Tips for your Staircase

Staircase Vastu Tips©Unsplash

A staircase must always be built in the western or southern part of the house. It should not be constructed in the north-east corner, as it is believed that a staircase here can lead to financial losses. In fact, a staircase in any corner except the western or southern corner is believed to lead to losses. Additionally, the number of steps in a staircase should always be odd (15, 17, 19, or 21). The number must never end with a 0, as per Vastu rules.

Vastu Tips for the Living Room

Living Room Vastu Tips©Unsplash

In any house, the living room is the area which experiences the most footfall and bustle, and is often the place where guests are entertained. As per Vastu, your living room should be clutter-free and must be located in the east, north or northeast parts of the home.

Furthermore, the furniture in that room should be placed in the west or southwest direction. Doing this will ensure that your home has no Vastu dosh (faults) and that it brings in stability and positive vibes. Make sure you install all electronics and other appliances in the southeast zone of the living room, and if the space has a mirror, it should be placed on the north wall.

Bedroom Vastu Tips

Bedroom Vastu Tips©Unsplash

According to this ancient science, bedrooms must be located in the south-west direction. While the cupboards, wardrobes and dressing table can be placed along the south or west wall of the room, the airconditioner, room coolers, or any other electronics must be in the south-east side of the space for good health and to maintain prosperous relations. The key piece of furniture, i.e the bed, should be placed in the room’s southwest corner, with the head facing west.

Tips to follow while designing the bedroom

  1. Your bed shouldn’t be facing a mirror, television or any reflective surface, because it is believed that if you see your own reflection while in bed, it can cause a negative shift in energies causing domestic disruptions and fights.
  2. Use a paint colour with neutral or earthy tones for the bedroom walls as they radiate soothing and positive energy. The walls should never be painted black.
  3. Avoid placing a temple or space for worship in the bedroom.
  4. As per Vastu, it’s not advisable to display paintings depicting water or fountains in this room as they’re believed to cause emotional outbursts.
  5. It’s good to use layered mood lighting and diffused aromatic oils in the space to create a calm oasis.

Vastu Tips for Kitchen

Kitchen Vastu Tips©Unsplash

According to Vastu rules, the kitchen must be constructed in the southeast side of the home. North, northeast or southwest directions must be avoided for placing the kitchen. Appliances in the kitchen should also be in the southeast direction of the room. Store your grains and food cabinets in the north-west or south-west course of the kitchen.

Vastu Tips for the Kids Room

Vastu Tips for Kids Room©Pexels

It is advisable to place the children’s rooms in the southwest zone of your new home. Make sure the kids sleep with their heads facing the south or the east, since this is believed to bring in good luck, joy and serenity.

Vastu Tips for the Meditation Room

Vastu tips for meditation room©Pexels

If you have the space, reserving some of it to build a meditation room is prescribed by the ancient science of Vastu. This room can be used by the family members to not just practice meditations and prayers, but to introspect, disconnect from the outside world and connect to the higher power for their spiritual growth.

Tips for designing a meditation or a spiritual room

  1. The east or northeast side of the house is the best for practising yoga, meditation, and other spiritual pursuits.
  2. Vastu rules state that you should face east while meditating since this increases the flow of positive energy.
  3. You can even design a sacred altar in the meditation room and decorate it with candles, flowers, spiritual decor pieces and incense sticks.
  4. The walls should be painted in muted and subtle colours including white, beige, green or light yellow as per the Vastu recommendations.

Vastu Tips for the Bathroom Area

Designing your bathroom as per Vastu is said to boost your well-being and improve your mood. Here are a few Vastu tips for bathrooms to keep in mind.

Vastu Tips for Bathroom©Unsplash
  1. The northwest zone of your home is the best location for a bathroom or a toilet.
  2. Avoid placing the bathrooms in the southwest section of your abode as that is said to have a negative impact on you. However, if that is not plausible, Vastu remedies can tackle the ill effects of having a wash area in the southwest direction. For example, propping a Vastu pyramid just outside the toilet wall or letting the door remain closed at all times is advised.
  3. Next, keep the toilet’s entrance door along the northern or eastern wall.
  4. The northwest or southeast direction is ideal to install the commode, and it should be so that the person gets to face either the west or east side while using it. Vastu rules suggest placing the windows along the west, east, or north.
  5. Your bathroom shower or wash basin should always be in the northeast, north, or east directions to allow the water medium to attract good energies as per the guidebooks.
  6. It’s important to ensure that your bathroom doesn’t have a wall common between the kitchen or pooja room. The pipeline outlets put in for the bathroom should be in the east or north direction.
  7. When hanging a mirror in the bathroom, be sure to mount it in the east or north direction.
  8. As per Vastu, light and calming pastel shades are well-suited for this area. You could even opt for colours like light blue, pink or grey.
  9. Always get a wooden door for your bathroom rather than a metal one to ward off bad vibes.

