How To Hang Artwork, According To Feng Shui
A home isn't really a home without art, which can fulfill any number of functions, from personal expression to being purely decorative. Feng shui, which helps you find ways to maximize the flow of energy in any space, can also influence and be influenced by the placement of your favorite art. Art is yet another element in a room that can provide a home with harmony and balance in line with the feng shui belief in free-flowing energy, or chi.
By considering the art you choose to place in your home, as well as where and how you display it, you can gain a number of benefits while helping your home become a feng shui paradise. Whether you're looking to hang existing artwork in fresh new ways or trying to decide which art to purchase for your home, we've narrowed down a few things to think about before you begin.
Choosing art
The selection of art is a highly subjective exercise. The most important guideline is choosing pieces that make you feel good and inspire you. Look for pieces in a variety of mediums, sizes, scales, and textures to place throughout your home, which will keep the chi energy flowing throughout. According to feng shui, certain colors have certain powers that align with natural elements, so if you feel a wall of art, a particular piece, or an arrangement is lacking, bringing in some of those colors that reflect those energies (red or orange for fire, green for prosperity and success, or blue for water and movement) is a great way to maximize their flow throughout the room.
Lucky paintings are also a possible addition in feng shui-driven rooms. These lucky works include imagery traditionally associated in Eastern cultures with prosperity like koi fish, bamboo shoots, or dragons. Materials can also have a similar impact, including bamboo, stone, wood, and jade. Other lucky additions to a wall include inspirational quotes and sayings. Whatever the art you choose to hang in your home, seek out pieces that make you feel the way you desire in any given space. Also remember that some things that feel harmonious in one room, like a kitchen or bathroom, are not exactly the things that you'd want to hang in a bedroom or office.
Placement and hanging
According to feng shui experts, there are some specific guidelines on where you hang art that have to do with the optimal flow of chi around the room. The four directions and corners of the compass can help you arrange the art in a room to its best advantage. The north wall is related to wealth, career, and prosperity. The south is the center of fame and accomplishment. East is representative of health, while the west is creativity.
On whichever wall you choose to hang your art, make sure you're placing it at the correct height. As noted by mindboydgreen, art that's too low can cause drops in energy and a feeling of heaviness. Try to hang pieces with their vertical center point at eye level. You may also want to make sure that it's securely attached to avoid crookedness.
Scale is also important, depending on the size of the wall and the things around it. A tiny postcard-size picture would be out of scale and harmony on a large blank wall above a sofa, for example, but a number of them arranged in a gallery wall would create the illusion of size. Also, be cautious not to include too much artwork in a room and allow each piece a certain amount of surrounding white space and energy flow.