Question: Front Door “Disaster” with Stairs

Question:  Hi, I am really impressed with your feng shui guidance on houzz.com. I could really use your advice. I built a brand new home and unfortunately our front door faces the stairs. You open the door and there is approximately 3.5 feet and you hit the stair post. We actually have double doors and one door faces into a stairway going up and the other door faces a stairway going down.

To make matters worse, our stairs are modern floating stairs with gaps in between the stairs and the side railing has openings as well. When you walk under the stairwell - it scissors with landings every 8 steps and if you look above you see stairs (there is no drywall). This is how most houses are in Chicago - door faces the stairs and floating stairs are the "in" thing for modern homes.

I had a feng shui master look at my house and he made me cry. He said I need to move the front door - this would be my long term best option and close off the stairs. Closing off the stair gaps and adding drywall to the sides and underneath will be $10K alone. Moving my front door and foundation walls, etc...let's just say impossible for me. I am devastated.

I put a small crystal between the doorway and first step and a round rug in the 3.5 feet space. Any other suggestions? Am so desperate, would be grateful for any advice you have short of moving. :)

Thank you and best regards - R

Dear R,

As part of the feng shui community, I am saddened to hear that you felt such anguish after a feng shui consultation. Although your entryway isn't ideal (in fact, has several issues as you have pointed out) I am always of the belief that we can "cure" feng shui challenges in a way that won't break the bank.

First, thank you for the photographs. They are very helpful when helping clients long distance.

Let's go through each of the challenges, one by one:

Front door in-line with stairs - This is a challenge as the front door is the home's primary source of chi. Chi will enter the home and rush up the stairs to the private, more yin spaces of the home (bedrooms) and will not sufficiently energize the home with it's positive vital life force energy.

Double entry doors - Double doors for a business are fabulous, as they allow lots of chi into a building. However, they are not great for a residence, as they let TOO much chi into the home. Imagine people crowding into your home as they would a retail store. The home can feel quite chaotic with double entry doors.

Mandarin Duck stairs - That is what we call stairs that go up and down, as in high ranch and split ranch homes. When Mandarin Duck stairs are at the entry, the body doesn't know which way to go - up or down - every time you enter the home. This situation unfortunately "splits" your chi. This confuses chi entering your home and can create health issues.

Stairs without risers - Chi dissapates when stairs lack risers to hold the chi in.

Suggested Feng Shui Solutions

Crystals - You have already placed a crystal between the front doors and the first step of the stairs. That is good. These special Swarovski-type crystals, hung on red string, emit powerful subtle vibrations into the environment that will shift the energy of the space. They are used for protection as well as emitting positive chi. Crystals will provide protection from negative energy as well as too much energy, by slowing it down. So, the crystal will help remedy the double doors and is a wonderful start!

Color - You painted the back wall of the stairwell a brilliant red color (as seen here). I have to admit that red wouldn't be my first choice of color, but it does work (any color in the earth family would be my first choice - browns and beiges). Stairs, because of their up/down energy, are associated with the water element. One way to "occupy" the water element, and diminish the rushing effect, is it to give it some fire element to control (according to the 5 element theory, water dowses fire).

Grounding - I also like the plant on the landing there. I would recommend placing the plant in a heavy ceramic planter. Both the plant (upward chi) and the planter (grounding chi), will help stabilize the chi on the stairs. You can place a stone statue on the other landing to help stabilize the chi. This will help cure the missing stair risers.

Creating a Focal Point - And, finally, we need to cure the Mandarin Duck stairs that split the chi. This is really simple: create a focal point that draws the chi up or down the stairs (such as the photo to the left). You can do this with a piece of artwork and/or lighting. If you use the left door (shown in this photo), your gaze naturally goes to the right wall. I would place the focal point on that wall going up the stairs. It is best to draw the attention up rather than down, to uplift your chi when entering your home. And, most importantly, be sure that the focal point is something that you love! That will truly uplift your chi!

Photo credit: www.remodeling.hw.net