11 Essential Feng Shui Tips For Placing Artwork In Your Home

1. Avoid colours that have harsh conflicting colours. Colours are a radiation of energy. Each colour corresponds to a subtle emotion. Conflicting colours produce conflicting emotions that can disturb the nervous system of the viewer. Do not place a painting of this kind in your bedroom or office.

2. Avoid scenes of disaster. Earthquake, flood, massacre and other violent subjects will arouse in the viewer a subtle reaction of aggression or anxiety.

3. Avoid scenes of poverty and despair, or dull and lifeless colours. The mental imprint of these paintings will lead to fatigue, depression and a lack of enthusiasm.

4. Abstract and impressionistic paintings can be beautiful if they are well-balanced and capture the viewer's imagination. The paintings of many modern masters fall into this category. If they are clear in colour and beautifully composed, they can draw the viewer into the 'space' of the painting. This can have a very relaxing and refreshing effect on a tired businesswoman.

5. Paintings of sun-splashed houses and gardens exude peace and feelings of security.

6. Landscapes with roads, pathways, rivers or creeks should enter the room from the painting. To get the right effect, the artist can paint a person walking or a vehicle moving into the room or toward the viewer. This concept especially applies to boats. You may be familiar with the expression, "my ship has come in" which means that fortune has arrived, so be sure that a boat in a painting does not appear to be sailing away from the viewer or towards a door or a window.

7. Mountain scenes give a feeling of solid backing and stability, particularly if placed on the wall behind an office or study chair.

8. Water scenes correspond to movement and/or money. Water flowing into a room from a picture can be fortunate as long as it is correctly placed. It is good if it flows onto the desk where you do your household accounts or office work, but it should not flow behind your study chair or into your bedroom. Be sure that water does not appear to be flowing out a window or door.

9. Still life, lush landscapes and garden scenes can enhance the ambience and feng shui of a dining area.

10. Portraits of saints or deceased people should never be displayed in a bedroom, as they emit yin chi. Saints and deities should be confined to an altar area. If your deities are Buddhist or Hindu, they should not overlook a dining table laden with meat. Pictures of deceased family members can be placed on the ancestral altar in a reception room, or in a family room.

11. If you buy paintings as an investment and you are in doubt about the effect they will have on the atmosphere of your home, you can place them in areas that are used only for entertaining.