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The couple follow a traditional feng shui system known as “Eight Mansions” that divides people into eastern and western groups based on their birth year and gender.

Each group is believed to have favorable and unfavorable directions for important areas of the home. Hoang belongs to the western group and his wife to the eastern.

They compromised on some elements: the front door was based on his auspicious direction, and the kitchen with hers. But when it came to the bedroom, neither would back down. At one point she even suggested building an extra floor just to get her ideal layout.

But unable to afford that, the dispute dragged on. Eventually their architect offered a fix: a round bed placed in the center of the room, allowing each person to sleep in their preferred direction. Both agreed and the tension finally eased.

In Vietnam, feng shui remains deeply rooted in daily life. Though there is no official data on its prevalence, architects and cultural experts say it continues to influence decisions that extend far beyond aesthetics.

Pham Thanh Truyen, an architect based in HCMC, says he has seen many similar cases in more than 20 years of building and renovating homes across the country. In one instance, he was asked to construct a house only three meters wide.

But the owner insisted on raising the ground floor ceiling to 4.35 meters, much higher than the typical 3.6 meters, after a feng shui master claimed it would boost the romantic prospects of the homeowner’s unmarried daughter, who was in her 40s.

The unusually tall ceiling required a steep staircase that overwhelmed the tight space and made the house impractical. He advised against it, but the family went ahead anyway.

Once completed, the cramped and uncomfortable layout led to constant tension. “They were frequently clashing and arguing,” the architect says. They regretted not taking his advice and blamed each other for it. And now, more than a decade later, the daughter, nearing 60, is still single.”

In Hanoi 37-year-old Ngoc Dung faces similar struggles. Her husband, Duc Vu, was so devoted to feng shui that he invited a master to determine the exact placement of every item in their home, from the sofa and bed to the orientation of the kitchen stove.

She initially went along with it. But when Vu demanded the stove be rotated 15 degrees to match his zodiac direction, she objected. “You do not even cook. Why does it matter which way it faces?” she told him.

They reached a compromise: the stove would follow his preferred direction, but he had to cook three meals a week. “Some days I was standing there cooking all twisted and annoyed,” she says.

His obsession did not stop there. If he ran into problems at work, he would rearrange his desk. If he had a bad dream, he would reposition the bed the next morning. “The whole house feels like a spinning maze,” she sighs.

Truyen says the kitchen and main entrance are the most frequently altered areas due to feng shui beliefs.

Some homeowners go as far as having misaligned front doors that disrupt architectural symmetry just to face a “lucky” direction, while others leave some corners of their homes unused if deemed inauspicious by a feng shui master, he says.

“Many still rely on the lu ban ruler (an ancient measuring tool believed to identify ‘lucky’ or ‘unlucky’ dimensions) to size stairs and doorways. They fear falling into so-called ‘death’ or ‘illness’ zones, even if the result is a house that is neither functional nor visually appealing.”

To him, true feng shui is about harmony with nature, maximizing elements like wind and light to create a healthy, well-ventilated, and comfortable space. “It is like designing an airport runway based on wind direction and not the airport director’s birth year.”

Architect Pham Ngoc Nam in Hanoi also notes that tensions often arise when homeowners strictly follow feng shui guidance and overlook the architect’s role in designing a livable home. “Architects focus on usability and daily comfort while feng shui masters rely on compasses and traditional charts, sometimes ignoring practicality or aesthetics.”

Reconciling the two can be difficult as each follows a different logic, but architects must respect their clients’ beliefs and incorporate feng shui principles in a subtle, balanced way, he says.

He says feng shui can be applied to major elements like house orientation, kitchen layout or altar placement.

Cultural researcher and feng shui expert Pham Dinh Hai says feng shui should guide the creation of spaces that meet three key needs: alignment with natural rhythms, daily functionality and a design that suits the homeowner’s tastes.

“Compatibility by birth year or direction mostly affects people’s psychology. If someone believes their house is unlucky, that alone can create stress and unease.”

In the end, a home that is comfortable, practical and visually pleasing already embodies the essence of feng shui, he adds.