10 Feng Shui Tips for Hanging A Family Portrait

1. For feng shui purpose, the portrait should be quite large – big enough to register an impression and to dominate the energy of the room.
2. Best place is to hang the family portrait in a room where family members spend most of their time together when they are at home. It should be well lit especially by natural light so that sunshine (however indirect) gives the portrait a regular dose of yang chi.
3. The living room is a good place, but the portrait should not directly face the main front door. This suggests the family prefer going out to staying home.
4. The family portrait should never directly face a toilet or bathroom as this could cause bad energy to hit at some members of the family. It is also not a good idea for the family portrait to be hung sharing a wall with a toilet, as this is as bad as facing a toilet. Nor should the portrait be hung directly under an upstairs toilet.
5. The family portrait should not be hung directly facing the sharp edge of a protruding corner or be placed directly under an exposed overhead beam. These poison arrows can cause severe problems.
6. The family portrait is best hung facing the sheng chi direction of the father or mother so it brings good fortune to at least one of the parents. If both can benefit from their good direction, it is even better and more auspicious.
7. If there is a family altar in the house, the portrait should not be hung above the altar as this is deemed disrespectful to the deities on the altar.
8. Never hang a family portrait directly under a staircase as this means you are all stepping on the luck of the each other on a regular basis.
9. Do not have the family portrait directly facing the kitchen or worse still, the cooking stove, as this brings negative energy to family members.
10. Finally, always check if the family portrait has been hung in a location or facing a direction that is afflicted for the year. For instance for 2009, the South is terribly afflicted, so family portraits should best not face South AND should not be placed on the South wall of the house during the course of the year. This means updating the location of your family portrait each year. This is a good thing to do as it revitalizes the chi energy of the portrait considerably.