Shape of the Rooms

Vastu Shastra also prescribes some additional rules involving the shape of all the rooms in your new house. Ensure the rooms in your home follow straight lines and have right angles in all the corners. It is recommended to design the spaces in a square or rectangular shape in the layout. Avoid using any circular or curved pieces of furniture or rooms, as it is not suitable as per Vastu rules.

Tips for Proper Ventilation

Vastu rules state that plenty of ventilation and daylight are essential components in a home. It’s great if all the rooms in the house receive regular sunlight, helping the flow of energy and happiness.

Recommended Vastu colours

Colour plays an instrumental role in building the aura and aesthetic of your home. Vastu suggests veering away from dark colours. Opt for lighter and brighter shades like white, yellow, pink, coral, green, orange, or blue to leverage positive and auspicious vibes.

When should you move into a new home as per Vastu Shastra?

One of the most important Vastu tips you must keep in mind is that every move you make must be according to the rules of Panchanga (Hindu Calendar). If you aren’t familiar with this calendar, you can consult with an expert to help you decide a suitable time and day to move into a new home. They can also provide guidance in terms of performing the rituals included in the Graha Pravesh pooja ceremony, among other Indian traditions and rituals.

Before performing all the ceremonies as part of the Graha Pravesh, Vastu shastra recommends that you enter an empty home first. Only introduce a gas or stove into the kitchen at this point. When you enter, break a coconut at the ledge and step into your new house with the right foot in the lead. Once this is done, the ritual entails allowing a boiling pot of milk to overflow on your new stove. This symbolises the abundance of prosperity and food which will bless the new home. After it has boiled over and you offer some to the deities of your choice, serve the milk with a bit of sugar to the guests in your home.

Performing Havan

Havan is a fire ceremony performed in a new house to receive the blessings of God. Members of the house worship and pray to Lord Ganesha and present fire, flowers, turmeric, ghee, and coconuts as offerings. Holy water of the Ganga river is sprinkled throughout the house to ward off negativity and bless the start of a new phase in your life.

Following Vastu guidelines can be quite beneficial for every new homeowner and tenant. Making sure your new home is Vastu compliant can make all the difference and help you lead a happy and prosperous life!

Which home decor items should you avoid as per Vastu rules?

Certain objects tend to attract obstructive and bleak energies in a home and you could even be storing them unknowingly. In order to create a positive and peaceful sanctuary, removing items that promote clutter, chaos, and confusion is crucial. Avoid or eliminate the following objects from your home.

Broken Glass or Damaged Objects

Shattered glass, chipped crockery, and broken decor items often end up being stashed away somewhere in an ignored and forgotten state. As per Vastu shastra, broken objects are known for inducing melancholy, sadness, hopelessness and despair in the residents of the house.

Make sure that you aren’t knowingly or unknowingly hoarding accessories and useless trinkets with cracks, chips or stains in them. Either repair them on priority or replace them completely. Broken mirrors are a strict no-no.

Artificial or Dried Flowers

Artificial or dried and preserved flowers or plants hamper positive energy flow in the house as per Vastu shastra. The rules say that carnations should not be displayed indoors since they are believed to bring bad luck. Plants featuring thorns should also be avoided as they are known to cause interpersonal conflicts and issues among the inhabitants of the house.

Artwork Depicting Negative Emotions

Images with negative connotations such as shipwrecks, wars, wounds, crying children or the setting sun, among others, tend to lend an atmosphere of sadness and pain in a house. Also, avoid placing paintings and pictures of waterfalls, fountains, ocean, rain, aquariums or anything water-themed in the bedroom as they can trigger feelings of hysteria and depression.

Taxidermied Animals/Dead Animals

Taxidermied animals, animal skin, ivory sculptures, snails, or antlers shouldn’t be on your home decor shopping list anytime soon. According to this home science, these objects have stagnant energies of death and suffering looming over them. Vastu principles also say that objects that have been made to go against the course of nature must not be kept in the house. For example, a Bonsai plant is discouraged since they are artificially restrained from growing to their full potential.

Remember, that your home is yours to decorate as you see fit. These are guiding principles that you can choose to follow or not, the choice is entirely yours. Regardless, setting up a new home is a mammoth task and the key is to plan everything—bring out your inner Monica.