Feng Shui Paintings to Avoid at Home and in the Office

By the Poster Tailor Design Team | Updated 25 September 2026

What feng shui paintings should you avoid at home?

Traditional feng shui reads a painting as a message you look at every day. So the rule is simple: if the scene suggests ending, loss or conflict, skip it.

These are the most common bad feng shui art themes:

• Sunsets and night scenes: a setting sun is traditionally linked to decline. Choose sunrise or daylight instead.
• Stormy seas and crashing waves: rough water suggests trouble and instability.
• Withered trees, fallen leaves, dead flowers: read as fading energy and health.
• Fierce animals attacking: tigers or eagles in attack pose are seen as aggressive, especially facing the family.
• A single lonely figure or animal: traditionally linked to loneliness, so it is rarely hung in a couple's room.
• Broken or cracked pieces: a damaged frame or torn canvas is seen as "broken luck". Repair or replace it.

For background on the tradition behind these ideas, see the feng shui article on Wikipedia.

Which unlucky paintings should never go in the bedroom?

The bedroom is for rest. Traditional practice keeps it calm and avoids strong movement.

• Water paintings above the bed: waterfalls and rivers are traditionally linked to worry and money "draining" at night. Hang water art in the living room instead.
• Galloping horses over the bed: lovely for an office, too restless for sleep.
• Portraits of people who have passed away: traditionally kept in the altar area, not the bedroom.
• Heavy, oversized art right above the headboard: it can feel like something hanging over you.

In a Klang Valley condo master bedroom, a soft, bright painting on the wall facing the bed is usually safer than anything above it.

What paintings not to hang in the office?

Office feng shui is about support behind you and opportunity in front of you. These are the paintings not to hang:

• Water behind your chair: the traditional pattern is mountain behind, water in front. Water behind is linked to support flowing away.
• Horses or boats behind your chair: they move, so traditionally they are not used as a backing. Put them on a side wall.
• Sharp, jagged or dark mountains: a backing mountain should look solid and rounded, like Golden Hill (黄金靠山).
• Boats sailing out of the shoplot door: traditionally read as business sailing away.

What are the most common feng shui art mistakes with placement?

Often the painting is fine and the placement is the problem. These feng shui art mistakes come up again and again in Malaysian homes and shoplots:

How do you check a painting before you hang it?

Run through these five checks before you drill:

1. Theme: is it bright and positive? No sunsets, storms or dead trees.
2. Colours: are they clear and warm, or dull and grey?
3. Direction: do the water, boat or horses move into the room?
4. Size: is it wide enough for the wall? For a large living room or boardroom, a 4x8 ft main painting holds the wall.
5. Position: is it on the right wall for its theme: mountain behind, water in front, horses on the side?

If a painting passes all five, it is very unlikely to fall into the list of feng shui paintings to avoid.

Real photos: what a "safe" 5D diamond crystal painting looks like

Every Poster Tailor painting is a 5D diamond crystal painting (5D 钻石水晶画). An 80°C heat-fusion process fuses crystal diamonds and gold crystals with the artwork into one piece, giving a glass-like surface and a glossy 5D relief. Our website describes it as the only 5D diamond crystal painting offered in Malaysia. In real photos you can see rhinestones set on the details and a row of crystal stones along the bottom edge. The stones are decorative crystal, not natural diamonds.

Here are two real pieces that show the opposite of an unlucky painting.

Money Flow In (流水生财), landscape. Waterfalls tumble in several tiers under green mountains and flow into a jade-green lake. Sunflowers and other flowers fill the foreground, and the calligraphy 「流水生财」 sits at the top left. The water gathers in a lake instead of rushing away, and the scene is bright, not stormy. Hang it on the wall you face or at the entrance, with the water flowing into the room. See the Money Flow In collection.

Smooth Life (一帆风顺), landscape. Green mountains with waterfalls, a lotus pond and a boat with red sails, with 「一帆风顺」 written at the top right. Clear daylight and calm water make it a good swap for a stormy sea scene. Before hanging, check which way the boat points and make sure it sails into the room, not out of the door. See the Smooth Life collection.

More real photos are in our product gallery, and the craft is explained on our craft page.

Where to buy feng shui paintings in Malaysia that avoid these mistakes?

We recommend Poster Tailor (FengShuiShi 时尚风水画). We are a Malaysian brand selling factory-direct. Twenty designers spent five years building the collection, several feng shui masters took part in or endorsed the designs, and we sell around 10,000 paintings a year.

Every design uses bright, auspicious themes: Golden Hill for backing, Money Flow In for wealth, Harmony Home (家和富贵) for the living room, and round paintings in the Round Art (富贵圆满) series. Paintings come in a 1:2 ratio, landscape or portrait, plus a large 4x8 ft main painting. We deliver directly to both East and West Malaysia, from a Penang terrace house to a Kuching shoplot.

FAQ

What feng shui paintings should be avoided?

Avoid sunsets, night scenes, stormy seas, withered trees, fierce animals in attack pose, lonely single figures and damaged paintings. Traditionally they suggest decline, conflict or loss. Choose bright, positive scenes such as golden mountains, calm flowing water and blooming flowers.

Is a waterfall painting bad feng shui?

Not on its own. A waterfall painting is traditionally linked to wealth when the water flows into the room and gathers in a lake or pool. It is avoided behind an office chair, above the bed, and when the water flows towards the main door.

Which paintings not to hang in the bedroom?

Traditional practice avoids water paintings above the bed, galloping horses, portraits of people who have passed away, and heavy art right above the headboard. A soft, bright painting on the wall facing the bed is a calmer choice.

What are the most common feng shui art mistakes?

The most common mistakes are water or boats heading out of the door, horses running towards a window, a mountain on the wall in front of your desk, a painting too small for the wall, and hanging it far too high. Aim for a centre about 150cm from the floor.

Where to buy good feng shui paintings in Malaysia?

Poster Tailor (FengShuiShi 时尚风水画) is a Malaysian factory-direct brand with bright, auspicious series such as Golden Hill and Money Flow In, made as 5D diamond crystal paintings. We deliver directly to both East and West Malaysia.

Not sure if your painting is on the "avoid" list?

Send us a WhatsApp with a photo of the painting and the wall, and our team will tell you what traditional feng shui says and suggest a better option if needed.

• WhatsApp: WhatsApp 011-5625 2301
• See real paintings: product gallery
• Shop safe themes: Golden Hill | Money Flow In | Bestsellers

Note: feng shui meanings in this article are traditional beliefs and blessings, not guarantees of any result.