How to Lay Out Your Office for Good Feng Shui and Productivity, Straight From a Pro

Put Your Desk in the Command Position

According to Umali, desk placement plays perhaps the biggest role in the overall feng shui of your office. Ideally, you should put it in the command position.

The command position involves placing your desk and chair in front of a solid wall.

"It's the idea of having support behind you, like the support of a mountain, as they say in feng shui," Umali says.

It also requires your desk and chair to be facing the door so you can see people entering, but ideally at a diagonal.

Display Plants Right by Your Desk

According to feng shui, plants infuse positive and lively energy into a space. Living plants strengthen the feng shui element of wood, which embodies resilience, creativity, and growth.

To invite this energy into your home, place a large house plant near your desk. You can also put a few sprigs of greenery in vases around your office too.

Add Artificial Lighting Around Your Workspace

In feng shui, there's the idea of yin and yang energy. Yin represents resting and thinking, which are important qualities for accomplishing deep work. However, Umali says your home office is where you really want to embrace yang energy, which evokes creative and active energy.

Lighting has a strong impact on yang energy, so you'll want to keep your workspace well-lit.

Put Just a Few Metal Objects on Your Desk

Feng shui recognizes five elements that impact your mood. One of these is metal, which feng shui practitioners believe helps with mental clarity, focus, and organization. However, you don't want too many metal objects in your office, which can lead to over-critical thinking, according to the practice.

Work by a Window

Natural light plays a positive role in your office's feng shui.

"Bringing nature in is always a good idea," Umali says. "Make sure you have a view of a window from your desk and open the shades to [invite] the light in."

Hang Inspiring Art Across From Your Desk

When it comes to your wall art across from your desk, hang paintings or images that bring you joy and motivate you.

"Having inspiring art to look at, especially if you don't have a window in your office, can be very beneficial," Umali says.

Close-Off Bedroom Offices

A bedroom workspace is not an ideal setup in terms of feng shui. In a bedroom, you want more yin energy, while an office should have more yang energy. If you're tight on space and need to put your office in your bedroom, consider utilizing a closet area for your desk location so you can close it off when it's time to rest.

Pay Attention to What is Behind Your Chair

As noted earlier, the command position is the ideal way to lay out your desk. This means the back of your office chair shouldn't be facing a window or door. However, the back of the chair itself is also important.

When Umali visits a new client's office for the first time, she always pays attention to the chair.

"You should have a supportive chair with a full-back, which really symbolizes the power position," she says. "That's highly recommended functionally if you want to be successful."

Keep Clutter Away From Your Work Area

Clutter brings on stagnation according to feng shui. If you want to move forward and find success in your career, consider pairing down the amount of trinkets you display, especially on your desk's surface.

Position Bookshelves Near Your Desk

Books are full of symbolism, knowledge, and wisdom, so they can hold a lot of energy in feng shui. Umali notes that bookshelves can make great additions to your office, but pair your collection down to the books that are uplifting. Put them near your desk so you can benefit from the energy.

Align Lounge Furniture on a Solid Wall

A lounge area in your office can be a nice space to accomplish more laid-back tasks or simply take a rest. It's also a great spot to meet with clients. Just like your desk, a sofa should sit in the command position along a solid wall.

However, you should prioritize putting your desk in this position before your sofa since you will most likely spend more time there. If there isn't space to put your sofa in a command position, you can hang a mirror on the wall opposite from it so you can have a clear view of the window or door behind you.

Keep Walkways Clear

Chi is an important component of feng shui. Feng shui practitioners view it as a powerful force that invites productivity and safety into your life. Creating space between your furniture allows for you to move freely in your office, and also for the free flow of chi in your office.

Put a Storage Cabinet Under Your Window

It's tricky to figure out how to utilize a space near an office window best. You don't want to block any natural light or put a chair in front of it. A low-sitting storage cabinet is a feng-shui-friendly option, and it can corral visual clutter.

Store Your Office Phone on the Left

In feng shui, the far left corner of your office is the money corner. To welcome more wealth into your life via prospective client calls, keep your phone on the left corner of your desk.