Vaastu

A large part of how happy your future life would be in a new home, depends on how efficient your home is built. For this reason, many people are applying rules prescribed under Vastu Shastra, an ancient Hindu architectural doctrine that states that directional alignments result in spiritual harmony. While a majority of us may be aware of the significance of Vastu Shastra, not many of us have a clear idea about how to incorporate Vastu for home. This article is meant to act as a guide for those who plan to make their homes Vastu-compliant.

Apart from discussing directional alignments for various areas in your home, we also provide additional Vastu Shastra tips to ensure overall harmony in your dream abode.

Vastu Shastra for main entrance

Let us begin from the very beginning of your home – the entrance. For positive energies to flow freely in a home, the owner has to ensure that certain key Vastu Shastra rules are obeyed.

Vastu Shastra directions for main entrance

The main door in your house must face either of the following directions:

• North
• East
• North-east
• West

This also means that you must face north, east or north-east directions when you are getting out of your main entrance.

Directions to avoid: If you can, avoid having the main door in the south, south-west, north-west (north side), or south-east (east side) directions.

Things that improve entrance/main door Vastu

• Your main door must be built using a solid material. According to Vastu, you may choose between wood and metal, to build a robust main door for your home.
• Your main door should always be slightly bigger than any other door in the house. It should be at least seven ft high and three ft wide. Similarly, make sure it appears grander than any other door even though design symmetry has to be followed.
• It is ideal to place a name plate at your home entrance. The simpler the design, the better!
• Cleanliness must be maintained at all times at the entrance of your home. An unkempt main door is considered a serious flaw according to Vastu and is something that will disturb the flow of positive energies.

Things that may disturb entrance/main door Vastu

• If the entrance door of your house opens in an anti-clockwise manner, it could lead to serious Vastu defects.
• Vastu recommends against placing shoe racks and dustbins close to the main door or entrance of your home, something very common in apartment living.
• When building your new home, do not build a bathroom close to the entrance either.
• Vastu prescribes that the main door should not be painted black. Go for light shades or neutral hues.
• Animal figurines and décor items of the same must not be placed close to the entrance.
• You should have a well-lit entrance main door, but avoid red lights at the main door. The light must always be switched on during the evening, and switched off when you go to sleep at night. Make sure the area is not left pitch dark though. For this, use a low-voltage night bulb.

Vastu Shastra for living room

The living room is an area that sees the most action during the day. More of a social space, the living room is the area where each member of the family gathers, to catch up with one another. This is also the place where you try to relax after a hard day at work. This is also the place where you entertain your guests. All these things make your living room a highly important area.

Vastu Shastra directions for living room

According to Vastu Shastra, the living room of your new home must be located in the east, north or north-east directions.

Vastu colour for living room

Depending on the location of the living room, Vastu prescribes different paint colours for a living room. If the living room is in the east, a direction ruled by the sun, opt for white colour to piant your living room. If the living room is located in the west, a direction ruled by Saturn, go for blue paint. Generally, light shades of yellow and green are the ideal choices for the living room. Avoid red and black paints in the living room.

Vastu Shastra for living room furniture

Place the furniture in the west or the south-west direction in your living room. Also note that Vastu emphasises that the articles of furniture should be shaped square or rectangular.

Vastu Shastra for living room setup and décor

• While electrical appliances are best placed in the west or the north corner of the room, place the TV in the south-east corner.
• In case you want to adorn your living room with a chandelier, place it right at the centre, but slightly towards the west.

Vastu Shastra for kitchen

Vastu Shastra lays a great deal of emphasis on how a kitchen must be built and maintained, so that it blocks negative energies and attracts positivity, health and wellbeing. This is done by creating a perfect balance among the five elements of earth, air, water, fire and sky.

Vastu direction for kitchen

Build your kitchen in the south-east corner, the seat of the lord of fire (Agni). If that is not a possibility, you can opt for the north-west direction to build a Vastu-compliant kitchen. The person cooking in the kitchen must face the east direction. Avoid building it in the north, the north-east or the south-west corner of the house.

For wash basins, water pipes and the kitchen drain, the north or the north-east direction is prescribed. Since water and fire are opposing elements, different platforms must be used, to place the washbasin and the cooking range in your kitchen. This is help you avoid accidents.

