Sharp corners pointing at the bed (“poison arrows”)

A dresser corner jutting toward your pillow, a column edge aimed at your desk: feng shui calls these poison arrows, lines of cutting energy pointed at where you rest.

Short answer

Rotate or move furniture so no sharp corner points at your pillow or chair within about a metre and a quarter (4 ft). Where you can’t, soften the corner with a trailing plant, fabric or rounded edge guards.

Take the 30-second check ↓

✕ Common layout · Harmony 78
Queen bedNightstandNightstandDresserIN3.60 m · 11.8 ft4.00 m · 13.1 ft
The angled dresser points a corner at the pillow.
✓ Better layout · Harmony 82
Queen bedNightstandNightstandDresserIN3.60 m · 11.8 ft4.00 m · 13.1 ft
The dresser sits square against a wall.

Both plans are scored live by the same rules engine we use on your own room. “Harmony” is a 0–100 layout score.

What counts as a poison arrow

Any sharp, protruding edge pointed at a person at rest: furniture corners, angled walls, open shelving edges, columns. The effect is said to be strongest close up and at the level of the body. Practically, it’s the same instinct that makes you uneasy sitting with a table corner aimed at your ribs.

Softening them

  • Rotate the furniture so its face, not its corner, faces the bed.
  • Move the piece so its corner points at empty space.
  • Soften it with a trailing plant, a draped throw, or rounded furniture next time you buy.
30-second check

Any poison arrows at your bed?

1. Does any furniture corner point toward your pillow or desk chair?
2. Is there an angled wall or column edge aimed at your bed?

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Questions people ask

Do open shelves count?

The edges of open shelves facing the bed are often cited. Closed cabinets or books flush with the edge soften them.

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