Sleeping and Working in the Same Space
Whether you move a bed into your office or an office into your bedroom, either way you’re going to be having two opposing energies in the same space. According to feng shui, that is WAY less-than-ideal.
But, rent is expensive and what if you just have one room to work with? What if you normally work out of coffee shops, but it’s icy as heck out and there’s no way you’re braving that, because safety first? Or, for whatever reason, having your office and bedroom stuff together shakes out to seem like the best use of space? What to do?
Well, like I said, this scenario is less-than-ideal, but I feel particularly qualified to speak on it as a feng shui practitioner who has had to try meshing a bedroom and an office, a number of times. Here are three common scenarios:
Room in a House
When I was growing up, we had a very full house, with my mom, me, my three brothers, and practically a zoo’s worth of animals.
Since I was the only girl, I was lucky to have a space of my own. There wasn’t really any space outside of that room to do my homework or art, though, as all the common areas were full or designated for others things.
I have also rented rooms in homes, where there was very little common space, otherwise.
In most cases, that one room was the only space that I really had to work with, aside from taking myself out to coffee shops, the library, or wherever else I could find.
Some of these rooms came crammed with furniture, already, and I didn’t have any say in the layouts. I can remember some really bad feng shui layouts, i.e. where my back was to the door, when I was working.
College Dorm
And then there was my college dorm. I was blessed to have my own room, because not everybody was so lucky. But, it was TINY. And I didn’t really know much about feng shui, then, but I learned firsthand (because of the dude who snuck up on me and scared the crap out of me) the importance of never having my back to the door, while working. The things I wish I had known, then!
Looking back, I wonder if I could have arranged things differently? I don’t know how many options I had, in that tiny room, but I’m sure that I would have been more mindful of my placement and come up with something to prevent that from happening, even if it meant just locking the door.
I had a full load of classes at my university and a lot of work to do, too, so having a peaceful working space was really important. Oh, well. Live and learn. I did most of my work at the library, anyway.
Apartment
I am blessed to have a one-bedroom apartment, now. But, the front of the space (where I used to have my office) is centered around a staircase. I happen to be in the middle level and part of the staircase is actually attached to my apartment.
Aside from that three weeks at the beginning of COVID, when you could cut the silence with a knife (because everybody was still sort of paralyzed by that new reality), the front of my apartment is really loud and startling, with all of the super heavy doors banging shut, neighbors going up and down the stairs, all day long, maintenance moving furniture (CLUNK!!!), and whatever else is going on out there, during the day.
For the sake of my sanity, I ended up retreating and putting the office stuff into the back room, along with a single bed. It was tight, but it was what made the most sense, at the time.
Things to Be Aware of
There are some issues with this kind of arrangement, because ultimately, a bedroom is supposed to be only for sleeping and other bedroom activities. An office is supposed to only be for working and getting stuff done. I’ll lay them out for you here:
Opposing Energies
Yin and yang should not have to do battle. This is one of the biggest issues with combining an office and a bedroom.
A sleeping space should ideally be restful, with yin, divine feminine energy. That means cool dark colors, soft, flowing feminine fabrics, and curved lines.
Ideally, there would be no electronics in the bedroom. Nothing other than sleeping and other bedroom activities should be happening in the bedroom, either.
Contrarily, an office space is meant to be yang. Divine masculine. Lively. Happening. Productive. Light, bright colors, squared off furniture and sharp lines represent yang energy.
When yin and yang have to duke it out, as with mixing a bedroom and an office, there’s conflict.
Dreaming About Work
Adding on to the fuzzy boundaries issue, if you can see your desk and your computer and whatever other office stuff, while you’re in bed, well, that can create some stress for you. And you may find yourself dreaming about work. For some of us, that’s natural, because of the nature of our career choices. But, it’s less than ideal. And if you can avoid dreaming about work, all-the-better. My point is that having your office in your bedroom can lead to your dreaming about work, more often.
Sleepy at Work
With all of the distractions of today’s society (should I do some work or play another round of Catan? Hmm…), it’s easy enough to be non-productive at our desks.
But, what if your bed is behind you, or worse, within view of your work space? How likely do you think you are to want to work, when you have reminders of sleeping, within view or easy reach?
Why finish that report or call that connection back, or do anything else that feels slightly uncomfortable or productive or work-like, when it would be SO easy to just crawl into bed and have a wee nap, instead?
Do you see where I’m going with this? Not that there’s anything wrong with taking a nap, if you need one. But, it should be by choice, not because you’re prompted by reminders of sleeping, where you work.
