Is a Bedroom Over the Garage Bad Feng Shui?
Most practitioners say yes. A garage is an empty space with cars coming and going, so a bedroom above it is said to sleep over restless, unstable energy. It is also the feng shui rule with the clearest practical reasons behind it: fumes, noise and a cold floor.
It is the sixth of the six layout checks behind the feng shui friendly label on Dudils, explained in the guide to feng shui house plans. Schools of feng shui differ on many of these rules, so treat this as a layout check, not a full reading by a practitioner.
Why does feng shui warn against a bedroom over the garage?
Because a bed needs steady support beneath it. A bedroom is where you rest, and a garage is mostly empty air, with cars and their engines moving in and out, which is said to leave the room above unsettled. Some practitioners point out that the classical texts never mention garages, and treat this as a modern reading of the old idea that a bed needs solid ground under it.
What are the practical problems with a bedroom over the garage?
Fumes, noise and cold. Car exhaust, and the fumes from petrol, paint and garden chemicals stored in a garage, can find their way through gaps in the ceiling and around pipes into the room above. Carbon monoxide has no smell, so you will not notice it without an alarm.
A roller door and an engine starting early in the morning carry straight up through the floor. And the garage is usually an unheated concrete slab with a thin ceiling, so the bedroom above has a cold floor in winter and a warm one in summer unless the floor between them is well insulated.
How is the garage check read on a floor plan?
It fails when an upper floor bedroom sits over the garage on the ground floor. It passes when the room above the garage is a rumpus, a study, a bathroom or a void, or when nothing is built above it. A single storey home has no upper floor, so the check is marked not applicable and does not block the label.
How do you fix a bedroom over the garage?
Seal and insulate the floor between them, so the fumes and the cold from the garage cannot reach the room. Fit a solid door with a seal between the garage and the house, and put a carbon monoxide alarm in the bedroom. Keep fuel and chemicals in a shed rather than the garage, and never leave an engine running with the garage door shut.
Inside the room, place the bed over the part of the floor away from where the car parks, and lay a thick rug. At the design stage, swap the bedroom for a rumpus or a study, which a builder can price before you sign.
Common questions
Is a bedroom over a carport a problem?
Less so. A carport is open, so fumes clear and the room above sits over open air rather than a closed space. It still has a cold floor unless the floor is insulated, and some practitioners treat it the same as a garage.
Is a study or rumpus over the garage good feng shui?
For most practitioners, yes. The rule is about where you sleep, and a room you use for a few hours a day is less of a concern.
Does a bedroom next to the garage count?
Not for this check, which is about a bedroom directly over the garage. A shared wall still carries noise, so a robe or a bathroom between the garage and the bedroom helps.