Vastu Shastra for placement of kitchen appliance

• Most appliances that we use in the kitchen represent the fire element – the gas stove, the microwave oven, the toaster and the food processor. By the same logic then, the south-east corner is the ideal place to position these instruments.
• The refrigerator should be kept in the south-west direction.
• Your kitchen stock should be stored in the south-west direction.

Vastu Shastra for bathroom

This is an area which is quite prone to attracting negative energy and causing an imbalance among the five elements. This is why utmost attention must be paid to incorporate Vastu rules in building and maintaining bathrooms in your new home.

Bathroom direction as per Vastu

Vastu says that your bathroom must be in the north or north-west part. The south and the south-east or south-west direction must be avoided when building the bathroom.

It is recommended that the bathroom does not share a wall with the puja room or the kitchen.

Vastu tips for bathroom fixture and usage

• Since water and fire are opposing elements, avoid taking bath while the geyser is still running.
• Opt for white colours to paint the bathroom.
• After each bath, the bathroom must be thoroughly wiped so that it dries quickly. Not doing so might increase the chances of accidents.
• If the bathroom shares a wall with your bedroom, place your bed in such a way that it does not recline against the bathroom wall.
• Bathrooms must have proper ventilation in place, so that negative energies and foul smells do not get trapped within. Your bathroom must also have access to enough sunlight, to stay warm and clean. The bathroom windows must open towards the east, the north or the west. They must always open outwards.

Vastu Shastra for bedroom

Your bedroom plays a great role in how healthy you are – the body repairs itself while your sleep. This is why ample arrangements must be made to make sure you are able to enjoy peaceful sleep in your bedroom. This can be done by adhering to Vastu guidelines for bedroom construction and maintenance.

Vastu direction for bedroom

Vastu experts are of the view that the bedroom must be constructed in the east, the north or the south-west corner of your home. The north-east and the south-east directions are not recommended for building bedrooms. Since the central area of your home is the ‘Brahmasthan’, the source of energy, building a bedroom in this area would be a major Vastu defect.

Vastu Shastra for shape of bed

Vastu recommends a rectangular or a square shape for your bed. Even though they might appeal to your aesthetics, do not opt for round or oval-shaped beds.

Vastu Shastra tips for a positive home

• Before you perform the griha pravesh puja ceremony, do not shift any of your belongings to your new home. Vastu recommends that everything must be shifted only after the griha pravesh puja ceremony is conducted.
• Homes that have no proper ventilation will become abodes of negative energy. Vastu views this highly adversely. Make proper arrangements for an efficient ventilation system.
• The shape of all the rooms must be square or rectangular. They must also follow a straight line. This rule also applied to articles of furniture and other large household items.
• Discard all broken items. This is especially true of the electronic waste that is often found in plenty in modern homes. These attract negative energy and impact your health adversely.
• Adding greenery in your home is the best possible way to attract positive energy. If having an independent lawn or courtyard is not possible, use the balcony in your home to create a house garden. Also add water elements like a fountain or an aquarium to attract calm and peace.
• Do not treat the storage areas in your home like a dumping ground. Sort the stuff out, place them properly and clean the storage area regularly. Also, get rid of the stuff that you will not be needing in future.
• Water flowing towards the north ensures happiness. On the other hand, water flowing towards the east brings financial gains. This is why wastewater outlets and the main drainage should be built towards the east or the north direction. Wastewater flow out of the south or the south-west direction can have a negative impact.
• Stairs act like a mode of transportation within your home. If not constructed property, your staircase might become a great cause of inconvenience. Make sure you follow Vastu rules when building a staircase.
• One sure-shot way to bring prosperity in your home is to install the calf-cow statue in your home. According to Vastu, bringing a statue of the Kamdhenu is sure to bring good luck. The same is said about Buddha statues. You can place multiple Buddha statues in your home to bring peace and good luck.

Vastu Shastra FAQs

Is Vastu applicable for flats?

Yes, rules prescribed by Vastu must also be applied to flats, to avoid health and monetary issues that might arise in case Vastu is neglected.

Is a south facing home good according to Vastu?

Even though there is a wrongly held notion that south-facing properties are problematic, such homes could be made perfect by incorporating Vastu rules.