Expert advice and vastu tips for home by Dr Raviraj Ahirrao, Co-founder, Vastu Raviraj

Looking up vastu tips for home on the internet? You’ll find multiple articles on vastu shastra for home, and many of them may have contradicting ideas. All the online research left us wondering what’s right, so here’s what we did – we reached out to Dr. Raviraj Ahirrao from Vastu Raviraj with a bunch of questions. Join us as we clarify our doubts and make our homes more vastu-appropriate!

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Dr. Raviraj Ahirrao
Question #1: According to vastu, the house should be facing north or east, correct?
Vastu tips for home-home exterior-direction
Speak to a Vastu Consultant before building your home

Expert Opinion: From the centre of the house, the entrance of the house should be in the north-east direction. In other words, if you stand at the heart of your home and face the front door, you should be facing the northeast, north or east.

Question #2: If you cannot place your pooja room in the north-east, can you have a vastu-appropriate room?
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Segregate your pooja space

Expert Opinion: If you cannot place it in the Northeast, you can place it in the North or East, or any point in between these two directions.

If you are placing your pooja unit in the living room or bedroom, it’s advisable to have a partition so that the sanctity of the place of prayer is maintained.

Question #3: Are colours like red, yellow and orange appropriate for the kitchen?
Vastu tips for home-orange kitchen
Choose the right colour for your kitchen

Expert Opinion: According to vastu, your kitchen colour should only be orange or saffron. Since the kitchen is where agni or fire reigns supreme, you should use these two colours to pay homage to Him.

Question #4: Is it auspicious to have a mandir in the kitchen?
Vastu tips for home-kitchen mandir-kitchen colour
Choose a direction that’s vastu-approved

Expert Opinion: Not always. The kitchen should be in the south of the house, while the pooja room should be in the northeast. You should only place your mandir in the kitchen if the mandir unit falls in the northeast of the entire home.

Question #5: If you want a vastu-appropriate home, do you have to use specific colours in each room?
Vastu tips for home-living room-blue sofa-blue accessories
A colour representation will do

Expert Opinion: While you can turn to vastu for the right colour for each room in the house, as per its direction and usage, it’s not necessary to douse the space in that shade. It’s advisable to represent the colour in the room – you can use it in accessories or soft furnishings as well!

Question #6: What’s the best place to keep a mirror? 
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Position your mirror carefully

Expert Opinion: Mirrors should not face north or east to prevent the positive energy brought into the house from being reflected away. But that’s not all! What’s behind the mirror is just as important as what’s in front of it. And mirrors should never face the bed! 

In fact, you should minimise the number of mirrors in the home and limit them to the dresser, as far as possible.

Question #7: Can you keep paintings of scenes from the Mahabharata or photographs of calamities in the house?
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Soothing paintings for a happy home

Expert Opinion: You should only keep pictures or photographs that depict happy, satisfied or peaceful emotions. Images of violence, natural calamities or war, even if it is from the Mahabharata, should be kept away.

Question #8: Images of gods like Saraswati and Krishna should be kept in children’s rooms. But what if your children are inspired by someone else?
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Throw in some superhero inspiration

Expert Opinion: While images of gods are always auspicious, we now need to have images of people who inspire our children. So, be it Sachin Tendulkar or Batman, let your children put up images of whoever inspires them!

If you like these tips for vastu shastra for home, also check out 7 Important Staircase Vastu Tips.

Send in your comments and suggestions.

— editor@livspace.com