Art, art, art! I love art! It’s a major Feng Shui energy boost in all of my interior designs. You can use art to beautify a room, but it can also accomplish many other Feng Shui objectives as well. Noticeable shifts in the look and feel of your surroundings can occur when you utilize a few Feng Shui basics with your artwork.
Art is one of the ten Feng Shui Energy Boosts along with things like color, water features, objects from nature and living things (pets, plants, trees). When selected with intention and feeling, art enlivens the vital Ch’i energy of your Feng Shui home and establishes greater balance and harmony.
Feng Shui Basics for Art
First of all, what is considered art and, thus, a viable option to provide that Feng Shui benefit? Here’s a short list:
- Original fine art paintings and prints
- Sculpture of all kinds
- Art glass or blown glass
- Handmade decorative items like pottery, baskets or carvings
- Painted fabric, fabric arts and other textiles
- Scrolls or other unframed paper-based pieces
- Hand lettered or commercial signs with inspirational words or sayings
- Photographs, either professional fine art shots or personal images
- Mass produced art canvases and framed prints
- Used architectural features such as metal ceiling tiles, metalwork or other funky decorative stuff
- Maps and charts
- Posters of all kinds whether framed or not
- Handmade collages or vision boards with images of personal goals
Did you realize that the potential cost of the art mentioned above ranges in price from $$$$ to $ as you go down the list? High priced original pieces are fabulous, but if it’s not in your budget at present that shouldn’t slow you down from using other options. What matters is that you create a Feng Shui home that inspires and satisfies you now. That high energy can then propel you to new goals and accomplishments that can lead to different purchases if you so desire.
When I was first married and had a modest budget, I hung quilts and fancy, patterned dinner plates on the walls for decoration. Now, one of my favorite pastimes is attending arts and crafts fairs as well as gallery walks to support various artists while beautifying and creating my Feng Shui home. Between my own personal collection and the dozens of pieces I’ve purchased for commercial projects there has been every type of artwork in many price ranges. Feng Shui has been incorporated into all of my decisions.
Feng Shui Tips for Selecting Art for Your Home
Just because I love buying art doesn’t mean that everyone else does. Using these three Feng Shui tips will help you integrate art into your home decor with ease and success.
Do You Love It? Gotta love it.
Feng Shui Supporting Principle #1 asks you to “Live with What You Love” and that absolutely applies in this instance. Art is similar to the jewelry in an outfit, smaller than the main pieces but one of the first things that’s noticed, plus it integrates the pieces together. It can even be the focal point of a room. The whole point of putting it in your space is to improve the feel and energy of the surroundings. Only select what you think you will enjoy looking at again and again.
When I ask clients how they feel about a piece of art and they say, “OK,” or “I don’t mind it,” that, for me, translates to a big NO in Feng Shui talk.
Artwork and crafts hand-me-downs and gifts are generous gestures but only if you take the previous paragraph seriously. Actually, this caution goes for gifts of any type of home items from furniture to accessories. If you don’t love them, don’t accept or use them. Items you don’t enjoy having around you are a huge Feng Shui energy drain.
A recent chat with a client demonstrated this concept perfectly. While browsing at a thrift store, a canvas print of a large clipper ship under full sail on the high seas had so impressed her it was brought home. The introduction of this piece of art had obviously boosted her energy. Her enthusiasm while telling the story prompted me to ask how her how things were going since hanging her treasure. The answer was an ecstatic, “Great!” The new addition had dramatically improved her Ch’i, and that influence was carrying into other areas of her life. Great Feng Shui!
Do you love this piece? It is a Wisdom Warrior crafted by Danielle Kennedy that was discovered at an arts and crafts fair in Tempe, Arizona many years ago. Although I love it I do know that some don’t share my sentiment. One house cleaner told me she was unnerved and a bit afraid whenever she had to be near it! Not a good choice for her home, but I view it as a keeper of the sacredness and power of spirituality.
How does the art make you feel?
This probably sounds like a redundant question when you’ve just decided you love it, but let’s take this a bit further. It’s my belief that people often have so much clutter because they think their first response (the “I love it” part) is enough to decipher whether or not they should incorporate an item into their home. Artwork can add up to some big bucks so you especially want to be sure it’s the right one for you. Let’s dig a little deeper before handing over the credit card.
Once you’ve gotten over that initial infatuation with a piece take another look. What words would you use to describe your reaction when you view it? Happy? Inspired? Focused? Relaxed? What about motivated, dazzled or mesmerized? Is it a feeling you’d like to add to your surroundings and have influencing you every day?
Art can elicit many different reactions, but the primary measuring tool is that it makes you Feel Good. If you live in a household with other people, you’ll want to be sure that they respond favorably as well. What one person sees in a piece of art another may interpret entirely differently.
