When buying fine art for your walls, as a collector, your prime consideration is cost and the return on the investment; as well as the joy that the piece might bring to your collection.
But when buying art to provide you personal energy, it is important to know what type of art will bring balance and harmony to your home and where to hang it to energize the areas of health, prosperity and relationships.
The most important questions to ask are:
- What is the best use of color and design in artwork to energize specific
areas in your home to meet your needs? - What type of artwork helps to maximize peace and joy in your life?
Can you have too many pictures?
It is possible to have too many pictures hanging on your walls, tables, dresser, bookshelves, window sills and desk. Walls and furniture need room to breathe and require space for energy to slowly meander for balance. You are personally affected by the energy of the pictures surrounding you; and you can have too many eyes (family pictures) watching you when you work or sleep. Certain pictures in your bedroom can over-stimulate you when you are ready to sleep at night, keeping you awake such as crashing waves or mountain climbing. Other pictures cause you to be sleepy in the middle of the afternoon while in your office, such as a sandy peaceful beach or Adirondack chairs on the shore.
Can a piece of artwork make a difference?
Too much artwork can be clutter. For those of you who are collectors and tend to have some clutter here and there, you may have a tendency to do the same with pictures on walls and tables. Energy cannot distinguish the difference between “unwanted” clutter and the “loved” clutter you create with memories of favorite things.
Do you really need to display “all” of your pictures of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren? Is it really important to display all sixteen pictures of Susie’s or Michael’s years from preschool to high school? Choose the one you love the most and display it for impact. The same holds true for wall décor. Just because you still have 6 un-hung framed pictures from your last home, before hanging 2 them consider whether they are they the right fit or subject matter for your new home?
Too little artwork can be unwelcoming. For those of you who tend to be minimalists, it is easy to go in the opposite direction. Minimalists put so few pictures on their walls that their homes can feel sterile and unwelcoming. They also tend to display very few family pictures or none at all which leaves a feeling
of emptiness and being disconnected. Family pictures provide grounding, especially if you live far away from many of your loved ones.
Create balance.There is a way to create balance and still enjoy artwork and family pictures hanging on walls or lovingly placed on tables. A few guidelines follow:
- Hang fewer pictures, keep it simple
- In offices or areas that requires much focus, remove all but three family pictures – all those eyes watching you are distracting
- In bedrooms hang only pictures that are peaceful and in pastel colors – definitely avoid high energy colors like bright red, yellow or orange
- Rooms designed for conversation need brighter pictures with high energy scenery or activities to encourage interaction
- In dining rooms and breakfast nooks place pictures of wholesome things that are used to nourish the body and the soul – pictures of bountiful fruit or vineyards – avoid red as it stimulates the appetite
- The southwest area of your family/living room are the best areas to feature family pictures – place or hang them in groupings and make sure the people in the pictures are facing each other to encourage harmony
- Family pictures should not be scattered throughout the entire house but rather placed very carefully and lovingly in an area where they are not quite so public yet are very much a part of your daily life – they as a group will provide you significantly more loving family energy plus your family will not be exposed to the eyes of strangers
- Be sure to dust and clean your artwork regularly to maintain the clean lines and look, and to energize your space in a positive way
Avoid the “cluttered look” by keeping your walls reasonably sparse of pictures and hang only ones that you really love. The right picture in the right place can bring harmony, joy, peace or balance to your life. Choose wisely.
Download “Use Artwork to Energize You”
Pat Heydlauff, a “flow of focus” expert, speaker and consultant designs home and workplace environments that unleash the flow of focus and maximize performance while creating balance and increasing prosperity. She is author of the forthcoming book, Beyond Engagement: Seven Ways Leaders Fuel Tomorrow’s Sustainability and published books, Feng Shui, So Easy a Child Can Do It and Selling Your Home with a Competitive Edge. Contact her at 561-408-2708
