By Karen Bridson-Boyczuk

Rich blues, which provide a calming influence that
combats stress, are said to honour air and are best
represented in a home’s northwest corner.
The art of vastu
O
ne of the oldest healing sciences
on the planet has become the
hottest new trend in home décor.
Decorators and homeowners across the
Western world are flocking to find out more
about the 6,000-year-old Indian science of
architecture and design, called vastu.
“It’s a very calming, very soothing form of
design,” says vastu expert Kathleen Cox,
who says vastu does for your home and
your spirit what yoga does for your body
and mind.
Said to be the inspiration for feng shui, the
Chinese art of design, vastu is the Sanskrit
word for “science of structures.” With
Indian fashion, yoga, and alternative medicine already big in the West, the surging
popularity of vastu continues this trend of
the West’s fascination with all things Eastern.
Ancient Eastern
philosophies
influence
Western design
“Vastu believes everything is alive,” says
Cox, a New York City-based vastu expert
whose clientele includes supermodel
Christy Turlington.
Cox was in Toronto recently to decorate
North America’s very first vastu lodge,
called the Annex Quest House. A revamped
rooming house on Spadina Road in downtown Toronto, the 18-room lodge recently
reopened, providing temporary, upscale
lodging for people in transition (rooms go
for an introductory rate of $79 per night,
$395 per week and $1,495 per month).
Meanwhile, vastu offers a beautiful, inexpensive and easy way to breathe some new
life into any space, Cox says. “With vastu
you try to align your biorhythms with the
universal rhythms at work around you,” she
says. “The way we organize our space has
an impact on the way we feel. If you use
your space positively, it will help you to destress. It’s very much like yoga and ayurveda (Indian health practice), with proper
breathing, meditation and eating well. Vastu
increases your well-being by increasing the
power of the space around you.”
Vastu is very simple, but requires you to
be mindful of what you are doing with your
By Karen Bridson-Boyczuk
Photos by Ian Kelso
centre of the city
17
The art of vastu
décor, says Cox, who is also the author of
two vastu books, Vastu Living and the Power
of Vastu Living.
Vastu is based on three ancient principles
of Indian design. The first principle is to
keep in mind what the four quadrants of
every room represent as you decorate, and
to honour the five elements in every room
(ether or air, earth, fire, wind, water), Cox
says.
“All of these elements should have a
sense of value and be honoured within the
space,” she says.
Earth is honoured in the southwest, fire is
honoured in the southeast, water is honoured in the northeast, wind is honoured in
the northwest and air is honoured in the
centre of the room.
Placing heavier furniture in the south and
west honours earth. “We want to try to
block out the harmful rays of the noon
sun,” she says. “That’s why we want the
heaviness in the room to be in the southwest.”
18 c e n t r e o f t h e c i t y
Above: Assymmetry is an important component
of vastu design. Groupings of design elements
work best in threes or fives.
Right: Vastu design is very minimal, but does feature natural materials and handmade craftsmanship wherever possible, as shown by this hammered copper sink.
The southeast should have something
beautiful to look at, preferably something
representing fire, like a burning candle.
This honours the noonday sun coming
from that direction. “You should honour
the fire and be aware of its importance in
life,” Cox says.
“Wind is in the northwest because of the
Norwester, the most fickle of all winds,” she
says. “We honour that quality by putting
that there.” An example of honouring wind
would be to put a hammock in that corner,
she says.
The northeast quadrant of a room is related to water in the northern hemisphere so
this part of the room should be designed to
create a very calming space.
The centre of the room is where you hon-
our air and space. “We keep that sacred
space free to move,” she says.
The second principle of vastu is to incorporate as much of nature into your space as
you can. “We are all connected to nature,”
Cox says, “so it’s important in vastu to create spaces that incorporate as many organic
products as possible.”
To follow this vastu principle, it’s a good
The art of vastu
idea to use plants, wood, glass and as little
plastic and synthetic products as possible.
“Nature is so soothing,” she says. “It’s a
place of inspiration. It puts you in a place
that’s peaceful, especially in the city where
it’s so busy.”
Plants also contribute positive energy to a
space because they remove the toxins from
the air, Cox says. “We group them together
so they exist as they do in nature,” she says.
The third principle of vastu is to ensure
your room celebrates the true personalities
of the people living in that space.
“Celebrating who you are,” she says.
“Your utter humanity and losing yourself.
It’s done with a lot of care.”
Incorporating this principle in your room
may include hanging pictures that are special to you on the wall.
Overall, vastu Indian décor is very mini-
20 c e n t r e o f t h e c i t y
mal, with just one piece of art on every wall.
Beds should have some height to them,
she says. “It gives a spaciness to rooms,” she
says. “You should also allow the dance of
light and shadows to move around the
room.”
Asymmetry is another hallmark of vastu
design, Cox says. “In the West we are hung
up on symmetry,” she says. “We always put
the picture on the centre of the wall. We
aren’t symmetrical and we are visually and
viscerally more connected to spaces when
they are designed with asymmetry. It makes
the space flow from corner to corner.”
Another aspect of vastu is trying to avoid
even numbers in your décor. Groupings of
threes and fives are better than twos and
fours, she says.
Circular objects and images are also
avoided in vastu as they cause energy to
‘roll’ whereas squares are more static.
Meanwhile, it’s important to note that,
unlike feng shui, vastu design principles
don’t carry with them promises or threats.
This unique raised bed, surrounded by a hot colour scheme, honours fire. The
asymmetrical grouping of three plants balances the intensity of the walls
with a cooling influence.
“Nothing involved in vastu causes bad things to happen,” she says.
“If you do certain things, that won’t bring you luck. And if you don’t
do certain things, you won’t get sick.”
However, people seem to sleep better if the head of their bed is
at the east, west or south side of a room. “If the head of your bed
is north, people tend to have a very disturbed sleep,” she says.
As for what colours should be used in rooms, Cox says it all
depends on the personality of person or people who will be using
the room. “What you want to do is pick a colour that is good for
you,” she says. “If you are a lethargic person, you may want to
pick a stimulating colour. If you are stressed, you may want to
pick a more cooling colour, like blue or green.”
Some colours, like earthy colours, are safe for everyone,
according to vastu principles, Cox says.
Vastu is growing in popularity, along with other Eastern trends,
because people are so stressed out these days and are looking for
ways to relax, she says.
“One thing we can control is our environment,” she says. “We
can use our space to make us feel confident and unwind. We feel
dehumanized, so many of us, in our work. I’m trying to put some
space back into the home.”
Cox said people should beware of the glut of vastu books coming onto the market these days because so many of them are written by people who are trying to make money but haven’t really
studied the science. “I studied with a Vedic scholar,” she said.
Helen Goldstein, owner of The Yoga Studio, had one of her stu-
Annex Quest House on Spadina Road is North America’s first vastu-inspired
lodge, offering temporary, upscale accommodations.
dios in downtown Toronto “vastued” to create a healthy environment for her clients to practice.
“Feng shui is more clinical and analytic, this is less traditional,” she says. “It’s got a nice flow to it, it’s harmonious.”
Many people come into the studio and comment on how good
it feels to be in the space, she says.
Alex Bollag, manager of The Yoga Studio, said all the spaces
she’s seen that have been vastued are very beautiful and peaceful.
“These spaces promote a peaceful mind,” she says. “It’s important
that your environment works with you and not against you.” ❦
“The way we organize our space has an impact on the way we feel.
If you use your space positively, it will help you to de-stress.”
centre of the city
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