I was recently asked, “Are window nooks good or bad feng shui?” They’re good in the sense that extensions are generally good in the bagua—they say “more of” for whatever part of the room or whole house that they’re located in. In other words, they are considered an extension of whatever bagua area they’re in. They can be a bad place to linger in, depending on whether or not there are poison arrows or other harsh energy affecting the place, but those are easily correctable situations.
Poison arrows in a window nook tend to come from built-in shelving, which is useful and common for these cozy spaces that are so perfect for reading. Make shelves (and this applies anywhere in the home, especially if they are around places where you sit or lounge a lot) at least two inches thick. When the shelf is that thick, it doesn’t have any “machete-like” energy coming off horizontally. Instead, the energy moves harmlessly up and down along the front edges of the shelves. Bringing the spine of the book forward to the front edge of a shelf also does the same thing that thickening the shelf does—it causes energy to move vertically, therefore harmlessly. It’s harmless because it doesn’t aim at a person’s body. This earlier post on feng shui and home libraries has several example photos of my own library shelves, which are thick and have the books brought to the edge.
Photo by Rehkamp Larson Architects, Inc., via Houzz
The only poison arrows in this example nook come from the four white shelves. For that matter, the two uppermost shelves on each side are really okay because they are high enough to be above the height of someone’s body when they are lounging on the seat. And I can’t leave this picture without saying that I really like those light fixtures. They’re not intrusive visually, but very adaptable for reading or just shining on nice displays on the shelves.
Photo by Miller Architects LTD via Houzz
This window nook looks like it’s at the gable end of an upper floor. What an inviting place to look out at nature on a rainy or cold day! (On a sunny day, I’d rather be out in nature.) The ceiling slopes dramatically over the seating, and while that wouldn’t be good over a bed (because the lower parts of the ceiling have a “push down” vibe), I don’t see that it’s a big deal over a window nook which is only occasionally sat in. The Roman shade window treatment is perfect for this situation. Actually, they’re perfect for many situations and should be used more often in homes because they’re soft, but not fussy—a nice balance of yin & yang. I’d recommend changing the two square cushions (the ones with the “karate chop” crush) because they’re striped, which can indicate conflict. If anything, this scene is a bit too neutral in color, so I’d probably substitute cushions that have a bit more color, using as my guide the bagua map. Pillows are the easiest way to bring correct bagua colors into a room. As with the first window nook, the lighting fixtures seem perfect—unobtrusive, adjustable task lighting.
I can’t conclude this topic without saying that a window nook is most inviting (to everyone) when even the tallest household member can stretch out in it.
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