The dining room is a social room, not unlike the living room and family room, but it has the potential to be much more intimate because of the involvement of food and time during shared meals. The feng shui dining room is welcoming and comfortable, a combination that encourages people to converse and linger. Choosing the right color for your dining room will lay the foundation for using feng shui to complete the atmosphere.

Dine in positive colors. In order to create a space that allows diners to be relaxed, calm, and happy, you will want to be sure the colors surrounding your dining room are positive and stress-free themselves. This will help the dining experience to be more satisfying, a perhaps intangible element that brings greater health and joy through feng shui.

Gravitate toward warm colors. Feng shui dining room colors are similar to colors that create lovely feng shui kitchens – warm and comforting, as opposed to cool colors. Red and orange in particular are known for stimulating the appetite as well as conversation and tasteful candidness.

Other warm colors that might work well in the feng shui dining room include, but are not limited to, the following: honey, raspberry, maroon, burgundy, coral, salmon, sienna, rust, terra cotta, gold, and bronze.

Incorporate red & orange with a restrained hand. Due to the vibrant and high-energy of red and orange (and their potential for feeling overpowering), it is recommended that you use them in your feng shui dining room with care. Paint an accent wall in the dining room one of these colors (if you want), and leave the other dining room walls neutral. You can practice the same type of proportion in your place settings for a less permanent stimulating effect.

Use color to divide the dining room from the rest of the “open concept” rooms. Open concept floor plans are very popular right now, as families want to be together during a variety of activities. However, this layout isn’t ideal feng shui. When the dining and living rooms are combined, then, you should provide a visual separation between the two spaces. Use color to create a feng shui dining zone, for one decorating tip. A colorful rug under the table, for example, or a strategic pop of color on the wall will set the space apart from the rest of the open concept space.

Incorporate analogous colors into open concept space. While you want your feng shui dining space to be set apart from, say, the living room area, you also want the two (or more) common areas to be cohesive. One way to accomplish this is to use analogous colors (colors next to each other on the color wheel) to separate the spaces without visually dividing them.

Use color to arouse hunger in the dining room. Certain colors have been known to stimulate the appetite more than other colors. Reds and oranges are two colors that arouse hunger in particular – their stimulating visual effect translates directly into their effect on the appetite. But the dining room should feel inviting and calm, too, so it takes a certain strategy to use appetite stimulant colors while maintaining a relaxing atmosphere. Neutrals play a key role in striking this balance.

Balance the colors used in the dining room. The feng shui dining room will be neither too bright (overstimulating and off-putting) nor too dull (boring and unpalatable). Colors will be balanced so that the dining area is happy and bright but with an underlying sense of calm and groundedness. Consider using reds or oranges on a light fixture, for example, and other calmer colors closer to the ground (e.g., dining chairs).

Opt for neutral large-scale colors (e.g., walls). A dining room that has feng shui appeal will often have neutral, earth tone-inspired colors used on large surfaces, such as walls or the tabletop itself. Some of these hues might include pink, peach, yellow, and cream.

Warm greys are a lovely contemporary neutral that will likely tie in to the rest of the interior, for those who love grey. Perhaps muted shades of light blue and green would work also, depending on the amount of natural light in the space, because these colors are all inviting and easy-going.

Avoid overdosing with bold colors. The feng shui dining room has a warm atmosphere that is both comforting and conversation-promoting. Because bright, bold colors can be jarring, these can sometimes work against the vibe you’re trying to create.

But if you love bold colors and still want a feng shui design in your dining space, consider a compromise: use the colors in smaller scale accessories, such as centerpieces, dining room window treatments, dining textiles such as tablecloths and napkins, or even the dishes themselves.