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Buyers' Guide

A Guide To Making Your House Vastu Compliant

9 March 2023 Written by Arpan

There is a lot more to home design than just picking the right colors, materials and fabrics. To make your home a true haven of peace and prosperity, you need to ensure that it has the right kind of energy flowing through it. The concept is hardly new, with Feng Shui playing a prominent role in interior design for decades. But there is another ancient design principle that has been livening up homes in India for centuries, and continues to be an increasingly popular concept in Dubai - Vastu Shastra, which literally translates to ‘science of architecture’.

What is Vastu?

What is Vastu for home?

 

Vastu Shastra, which is commonly abbreviated to just Vastu, is an architectural system that was developed in India that incorporates traditional beliefs and scientific principles to create the ‘ideal’ home layout. Vastu focuses on directional alignment, including the direction that the home is facing and how rooms are oriented with each other, as well as symmetry in design and the use of geometric patterns and shapes.

Practitioners of Vastu believe that each home has a certain form of energy associated with it. By aligning the elements of the home according to Vastu, a flow of positive energy can be created, with negative energy being expelled. The end result will be a house that is filled with warmth and happiness, and invites prosperity and good fortune in.

How do you apply Vastu to your home

How do you apply Vastu to your home?

1. The Main Door 2. The Courtyard 3. The Living Room
4. Dining Room 5. The Kitchen 6. The Bedrooms
7. Garden

2. The Courtyard

 

The centre of the home, known in Sanskrit as the Brahmasthan, is considered to hold the most power, so the energy flow in this area needs to be unimpeded. In order to determine the Bramasthan of your home, divide the plot along eight directional lines; the is whBrahmasthan ere they intersect.

This is the ideal space for a courtyard or an atrium, the centre of which needs to be completely open - no pillars, walls or other construction. Avoid having a bathroom built in the Brahmasthan area, and do not place the kitchen here as fire at the centre of a home has a negative energy effect.

3. The Living Room

 

This is your home’s social hub, so it needs to be kept free of clutter and to feel open. Ideally, the living room should be in the northeastern wing of the home, though having a living room facing the northwest is also fine. Heavy furniture and electronics should be in the south or southwestern part of the living room. The south is considered to be the direction of fire, so electricity flowing along that path is preferable.

4. Dining Room

 

Similar to the living room, the dining room is a gathering point for family and friends. It needs to be on the west side of the house, though it can also be in the north or the east, which is perfect for an open plan arrangement - the dining area does need to be separated from the living room in some way, perhaps with a decorative element like a potted plant, or a folding screen. The key thing is that the dining table should be placed in the southwestern corner of this space and arranged so that no family members are facing south when seated. The entrance to the dining room and the main door of the house should not directly face each other.

5. The Kitchen

 

The best position for the kitchen is the southeast corner of the house. Any other position will bring in different forms of negative energy. The kitchen should not be placed directly under a bedroom, and ideally the more distance there is between kitchen and bedroom, the better. Try to position the stove so that the person doing the cooking faces east. Avoid black walls or flooring.

6. The Bedrooms

 

The bedroom is a personal sanctuary, a space where you experience total calm. As such, keeping it free of negative energy is especially important. Atmosphere plays a significant role in that, so burn some scented candles or use fragrance diffusers to keep a pleasant aroma circulating in the room, and make sure there is plenty of natural light coming in. Decluttering is important for the free flow of energy. You want the bedrooms, or the master bedroom at least, to be in the southwestern region of the home with the bed oriented so your head is pointing south or west. Do not place a mirror, television or reflective surface directly in front of the bed. Also avoid keeping any water features in the bedroom.

7. Garden

 

The principles of Vastu are not only applicable to the interior of the home, but can be used for the exterior spaces as well. You would ideally want a garden on the north or east side of your property, where you can have lots of open space, small plants and shrubs, a swimming pool and water features. The south or west is ideal for larger trees and elements such as rock gardens. You don’t want to have too much space along these sides of the property.

These are just a few basic guidelines for making your home Vastu-compliant. You can go much more in depth with all of the above, as well as looking at Vastu guidelines for bathrooms, study rooms and even staircases. If you would like to understand how to fully adhere to Vastu, then you would be well-advised to speak to a Vastu expert. And if you are looking for a home that is already Vastu-compliant, then please contact our Private Client Advisory team, as we have some options that would be very ideal for you.