SCIENTIFIC VASTU | INTERIOR DESIGN | An Architect Explains

‘Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space’. Here I have explained the Vastu Guidelines for the Interior design of a House. These Vastu guidelines enumerate the correct placement of furniture, doors, windows, electrical gadgets, mirrors etc 

Since Vastu is a science, every guideline is based on logic and reasoning. As an Architect, I have attempted to explain these tips rationally and scientifically under the following headings. Thus you have a choice and can decide what you want to follow and what you don’t.

What are the comprehensive Vastu guidelines for the interior design of a home?
What are the Vastu guidelines for furniture in the interiors?
What are the Vastu guidelines for paintings and art objects in the interiors?
What are the Vastu guidelines for living room interiors in a home?
What are the Vastu guidelines for dining room interiors in a home?
What are the Vastu guidelines for kitchen interiors in a home?
What are the Vastu guidelines regarding the kitchen stove?
What are the Vastu guidelines for beds in bedroom interiors?
What are the Vastu guidelines for other furniture in bedroom interiors?
What are the Vastu guidelines for bathroom interiors in a home?
What are the Vastu guidelines for pooja room interiors in a home?
What are the Vastu guidelines for pooja room idols?

 

WHAT ARE THE COMPREHENSIVE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR THE INTERIOR DESIGN OF A HOME?

The house’s owner should sit facing North or East, and his guests should sit facing West or South. The Scientific Reasoning – While facing North one gets constant sunlight and by facing East one gets morning sunlight which is very essential for the good health and feel-good mood of a person. So the owner can benefit at all times from the sunlight. Whereas the guests who have just walked in from outside do not need it.

Avoid sitting facing South: The Scientific Reasoning – When you sit facing South, your head is towards the Earth’s magnetic North pole. This repels the body’s magnetic North pole, namely the head, thereby causing a restless feeling.

Avoid sitting under exposed beams as it excites your stress zone and disturbs your rational judgment in matters of importance. The balance can be partly restored by concealing beams with the help of a false ceiling. The Reason – When you sit in a room with an exposed beam, it will constantly disturb your peripheral eye vision. So it is better to conceal the beam.

Avoid sleeping with head in the North: The Scientific Reason – The blood in the body contains iron, making the body magnetic with the positive polarity in the head. Thus the head represents the North pole while the feet are the South pole. When you sleep with your head to the North, these two positive polarities repel each other, disrupting the flow of blood and affecting your sleep and health.

Avoid Clutter: It represents stagnation. The Scientific Reason – When you see clutter you feel helpless and do nothing about it. It just keeps accumulating and becomes an irritant in your mind. Removing clutter in your house will help you feel more efficient and function optimally.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR FURNITURE IN INTERIORS?

Avoid furniture near sharp corners of columns: The Reason – These sharp edges are dangerous to people moving nearby. They also can cause damage to the furniture when moved against them. Hence it is better to camouflage them by placing some objects like indoor plants.

Keep furniture at least 2″ away from the walls: The Scientific Reason – To allow for the free flow of air all around and under the furniture, thus creating good ventilation.

Place furniture in the South-East, South, or West sides of a room but leave the North-East corner of each room empty. The Scientific Reasoning – Vastu recommends keeping maximum openings/windows in the North and East to allow the useful, constant, morning sunlight into the rest of the house. So avoid furniture in these corners which may obstruct the light.

Avoid storing things under furniture: The Reason – The space under furniture gets very dusty and cannot be cleaned often. Hence it is meaningless to store anything there.

Install the TV in the South-East side of a room. Watch TV, facing East or North: The Reason – Since one tends to sit in front of the T.V. for long hours, it makes sense to sit facing North or East, as you will be exposed to the suns rays inadvertently that enter from the North or East windows.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR PAINTINGS AND ART OBJECTS IN INTERIORS?

Place clocks on the West, North, or East walls: The Scientific Reasoning – There is constant light from the North, morning light from the East and evening sunlight from the West. Consequently, it will be easy to see the time if the clock is placed on these walls.

Put up mirrors on the North or East walls, not on the South or West walls. Do not keep broken mirrors in the house. The Scientific Reasoning – The constant light from the North and the morning sunlight from the East will fall on our faces as we look into the mirror. This will enable us to see ourselves better.

Position air conditioners on West walls: The Reason – The West wall gets heated up the most in the evenings and during the night; hence it is logical to have air coolers or air conditioners on this side.

Paintings can create an active ambience. However in selecting paintings, avoid pictures such as nudes, fighting animals, hunting/violent/death scenes, barren trees, snakes, owls, bats, vultures and pigeons. The Reason – Negative images can remain in our sub-conscious mind causing some amount of tension in us.

Keep medicines in the North-East corner of the house. It is best to nurse those who are ill in the South-West corner of the house: The Scientific Reasoning – In earlier days, medicines were made from herbs and water. If they were stored in the N-E corner, the UV rays of the morning sunlight helped to keep them fresh and free from contamination.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR LIVING ROOM INTERIORS?

