The main door to a house is an essential aspect of feng shui for residences. It plays multiple crucial roles, such as being the main entry point for energy into the home and the first part of the house that visitors observe and make contact with. Every member of the household uses it on a daily basis. So, it's no wonder that every school of thought in feng shui gives significant prominence to the main door, specifically its placement and direction.
However, simply identifying the best place to locate the door facing a specific direction is not enough. To fully harness the power of feng shui, there are several critical factors to keep in mind when configuring and choosing the main door.
1) Biggest door in the house
The main door should easily stand out as the biggest door in the house. It should be larger than other doors such as room doors, side doors, or back doors. If there is any doubt about whether the main door is the biggest one in the house, it may already be a bad sign. Ancient writings even state that a big door would produce people of nobility in the household. Note that the garage door and the main gate should not be considered when assessing the size of the main door.
2) Solid material
Traditionally, wood has been the preferred material for main doors. However, times have changed, and homeowners now have limitless possibilities in conceptualizing and constructing a house's design and architecture. While many homeowners still opt for a strong door made of solid wood, some choose other materials such as metal doors. Metal doors are especially popular for those with the 5 yellow as a water star at the front door, as the metal element helps to subdue the negative energy. Whatever material is chosen, it must be of solid build, and see-through materials like glass doors should be avoided.
3) Color
The color of the main front door can fulfill the desire to have a presence of a particular element at the entrance. Different colors represent different elements in feng shui. For example, green and light brown represent wood, red and purple represent fire, yellow, orange, and dark brown represent earth, white, gold, and silver represent metal, and blue and black represent water. When choosing colors for the main front door, it's important to consider elemental clashes with the colors of the wall and to avoid using colors that can be confusing regarding which element they represent.
4) Open inwards
Doors should always open inwards to welcome fresh positive energy into the home. A door that opens outwards is believed to drive away luck and make it difficult to accumulate wealth. It's also important to ensure that the door is not positioned in a way that a resident entering the house would immediately be greeted by a toilet. If the door currently opens outwards, check if the hinges can be reversed.
5) Roof
The main door should ideally have a roof at its entrance for protection. Consider that the main door is constantly exposed to use, abuse, wind, and weather. Providing shelter for the main door not only gives energy a safer entryway into the house but also acts as a shield against negative energy (sha chi) pointing at it. If a protective roof was not built by the builder, consider setting up a canopy or any substitute to a proper roof.
Image Source: Sanaulac
6) Double leaves
A door with two leaves looks grander and adds to the presence of the door. Consider that almost all the doors in the interior of the house will be single-leaf doors that swing open from one side. Having a two-leafed main door helps to make it stand out and gives it the attention and recognition it deserves. If one side of the door is bigger than the other, use the bigger side more frequently. It's advisable to avoid installing sliding doors for the main front door.
7) Stairs and steps to door
Many houses have main doors that open to steps or stairs outside. In such cases, there should be a flat open space in front of the door before the first steps of the staircase begin. The size of this required space should be at least the length of the door squared. If there is insufficient space in front, placing a welcome mat outside the door can serve as a substitute. If the space is too short, consider using a double-leaf door to effectively shorten the door's reach when swung open.
Don't forget that getting the main door direction right is the first step in feng shui. If that is not possible, at least avoid having the main door face an unfavorable direction. The main door is one of the most important parts of the house in feng shui, so pampering it with love and attention will never be considered too much.
