The One Room Where You Shouldn't Keep Tons Of Plants, According To Feng Shui

Who doesn't love a good houseplant? With their toxin-busting, happiness-inducing properties, plants are an amazing vehicle for ushering some of nature's healing power indoors. And these days, it seems like the more you have, the better. Instagram's most enviable homes feature rooms draped in greenery, and some of the world's most influential offices (Amazon, anyone?) are transforming into urban jungles.

Amanda Gibby Peters, another feng shui consultant, agrees that houseplants can bring a lot of active energy (in feng shui, this is known as yang) to a more passive (yin) room. "When placed in a bedroom, plants are sometimes considered the culprit of sleep problems," she says. "If I suspect there is too much yang energy afoot in a bedroom, I will suggest that a client either replaces larger plants with smaller ones or displays imagery of a wooded landscape instead of plants. This gives the bedroom a lively spark without the nighttime interruption."

If you have a bedroom full of plants and sleep like a baby, you don't need to change a thing. Most feng shui pros, including Maureen Calamia of Luminous Spaces, agree that, depending on the room, a few plants can be beneficial, especially when placed in the wealth corner to promote green of another kind.

Architect and feng shui expert Anjie Cho adds that some schools of feng shui, like the more Western BTB philosophy, think that woodsy elements in the bedroom can actually help some people thrive. "The wood element adds qualities like flexibility, kindness, growth, and healing into your life," she says. "For a very lethargic or depressed person, it may even be good to have some uplifting energy to raise your chi. I personally have plants in my bedroom and found that they brighten and perk up the space."

Moral of the story: If you have sleep issues, it may be worth moving some plants out of the bedroom, but if you feel OK, feel free to keep the greenery going.