If you’re in the process of designing a Vastu-friendly home, you may have been struggling because of a lack of information on designing a Vastu-friendly bathroom.
After all, until relatively recently, bathrooms were a neglected part of the house, with little attention paid to their interior design beyond installing basic fixtures.
But today, bathrooms are important, designed to be places of rest and rejuvenation. Therefore, elegant fixtures and finishes are considered not just attractive but essential.
But just as essential to designing a perfect bathroom is, making sure it complies with the ancient principles of Vastu like the rest of your home is also essential.
What is Vastu Shastra?
Unless you’re already an adherent of Vastu shastra, you probably know it as a set of construction and interior design principles that improve the vibrations and energies in your home.
But before you dismiss this as superstition, remember that the principles of Vastu are designed to create a home, keeping in mind considerations of spiritual harmony and practical considerations like elegance, economy, sanitation and comfort.
Therefore, Vastu shastra can be used to design all kinds of spaces, from commercial properties to cars and every single room of your house.
Bathroom in Vastu: Layout and More
According to Vastu shastra, the bathroom must be designed to facilitate all kinds of waste and negative energy leaving your body quickly and thoroughly.
Ideally, your toilet should be separate from your bathroom. But given Mumbai’s notoriously tiny apartments, this may not be feasible for you.
One possible fix to this impossibility could be installing a partition between the toilet and the shower in your bathroom. Either way, you should follow the other principles of Vastu to minimise any adverse effects of having a combined toilet and bathroom.
The most suitable location for a bathroom is in the North-West of the house, while the South-West and North-East are best avoided.
Preferably, a bathroom shouldn’t share any walls with positive, central spaces like puja rooms, kitchens and bedrooms. If layout constraints make this impossible, ensure that your commode doesn’t share a wall with these rooms. In the case of en-suite bedrooms, ensure that your bed does not share a wall with the bathroom.
More on the commode itself—make sure it faces towards the North or the South, but never the East or the West. It’s best to construct it above ground level, even by just a few inches. This helps in the optimal circulation of energy in your home.
The taps in your shower, bathtub and washbasin need to be in the North, East or North-East direction. In addition, the outlets for all your water pipes should also be in the same direction.
Electrical appliances like the geyser, switchboard, electric razor etc., should be placed in the South-East corner. An exhaust fan is also essential as it helps in the circulation of energies and should be placed towards the South.
Bathtubs should be round or square and not have excessively sharp edges. It is best to place them in the north, east, west or north-east directions.
The positioning of mirrors is also critical in Vastu because mirrors can reflect and disperse all kinds of energies, both positive and negative. So, mirrors should be placed in the North and East directions.
Vastu Tips for the Bathroom
Once you’ve got the basics out of the way, you can get to work on other interior design decisions that will improve the Vastu of your bathroom:
1. According to Vastu shastra, a bathroom should be painted and decorated with soothing colours like pastels and light neutrals like cream and grey.
2. The door for your bathroom must be thick and made of solid, heavy, high-quality hardwood. This will help seal the negative energies expelled in the bathroom away from the rest of the home.
Metal doors must be avoided as they have negative energy and, in such a sensitive location, can even cause physical and mental ailments to afflict your family.
Don’t adorn either the inside or the outside of this door with statues or ornaments, especially ones of gods.
3. Vastu considers marble a pure, holy stone best suited for religious and other auspicious, positive uses. Using it in a space like a bathroom is not recommended. Granite and quartz are elegant and more durable alternatives to it.
Remedies for Non-Vastu Compliant Bathrooms
Despite your best efforts, your bathroom might not end up perfectly aligning with Vastu guidelines.
There’s no need to panic in these cases because you can make up for these deficiencies by improving the Vastu of your home in other ways.
Here are a few simple ones:
1. Add pyramids
Place a pyramid in your bathroom. Pyramids, particularly ones made of brass, silver or copper, are beacons of positive energy and bring prosperity to your household.
Wood pyramids are also an option but avoid plastic, steel and aluminium ones. Generally, pyramid-shaped structures like home temples are also considered auspicious, but these cannot be placed in the bathroom.
You can construct them in other parts of the house to improve the overall Vastu of the home, though.
2. Place sea salt in bathroom
Placing uncrushed raw chunks of sea salt in a brass bowl in one bathroom corner is a fantastic way to reduce Vastu dosha. The salt absorbs negative energies and thus must be replaced regularly, about one or two times a week.
3. Seal it away
Keep the sturdy door of your bathroom (we mentioned above) firmly shut unless necessary. This will seal away negative energies from your house and ensure they are not expelled in the wrong place.
We’ve told you everything you need to know to improve the Vastu in your bathroom. But one could spend a lifetime just studying this science of architecture.
If you’d like an expert’s opinion on creating the best Vastu for your home while preserving your interior design style, book a consultation with us at Hipcouch.