How to Use the Color Pink in Feng Shui

Feng Shui and the Color Pink

Color is one of the best ways to bring out the kind of energy you want for a room. Red, blue, and green all stir up different feelings in people. Bold colors inspire excitement and strong emotions, pastels are associated with innocence, neutrals are used for sophistication and seriousness, and dark blues and blacks can make people feel depressed or deeply relaxed.

When it comes to painting or choosing wallpaper for your rooms, it’s not just how cultures view colors that matters, you’ll also bring your own personal feelings on them. For instance, red might be associated with anger, courage, or passion… but you might have a memory attached to the color that’s related to serenity, curiosity, or intelligence.

So what can we say of pink? People often use the color in spaces designated for women and girls. It has the cultural attachment of being a feminine color, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t be used for men or boys, or those who don’t feel like they really belong to one gender or the other. Ultimately, what I’m trying to say is no color truly belongs to one specific gender identity, so if you like pink embrace it.

In feng shui, pink is suggested for baguas associated with love and partnership. The color attracts relationships, self-love, self-care, and softness. Of course, a room with light pink walls will have a completely different vibe to one with hot pink walls.

Painting Rooms Pink

Off the bat I’ll let you in on a secret: if you’re painting a wall pink, know it’s going to be hard to determine the right shade. Pink is what I’d call a medium color, a go-between; it’s really a gradient of red.

Medium colors, like pink or gray, are very sensitive to lighting. I would suggest buying a few pink paint samples and making 2x2 feet squares of each color on your walls. Play around with different lighting to test out which pink you like best. You want to check on your painted samples at different times of the day for different types of lighting. Make sure you get an idea of what the room looks like in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

Also, I would recommend seeing what the colors look like on a cloudy day vs. a sunny day. Your room won’t get the same natural lighting on a rainy day as opposed to a hot summer day. If you have art that you know you want in your room, hold it up to your paint samples to see what looks best. Also, do the same with furniture.

I have another hint for you when you’re designing your room: furniture looks better when it’s on the opposite side of the color wheel from your walls. For instance, mahogany, which is red-based, looks better in a room with blue walls. Mahogany will blend in with the walls more in a room that’s red, orange, or pink.

Since pink is an unusual color that could be more red-based or blue-based, you’ll really want to compare how different furniture looks next to your pink paint samples. I recommend taking things in slow steps when you decide you want to paint a room. There are a lot of things you want to consider, and if you skip doing samples and just buy paint, you might be unhappy with the end result. You might find when you do samples on your wall(s) that what you liked from those paint card swatches is totally different when you’ve actually got the real deal in your room.

Another thing to keep in mind: what direction does your room face? An east-facing room will get different lighting than a west-facing room. The east will get light from sunrise while the west will get light from sunset. Rooms that get a lot of light from sunrise look really good in light colors, sunset rooms look great in darker or more sunburnt colors.

Pink: It’s Not Just for Girly Rooms

I’ve noticed people are starting to branch out when it comes to pink-colored rooms. Instead of leaving the color to girly bedrooms, the color is making appearances in living rooms, offices, and bathrooms. People for the most part are picking pinks that are coral or more beige-like. If you like subdued colors for your house, a light pink might be the way to go. It offers you more personality than beige, and it can still make the walls feel like they’re in the background and less important.

For those of you on the wild side, a bright pink could be what your house needs to liven it up. One of the nice things about pink is it contrasts well with green, so if you love plants then you might want to use a strong fuchsia or magenta.

Pink in Relationship Baguas

In feng shui, pink has many words associated with it: compassion, innocence, kindness, hope, and nourishment. The color is overall considered a positive one; it’s meant to make you feel good. Pink is most commonly suggested for the marriage and relationship bagua of a household, how do you find that? When you walk through your front door, the relationship bagua is in the back, right corner. The master bedroom is also considered a relationship area regardless of where it’s located in the house.

Pink is associated with the element of fire. It’s a less powerful flame color than red, so it’s a less intimidating color… unless we’re talking about hot or neon pink.

Here are some of the key associations the color has:

• The color gives off a nurturing and sweet vibe. Some would consider it the motherly aspect of feng shui.
• Pink encourages people to care deeply for themselves. It reminds people to embrace intimacy and trust.
• It pertains to the energy of romantic relationships.
• A soft pink is calming, soothing, and associated with unconditional love.