Prop up the sofa sets against the South and West walls: The Reason – It is best to have big window openings on the North and East walls as they allow the constant North light and the morning East light. Hence it is better not to obstruct these windows with furniture.

A small fountain that runs throughout the day or a Fish Aquarium is recommended in the Living room. Position it in the North: The Reason – The soft and soothing sounds of falling water in a fountain are pleasing to the ear. Also, watching fish moving around is a very relaxing pastime. This helps in better interaction between the family members and guests.

Keep the fireplaces in the South-East or North-West: since South-East represents Agni (Fire). But avoid the North-East and South-West corners since North-East represents Water. The Reason – Keep the North-East corner open for the sun’s rays to enter the house. Naturally blocking it with a fireplace is not advantageous.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR DINING ROOM INTERIORS?

Position the dining table in the centre of the room away from the walls: The Logic – One can pull out every chair only if the Dining table is positioned in the centre of the room. However, if one places the table against a wall, that side of the dining table cannot be used for placing chairs.

Avoid having the bathroom near the Dining room: The Logic – Every time someone uses the Bathroom, it is uncomfortable for the rest of the diners sitting at the table. Also the smell from the toilet can be putting off.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR KITCHEN INTERIORS?

The Kitchen is the best place for the daily meals: The Logic – In earlier days, the lady of the house first served the meal to the rest of the family before eating herself. Therefore it was convenient for her to make hot food and serve it right there instead of making it before hand. Moreover, the anticipation of the food makes it taste better.

Avoid water taps in the corners of 2 counters: There should be no leaking taps in the kitchen. The Logic – It is quite difficult to wash if the sink is in the corner of two counters, as you tend to lean more. Leaking taps just waste water.

Store drinking water in the North-East of the Kitchen: The Scientific Reason – When storing water, it is better to have it in the N-E corner where the morning UV rays can kill the germs. This will keep the water purified and clean for consumption.

Have the refrigerator in the North-West or South-West corner of the Kitchen: The Logic – Since the counters are fixed on the South and East walls of a S-E kitchen, the corners available for appliances like a refrigerator, are the N-W or the S-W corners.

Fix the exhaust fans in the East walls: The Logic – The exhaust fan or chimney should be placed in the East, since the cooking is done in the S-E corner, while facing East.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES REGARDING THE KITCHEN STOVE?

Place the cooking stove in the South-East corner of the Kitchen: The Logic – In a S-E kitchen, it makes sense to have counters running on the South and East walls, for proper and efficient use of the space. Naturally the S-E corner becomes suitable for the main kitchen appliance, namely the Stove. Whereas, the rest of the counter space is suitable for prepping.

Try to cook facing East: The Scientific Reason – Since the women get tied down with kitchen chores from early morning, they don’t get a chance to get exposed to the useful morning sunrays. So the best solution is to force the women to cook facing East so that they can benefit from the sunlight falling on them.

The cooking stove should not be visible from the outside: The Logic – One feels uncomfortable cooking if people can see everything from outside.  Hence a little privacy helps.

Do not keep the kitchen sink and cooking stove close to each other: The Logic – Fire and water do not go together.

Set the microwave in the South-East corner of the Kitchen: The Logic – A microwave just like a cooking stove is used for cooking food and so can be placed next to the stove in the South-East corner.

Avoid overhead storage above the cooking stove: The Logic – Leave the space above the stove open or fitted with an exhaust system (like a chimney) for the fumes to dissipate. Otherwise there is the likelihood of the overhead cupboard catching fire. Also cleaning the cupboard, shelf etc will be quite difficult as it will be covered with oil and grease.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR THE BEDS IN BEDROOM INTERIORS?

Place the bed against the West or South walls: The Scientific Reasoning – This ensures that the person will get up in the morning, facing East or North directions from where the useful morning sunlight streams in.

Avoid the bed directly opposite the door: But position the bed in a location where the occupants can see anyone coming into the rooms. The Scientific Reason – A bed is normally about 6.5-7 feet in length and if placed bang opposite the door, can psychologically appear to be an obstacle as you enter the room.

Beds should not be shaky: The mattress should provide good support to the body while resting. The Scientific Reason – The essential function of the bed is to provide a surface which is neither too hard nor too soft for the back. A shaky bed will creak and disturb others when people turn on the bed.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR THE OTHER FURNITURE IN BEDROOM INTERIORS?

The dressing table should be in the East or North: The Scientific Reason – The constant light from the North or East will light up your face when sitting in front of the mirror, thus allowing you to dress up well.

Keep the study table facing East, North or North-East: The Scientific Reason- The constant light from the North and the morning sunlight from the East will make reading easy, without  much straining.

