Vastu directions
Where each thing goes, and why. Vastu's directional scheme is the five elements laid onto a floor plan — water in the north-east, fire in the south-east, earth in the south-west, air in the north-west — and every placement follows from that rather than from a list to memorise.
Nothing here says your home is defective. Vastu describes an ideal arrangement; a house that differs from an ideal is still a good house, and almost every home differs somewhere, including the homes of people who offer to correct yours.
Most people cannot choose any of this. In Indian cities most households rent, and most of the rest bought the flat that was available at a price they could manage. This is written for somebody reading about the home they already live in, not for somebody commissioning one.
The eight directions and the centre
North
Kubera's direction, linked with wealth and opportunity. It is best kept open and light, and entrances and living space sit well here. North-facing homes also sell for more, which has more to do with resale than with vastu.
Ishanya · WaterNorth-east
Ishanya, the water corner, the most sensitive part of a plan. Water, a pooja room and a study belong here; keep it light and uncluttered rather than built up heavily. This is the one placement vastu is firm about.
Indra · AirEast
Indra's direction and the morning sun. Read for health and for beginnings, and a natural place for an entrance or a study. Most of what is said about east-facing homes is really about light, which is a good reason on its own.
Agni · FireSouth-east
Agni's corner, and therefore the kitchen — the most agreed-on placement in the whole system, and one that follows from the element rather than from a list. A kitchen elsewhere is not a fault; it is a kitchen elsewhere.
Yama · EarthSouth
Yama's direction, and the one people are taught to fear. It is simply the heavy side of a plan: bedrooms, staircases and storage go here. About one house in four faces south, and the tradition that placed Yama here never concluded that a quarter of everyone was doomed.
Nairutya · EarthSouth-west
Nairutya, the earth corner. The heaviest part of a plan and the place for the master bedroom, for stability rather than luck. If a house has one solid corner, this should be it.
Varuna · WaterWest
Varuna's direction: settled, neither especially auspicious nor otherwise, and comfortable for dining, storage and children's rooms. Vastu says less about it than about any other direction.
Vayu · AirNorth-west
Vayu, the air corner: movement, guests and things that do not stay. A guest room fits here, and a toilet, and the kitchen when the south-east is not available.
Brahma · SpaceThe centre
The Brahmasthan. Leave the centre of the plan open and unbuilt: a courtyard traditionally, a clear space in a flat. It is the one part that works almost unchanged in a modern apartment, because it is about light and air rather than direction.
We will not tell you to move a wall, a door, a kitchen or a bathroom. Structural changes cost a great deal, are frequently irreversible, and no page that has never seen your home is in a position to recommend one.