That Icky Cramped Feeling
Feng shui is about the flow of chi in and around you. It’s one thing if you have a huge room and there is plenty of space to section off bedroom and office spaces, so the chi can flow, freely. But, what if you’re trying to sleep and work in an itty bitty space, where every single square inch counts?
Well, that can create a claustrophobic feeling, which is probably the opposite of the expansiveness that you want to feel, when you’re working. Trust me when I tell you that it’s not great to wake up in a tiny, cramped space, either. You might have to bust out some serious feng shui skills to make this work.
Mixing Business with Pleasure
While it is best to have your bed out-of-view, while working, having it in the background is a vulnerable position for doing things like Zoom calls.
Do you really want your boss or clients to get a good view of your bed (where you sleep and potentially do other things), while you’re talking business?
I suppose it depends how you feel about your boss and/or clients? But, I’m guessing probably not. If you can, keep your sleeping space for sleeping and find another place to work.
Possible Solutions
We now come to the “what to do about it?” section. There are six things that you can try. You may find that you need all of them, or maybe just a few. You’ll have to experiment, to see what works and what doesn’t. Be mindful of how you feel, when you try these out. Are you more productive? Less? Are your thoughts veering towards your bed, while you’re working, or are you clearheaded and productive?
Activate Your Chi in the Morning
As tempting as it is, resist the urge to roll out of bed and into your office. In order to get into “greet the day” and “working” mode, it is recommended that you go for a walk, to activate your chi, first. If walking’s not your thing, how about some yoga, dancing, or physical therapy? Leaving the house is the BEST option, but at least do something elsewhere in your home, before you go back into the office to work.
Lean Towards Yin with Your Decor
What is yin, really? I mentioned it, earlier, but I’ll remind you, here. Yin is the divine feminine. It translates to dark, cool, and muted colors. It’s lush fabrics. Soft draping. Flowy things. Rounded curves. It represents a relaxed energy.
You have a choice between going more yang (bright, energetic, squared off) or more yin with your decor. Because you’re putting an office in your bedroom, it might be best to err on the side of yin. If you can, get a dark colored desk and make sure to drape any sharp corners (poison darts), at night, so they don’t affect your sleep.
By the way, I’d recommend against using a bright yellow comforter, like the one shown in the featured image. That was just the best picture I could find to illustrate having an office in your bedroom.
Choose dark or muted colors, for your bedding, if you can. If you’re a guy and you still want to keep things somewhat masculine, how about a darker green, blue, brown, or black?
Use Different Lighting
Lighting is important. We need brighter light, during the day (yang energy), and dimmer light, when it’s bedtime (yin energy) and we’re trying to get our systems to slow down. You might have a bright lamp at your desk that you ONLY use, when you’re working, and a dimmer lamp near your bed that you ONLY use, at night. Or you could have blackout drapes for sleeping, but allow more sun in, during the day. Having different lighting can help you create two different vibes, therefore helping delineate the space.
Use Good Feng Shui Placement
Desk placement is one of the top priorities in feng shui. So is bed placement. When you’re trying to put the two together…eh, things can get tricky. How do you prioritize?
Well, no two spaces are exactly the same and it depends on the situation, but given that a bed is bigger and that being able to sleep peacefully is of the utmost importance, I would probably prioritize the bed placement and make sure that it’s in the power position.
Desks should not be facing walls, ideally, because it means that someone can sneak up on you and feng shui is about awareness. Having your back to the door can create fight or flight energy, which can trigger anxiety. Did you know that one of the main goals of feng shui is to allow you to feel safe and in control of your space, so your ego can relax?
If having your back to the door seems like the only option, use a mirror on the wall above the desk, to increase your awareness, so that someone is less likely to be able to sneak up on you. If your desk is in alignment with the door, you will need a crystal or something else to disperse that harsh energy, while working.
Get Furniture that Transforms
Have you ever seen an armoire that folds out into a desk? Or even just a desk that looks like a piece of art, but folds down from the wall, when you need it? What about futons and murphy beds? While it might seem like a pain-in-the-butt to have to put your bed back up, in the morning, or tuck your office stuff into an armoire, at the end of the day, using furniture that transforms could help you get the best of both worlds, in your one space.
Wind Down at Night
Winding down at the end of the day is always important, but it’s even more so when you’re squeezing both an office and a bedroom into the same space. Again, that delineation between yang and yin energies (working/sleeping modes) is really important.
One thing you can do is drape your monitor, computer, and other office equipment with cloths (scarves, sheets, tablecloths, etc.), to soften the energy, create a different look and feel, and take away those reminders of work.
Shutting everything down before doing your bedtime routine can help, too.
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