Draft. This lesson is being reviewed and may change before publication.
Lesson 11 of 12 · Living with Vastu
Office, shop and study: Vastu at work
The home rules at work: where the owner sits, cash and the safe, the desk's direction, a shop's entrance and counter, and the study at home. Lesson 11.
Written by Khushal ThakkarReviewed by Review pendingUpdated October 29, 2026
Vastu's workplace rules are the home rules with the emphasis moved: weight and authority to the south-west, where the owner sits and the safe stands; openness to the north and east, where customers, clients and ideas come in; and the centre kept clear. A shop adds the entrance and counter; a study is a desk in the right direction.
The owner's seat
The owner or head of a business sits in the south-west of the office, the earth corner, facing north or east, with a solid wall behind and the door visible. The tradition's reasoning is the same as for the master bedroom: the heaviest, most permanent presence in the heaviest corner. Staff sit in the north, east or west facing north or east; the north-west, the corner of movement, suits sales and marketing, people who come and go.
The desk
- Direction faced: north or east. West is tolerated; south is read as facing away from the open side.
- Behind: a wall, not a window, not a door.
- On the desk: the north-east of the desk kept clear or holding water; heavy files to the south and west of the desk.
- Beams: no beam over the seat.
Cash and the safe
The safe, locker or cash box goes in the south-west of the room, with its door opening toward the north, Kubera's direction. It stands on a plinth, not on the floor, and does not face a toilet or the main door. The accounts desk sits in the north or south-east of the office.
The shop
| Element | Favourable |
|---|---|
| Entrance | North, east or north-east; in a favourable pada (lesson 7) |
| Counter | South-west or west, so the shopkeeper faces north or east |
| Cash box | South-west, opening north |
| Heavy stock | South and west |
| Display, light goods | North and east |
| North-east corner | Clear, light, perhaps a small water feature or the pooja shelf |
A shop's reading starts with the entrance, as a home's does, and the House facing checker applies to a shopfront exactly as it does to a front door.
The home study
A student's desk goes in the north, east or north-east of the home, facing east or north, with books on the south or west wall and the north-east of the room light. A study in the south-west is read as heavy and better used for rest; the north-west, the corner of movement, is read as distracting for study, though fine for a child's play.
Worked example
A small office is a single room with the door in the east. The owner's desk goes in the south-west facing north, the safe behind it in the south-west corner opening north, two staff desks along the north and east walls facing north and east, and the printer and stationery in the south. The north-east of the room, nearest the door, stays as open floor with a plant. Every rule of the lesson is met in one room with no building work.
Calculate yours
Try the calculator this lesson explains.