I’ve had several occasions when the image in a Client’s piece of artwork seemed, at first glance, very unsettling to me. But, when I asked them about what meaning they gave the piece, the explanation swayed my opinion. Enough said. Good choice for them.
Several years ago I had a Client who was retired from the clergy. When we entered her bedroom, right above the bed hung a large print of a unicorn with a fence around it. Or at least that’s what I saw – something highly unusual and coveted that was being contained. My Client was asked about the story behind the piece. It revealed quite a different perspective.
The print had been given to her by a high ranking official in the church. It was symbolic of a particular Biblical principle that had a significant and positive spiritual meaning, and it was quite a compliment and privilege to have received this gift. Well, that sounded better to me than my initial impression! She felt spiritually connected, honored and appreciated every time she encountered the scene. Great Feng Shui.
This story also helps you understand how important it is to really decipher what you think about the art you choose as part of your home decoration. It will make a huge difference in how you feel having it around you day to day. When it is in alignment with your core beliefs, the good feeling it produces will build goodwill and a strong energy which will help to move you forward in your life.
Where will you put it?
This is my must answer question whenever a piece really peaks my interest. For me it’s easy to fall in love with artwork. Over the years I’ve developed an eclectic collection of art. When I shop I don’t buy unless I know exactly where it would hang. That protects my checkbook (and my Client’s) and the Feng Shui.
Another important reason to know where you’ll put a piece is that everything matters in Feng Shui. Artwork has a unique ability to enhance a space and set an intention. When you follow my series that details each area of the Feng Shui Bagua Map, you’ll see that the individual areas have recommendations for artwork with particular subjects, colors or associations. If you’d like to map your home’s Feng Shui Bagua, my free download includes brief instructions, or you can delve more fully into my series of posts on how to place and analyze the Bagua.
Whether you use art with blues, greens or flowers in your Health and Family area, a pair of like-sized pieces in your Relationship gua, lots of reds and pointed objects in Fame or a scene that makes you feel rich in Wealth and Prosperity, the piece can greatly influence your Feng Shui. The possibilities are many and can be tailored to suit your own tastes and available space.
What artwork is displayed in your home? Answer these questions as you analyze each piece to ignite your Feng Shui.
- Do you love the piece?
- Does its meaning make you feel uplifted?
- Does the meaning you lend the piece support the Bagua area where it is displayed?
This exercise gives you a quick summary of which artwork is supporting your Feng Shui and which may need to be tweaked. Anytime you answer no to even one of the three questions, it’s an invitation to take a second look, and see whether something can be changed, such as location, to improve the Feng Shui impact of the piece.
Feng Shui is about organizing your environment to enhance your life. We all have personal preferences, and the more we pinpoint what they are for each of us the better our Feng Shui and life will be. Everyone doesn’t drive the same car, wear the same clothes or have the same Feng Shui enhancements. These personal choices help to define our unique, individual Ch’i and balance.
If you’re contemplating a big investment in art, contact me for a Feng Shui consultation, and we can fine tune your decision making process and allow for the most balanced and auspicious selection and placement of your pieces.
What have you realized about the art in your home? How will you change what you’ve determined needs adjustment? Once your art is in place, move ahead in establishing your Feng Shui home with seven additional easy tips available in my free download, Start to Feng Shui Today. I’d love to hear about your results here.
Have fun,
Carol
Something I can’t figure out if wall art. Originally we had my photo art of the sea in our bedroom, later I found out that was bad feng shui. I want to make my own art (watercolor or photo) for our master bedroom – but I’m not sure what to do since we “love” the sea.
TK, I’m not sure why the sea as a subject in the bedroom is “bad Feng Shui”. The formula for a harmonious room in Feng Shui includes a balance of the Five Elements, attention to the area of the Bagua Map the room occupies, bed in the Power Position, smooth Ch’i flow and living with what you love. If you have no issues with getting a healthy night’s sleep, keep the photo art you have. Should there be problems with resting properly, you can start to decipher what is causing the imbalance using the many tools of Feng Shui.
Dear Carol,
I love sculptures in form of hans and recently have bought a set of candle holders that get screwed on the wall in the form of hands that you put the tea light candles in the palms. But one fengshui professional in intagram told me to get rid of anything in form of palms or hand immediately as it does not brong good feng shui. Is she right? I think open palms can be symbols of giving or prosperity, am I completely wrong?
Tina, this is a very intriguing question. I’m not exactly sure why the specific symbol of the palms has been so strongly rejected as they are not a symbol which is generally negative in Feng Shui. Are they denoting a negative message such as pushing away or stopping interaction? Perhaps they are accentuating some type of Five Element imbalance? If there is a blanket “never use hands” I am unfamiliar with the reason behind it. In general, if you love an item, it is providing beneficial Ch’i to you and can be incorporated in some way into your home.