Feng shui says that color choice can affect occupants' success

If your relationships are tired and money flies through your hands, your house might just be the wrong color. Maybe life is a constant struggle and you can't put your finger on the one small thing blocking your success. The answer could be as simple as the color on your house.

For instance, if your house is painted the wrong color for the direction it faces, you might be losing money. A good example of this is an east- or southeast-facing house that is painted white. This is a great example of houses that lose money or whose residents suffer from ill health or poor family relationships. White is the color of metal, and east and southeast are wood-facing directions. Because metal cuts wood (think of an ax or a chainsaw against a tree), the success of the house is affected.

House colors can be confusing

When it comes to choosing house colors, it can be very confusing to most people. Most are not sure what will look good or what the best choice is for their house. Feng shui provides several starting points for color selection because each color has a different meaning and direction associated with it. And, if you can paint your house a color that is harmonious with the direction it faces, you will help create a beneficial environment in the home, and help harmonize it with the environment, thereby making life go smoother and easier.

For example, color in feng shui means different things. Black is the color of money, but a black house wont necessarily make you rich. However, a house that faces north and is painted white with black trim on the shutters and front door, and has brass trimmings, is a perfect example of a house that is harmonized with its environment. That's because white is a metal color and metal makes water -- making white a "productive color" for a house.

So, by being harmonious with the enviornment (a north house painted a north color), the more you increase your chances that north-related benefits will come to you: more job opportunties, career advancement, satisfying job -- and possibly -- more money. That's because the color and direction are harmonious. Feng shui is often referred to as a method for creating harmony. Harmony in feng shui means that colors, elements, shapes, and numbers are all supportive and beneficial for one another.

A Feng Shui Guide to Choosing House Color

Use feng shui to harmonize your house color with the direction that it faces:

White (creativity/children): Good for west, northwest and north-facing houses as it reflects light well.

Green/Purple (growth/good health/wealth): Good for east and south-facing houses.

Blue/Purple (career/wealth/opportunities): Good for north, east, and southeast facing houses.

Yellow/Beiges/Gold (ochre) (relationships/stability): Good for northeast, west, southwest, and northwest facing house. Yellow is a color of wisdom and study and smart decisions.

Reds/Pinks (social status, recognition, relationships): South, southwest, and NE facing houses benefit from these colors.

Browns: Good for growth and longevity and excellent for east-facing houses and good for the south (fire) direction.

Taupes (relationships, stability, grounding). This color is excellent for the northeast and southwest because these are earth directions and taupes are earthy or stone-type colors. It also helps stabilize relationships and promote family harmony particularly for the woman of the household.

What about trim colors?

White is always a good option, as is a lighter shade of the predominant color. Choose a dark door color from the list of corresponding colors. Or choose a darker shade for siding and lighter shade for the door and trim.

Why not paint a stone location with a wood color?

Remember, you always want to paint your house a color that is harmonious for the direction it faces. If your house faces SW (an earth direction), and you paint it a wood color, such as green or brown, this will create difficulty with the relationships in the house. Likewise, if you paint a south-facing house white, the residents might struggle with gaining recognition at work or have a problem with neighbors.

Selecting color by direction helps guarantee that your house color will be harmonious with its environment. Harmonizing the color also compounds your feng shui -- something you want to do as often as possible because good feng shui is cumulative. So, get out the paint brushes and harmonize your house -- and all your rooms!