Vastu Shastra is a traditional Indian system of building design, and it gives guidance on entrances based on the direction they face. Guides on the subject don’t agree on one door mat color for each direction, so there is no single color that can be named as the Vastu answer. A practical approach is to choose a mat that is clean, safe and the right size, and to pick its color with a Vastu consultant who can tell you which chart they follow.
Vastu Shastra and feng shui are different systems
Feng shui comes from Chinese tradition and works with chi and the five elements. Vastu comes from Indian tradition and organizes a building around its orientation, its directions and the placement of its rooms and entrance. The two systems share some ideas, such as using direction and color, but they don’t map onto each other one for one. A door mat chart from one system shouldn’t be applied as if it belonged to the other.
What Vastu guides say about colors
Vastu guides often link compass directions to colors, and they often connect an entrance’s direction to a suggested color for the door or mat. The exact mapping varies between teachers and books, so this article doesn’t give a color for each direction. If you follow Vastu, ask a qualified consultant for the chart they use, and check how they define the direction of the entrance.
A practical way to choose
Whichever tradition you follow, a good mat meets the same basic tests:
- It fits the doorway and doesn’t block the door when it opens.
- It has a non-slip backing and lies flat.
- It’s clean and in good repair.
- Its color sits comfortably with the rest of the entry, or matches the color your consultant recommends.
If you don’t follow Vastu, a neutral color that suits your entry is a sensible default.
Find your entrance direction
Stand inside the front door, facing out, and use a compass app to find the direction. Note whether it’s north, south, east, west or one of the in-between directions. Use the same direction for any chart you consult, and confirm with your consultant how they measure it.
Related guides
If you’re also following feng shui, the guides on feng shui door mat colors and entryway colors according to feng shui set out that approach.