Avoid Television in the bedroom: If a TV is kept, it should never be directly in front of the bed. The Scientific Reasoning – A T.V.  does not encourage intimacy. In fact it only encourages people to become couch potatoes. Also, the waves from the T.V are not good for your health and so keeping the T.V  far away is always preferable.

Set the computers in the South-East: The  Scientific Reason – The South-East is considered the Aagneya (Fire) corner. The ‘Vastu Pundits’ consider electrical appliances as the equivalent of fire as there was no electricity in olden days. So they happily encourage you to keep all electric gadgets in the S-E of every room.

Situate the wardrobe in the North-West or South-West: The Scientific Reason – They serve as buffers to the hot evening sunlight coming in from the West.

Put down the safe in the South-West, opening towards North: The Scientific Reason – The heavy stuff is preferred in the South or West sides to serve as a buffer to the hot evening sunlight. Since the constant light is from the North, you can see clearly into the Safe if it opens towards the North.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR BATHROOM INTERIORS?

Have the bathtub and shower in the North-East, North or East of the Bathroom: The Scientific Reasoning – In earlier times, the water for washing and bathing was stored near the Bathrooms, as there was no plumbing system wherein water was distributed throughout the house from just one water tank. Hence, it was preferable to have this water source in the N-E side where the sun’s beneficial UV rays could purify the water.

Position the WC (commode) in the West, South or South-West of the Bathroom: The Scientific Reasoning – The WC was placed away from the bathing area so that  it does not pollute the water stored for bathing purposes.

Orient the WC facing North or South, but not in the E-W direction. The Scientific Reasoning – In earlier times, when people sat in the open for the daily ablutions, they had to shade their face from the sun and hence the E-W direction was avoided. Also it might have been a sense of respect to the Sun which was considered a major energy source.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUIDELINES FOR POOJA ROOM INTERIORS?

Have a lower ceiling for the Puja room: One can use false ceiling for the same. The Scientific Reason – A Puja room is generally a small room and so having a low ceiling will make it appear more proportional.

Ideally the Puja room can be a pyramid shaped space: The Scientific Reason – It is known scientifically that sitting in a pyramid especially while meditating can create positive effects on the health of the person.

Have two shuttered door to the Puja room: The Logic – While doing puja or meditating, the door is kept open outwards. But then it can come in the way of the passage outside if it has only one shutter.

Keep a threshold at the entrance to the Puja room: The Scientific Reason – A threshold prevents ants and insects from entering and this is useful in a Puja room, as foodstuff may be offered in prayer.

Avoid storing or hiding money or valuables in the Puja room: The Scientific Reason – Many people may feel they are being disrespectful to God by keeping money and hiding stuff here.

Store the puja things in the South-East of the Puja room: The Scientific Reason – Keep all the puja stuff away from the North-East and East, so that there is no obstruction to the morning sunlight.

Avoid a bell in the Puja room: The Logic – A Puja room at home is not made to replicate a temple. It is more of a meditation room and unnecessary sounds should be avoided.

Steer clear of photographs of dead people in the Puja room: The Logic – It is not advisable to have photos of dead family members in the Puja room as they may be distracting or bring back painful memories.

WHAT ARE THE VASTU GUDELINES FOR THE IDOLS IN THE POOJA ROOM?

Place idols in the North-East, East or West of the Puja: The Scientific Reason – The morning sunlight streaming in from the North-East, East and the evening light from the West will light up the idols enabling  you to see them better.

Avoid idols facing North because then the worshiper has to face South. This is not advisable. The Scientific Reason – When a worshiper sits facing South, his feet are towards the south and his head is in the North. This causes the magnetic North of the body, namely the Head to repel the Earth’s magnetic North Pole.

Avoid broken idols or torn pictures: The Scientific Reason – Praying to a broken idol or torn image of a deity can be distracting.

Avoid idols facing each other: The Logic – The purpose of having idols in a Puja room is for one to be able to see them and meditate on them.

Keep idols at least an inch away from the wall: The Scientific Reason – Keeping the idols away from the walls, ensures that there is proper movement of air and incense smoke through the room.

Place the lamp always in front of the idol:  The Scientific Reason – The idea of having a lamp is to light it and if it is placed  in front of the idols, one can see them better.

Place food offerings in front of the idols: The Logic – Place all offerings to God in front of the idol as a mark of respect. Moreover, it is less cumbersome to remove and replace if it is right in front.

Position the storage cupboard lower than the idols against the South or West wall: The Scientific Reason – This way, it will not be an obstruction to the useful morning sunlight from the East.

READ MORE:

This post is about the Vastu guidelines for the Interior layout of a House. It is always useful to combine the Interiors with application of the right colours. Read abot the Vastu tips on colours in interiors here:

• Vastu Guidelines | Colours In A House
• Vastu Guidelines | Choosing The Right Colours
  
• Vastu Guidelines | Colour Therapy