House Planning and Interiors

Golden Rules:

The following golden rules are regarding to house planning and interior planning that can help to restore balance and harmony even when the selection of land and construction are not exactly as per Vastu Shastra.

1. All rooms should be square or rectangular in shape. L-shaped or irregularly shaped rooms should be avoided. Do not construct kitchen, toilets and puja room next to one another. 

2. The kitchen should not be directly in front of the main door.

3. Keep all electrical/heat-generating appliances in the south-east zone of the room.

4. Don’t keep broken mirrors in the house. 

5. Mirrors, sinks, washbasins and taps should better be along the north-east walls. 

6. The safe should open towards the north or east. So, keep it along the south or west. 

7. The toilet seat should preferably be along the north south axis. The septic tank can be in the north-west or the south-east corner of the house. 

8. Avoid having garage, dump, streetlight pole or boulders in front of the main gate or door.

9. The number of doors and windows should be more on the ground floor and less on the upper floors. 

10. The north-east corner is the face of the house and should always be kept clean. 

11. While mopping the floor with any antiseptic - a little sea salt or rock salt should be added.

12. Students should study facing north or east. 

13. Do not sit, work or sleep under a bean.

14. Do not hang pictures and paintings of war, crime, unrest, agony or distress in the house.

15. Grow a Tulsi or Basil plant in front of the house. 

16. Do not have thorny plants or cacti plants in the house. Keep them outside the boundary of the house.

17. Rainwater or drainage should have an outlet in the north, east or north-east. 

18. Elderly people are more comfortable in the south-west corner of the house. 

19. Grahapravesh ceremony should be performed in a good muhurtha before shifting to a new house.

20. Do not have a toilet or puja room under a staircase. 

21. Do not construct your puja room either exactly above, below or close to a toilet.

22. The overhead water tank for storage of water should be in the west or south-west zone of the building.

23. A family with a round or oblong dining table will suffer disharmony and end up in not eating together. 

24. Having improper position of the entrance or hindrance in front of the gate can reduce the prosperity to a great extent.

25. Improper position of the bedroom or the bed brings unhappiness in the marital life and causes disturbed sleep. 

26. Having a toilet or a fireplace in the north-east corner of the house can ruin it financially besides mental tension and quarrels one of family members. 

27. Do not have the kitchen in the north-east, south west or centre of the house. A kitchen in north east leads to mental tension, waste of money and losses. A kitchen in the south-west escalates losses and clashes at home. A kitchen in the centre of the house is worst and can be very troublesome. 

28. Keep all electrical appliances like microwaves, ovens and mixer-grinders in the south-east zone of the kitchen. 

29. Do not keep water and fire next to each other in the kitchen. 

30. The cook/person working at the gas stove should not have his or her back towards the kitchen entrance.

31. Kitchen walls should be painted in a light colour. A soft pink, orange or cream colour scheme works well.

32. The gas stove represents the state of finances of a household. The gas stove should be kept clean and well looked after. The burners should be kept unblocked and regularly in use.

33. The gas stove should not be visible from the main entrance.

34. Bedrooms should not be located in the central portion of the house. The brahmasthan in a house attracts a lot of energy, which is not conducive to the main objective of a bedroom providing rest, peace and repose. 

35. The ideal direction for placing the head while sleeping is south; north is totally prohibited. Sleeping with head towards east is allowed for children and students.

36. The stairs should not be made in the north-east or brahmasthan. The preferred area of location of the staircase is in the west, south-west or south. Steps should begin from north or east. The number of steps should always be odd and should never end in zeros like 10, 20, 30, etc. The stairs should not turn anti-clockwise and move from south to north or west to east.

37. The internal staircase in a house should not be directly opposite the front door. Also take care that the external staircase is not directly opposite the main entrance. 

38. The main entrance should be well lit and appear welcoming.

39. Keep clutter to a minimum. Avoid crowding rooms with too much of furniture and artifacts. The house should appear cheerful, spacious and aesthetic. 

40. The front door should open inwards. Have a threshold especially for the main entrance.

41. Allow plenty of light and air into all rooms, even the ones not used regularly. 

42. Do not sit, sleep or work under overhead beams. 

43. Arrange the furniture in such a way that the north and east as well as the brahmasthan of the rooms are kept light and free. Have heavy furniture in the south, west and south-west of the rooms. Lighter furniture can be kept towards north and east of each room. 

44. Keep beds in the south-west of the bedroom. Keep head towards south. 

45. Have lofts and attics in the south and west side of the rooms.

46. Cupboards containing cash, jewellery, cheque books and valuables should be kept in the south, so that they open towards the north.

47. For small homes making a separate puja room in the north-east may not be attainable. A north-east corner in the study room, kitchen or dining room can be used for this purpose.

48. Allow plenty of natural light and fresh air within your house. Gloomy and dark houses collect a lot of negativity.

49. Never move into an unfinished house. 

50. There are certain dates when neither muhurtha or auspicious time is required and without consulting any astrologer one can start construction or move into a new house. Those days are Akshay Tritiya, Phulera Dooj, Vijaya Dashmi and Vaisakhi.