Dark or Light Shades

The saturation and intensity of the color you chose for your walls will influence the room’s energy. Darker or more vivid colors are associated with emotions; whereas, lighter colors are associated with intellect. Deeper, brighter colors add life or chi into a room. Lighter colors tend to hold the existing energy of a room, so they don’t transform things too much.

Hot pink will likely have the same effect (if not more intense) than red, which is associated with alertness, higher blood pressure, arguments, and excitability. It’s a great color in a space where you need to be actively thinking or engaging with others, so offices and living rooms. Hot pink could be overwhelming in a room where you need to sleep.

Bringing Fortune to You

In feng shui, where you add bright vivid colors, you will be more open to change and bringing in fortune. The Chinese practice teaches that every room in your home is a symbol or extension of your life. There are rooms for knowledge, family, creativity, wealth, health, and several other aspects.

You could add hot pink to every room in your house and stimulate everything in your life for change and fortune, but this could end up being very overwhelming and even distracting. It’s a good idea to have a mix of colors in your home, some that are dark and some that are light. You want balance, not chaos.

In general, if your lucky element is fire then pink, red, purple, and orange are colors that you should embrace.

Appropriate Directions for Pink

One direction where red and pink reign as royalty is the east. The direction symbolizes youthfulness and curiosity. The east section of your home is a good place to put pink furniture and other decorations. Colors associated with fire will give your family a boost of energy, which will be a benefit in places where work needs to be done. Pink is associated with warm and cheerful gatherings.

A more beige-like pink is associated with earth, the element is considered the most balanced of the five in Chinese astrology. Earth is used as a buffer between elements in the zodiac. Pink is often suggested for the southwest corner of your home. Red is suggested for the south and southwest corners of your home.

Suggested Pink Accents

If you’re wanting pink accents in rooms, I have a couple of ideas for you. Vases with pink flowers can soften a room and give off a spring or summery vibe. Pillows that contrast or complement furniture are a plus. Pink will contrast with green and blue. A soft pink will go with gray. Throw blankets, rugs, and curtains can help bring a room together by adding a pop of color.

Bathrooms

I encourage people to make their bathrooms look soothing. This is a place where you want to relax and avoid conversations. I think dreamy colors and pastels work best in the bathroom, and not violently bright hues like lime green. Here are my top picks for pink bathroom accents:

• Consider adding a bowl of rose quartz or other similar stones.
• A vase of peonies will look nice next to the sink.
• Add a painting or other art that has pink in it.
• Bathtub curtains are an essential part of bathroom decor, so keep that in mind.
• Magenta towels will be bold while a soft coral shade will blend more with the room.

Offices

The office should look mature. You don’t want to have a Skype call in your office and have people think you’re in your kid’s nursery. Your office should convey the qualities you want people to associate with you professionally. If you want to be seen as creative, go for more daring colors. If you want to appear serious and sophisticated, go for neutral colors and earth tones. Here are some suggestions for pink accents:

• Pink markers and pencils.
• Maps in a dusty rose color.
• Pink light fixtures.
• Office chairs and other furniture with pink padding.
• Bookends in magenta.

Kitchens

The kitchen is one of your top gathering places. This space is usually lively and has more spring or summery tones compared to other spaces. All the electricity and technology in the kitchen will be associated with the fire element. It’s not too hard to incorporate pink in this room:

• Rose-colored countertops.
• Fuschia window curtains.
• Watermelons, grapefruits, and pomegranates in bowls.
• Carnation-colored dishes.

Bedrooms

The bedroom is your sanctuary where you relax. For couples, this is their secret hideout from the world. You want colors in this room that promote togetherness, kindness, passion, and common ground. This can be tricky because bedrooms are used for both intimacy and sleep. Here are a couple of ways to bring energy into the room with pink items:

• Dawn-tinted pillows
• Stuffed animals
• Stained glass windows
• Candles
• Ribbons and bows
• Rugs
• Curtains
• Flower petals

Living Rooms

The living room is your most common room for your family, tenants, and/or guests. I think the room should be a blend of many things to make it feel balanced. Since it is a multi-purpose room, you want to feel comfortable in it whether you’re doing some home exercise, engaging in lively conversation, or taking a nap on a sofa. A medium, soft pink will do well here. Consider adding the following accents:

• Mirrors with pink trim
• Puzzles and Legos
• Potpourri
• Macrame plant holders
• String lights

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Originally published: https://dengarden.com/interior-design/How-to-Use-the-Color-Pink-in-Feng-Shui