Holistic Spaces: 108 ways to create a mindful and peaceful home

by Anjie Cho

Transform your home into a calm, balanced, and harmonious oasis using architect Anjie Cho’s helpful advice, drawing on her background in green design and feng shui.

You don’t have to get rid of all your possessions and become an ascetic to change your space and discover the benefits that living in a considered, organic way can bring. The easy suggestions in Holistic Spaces show you how to implement the principles of feng shui and green design in your home. Written for the way we live today, as we move toward a more mindful approach to health, diet, and the way that we choose the objects in our homes, this is the perfect guide to help you to clear and refresh your living environment. Learn how to make every room in your home serve its highest purpose, create eco-friendly spaces, bring nature indoors, choose colors for maximum impact, select a space for meditation practice, and overall, create a peaceful and organic home. From the bedroom to the home office, these intuitive, straightforward tips will teach you to how improve your spaces to boost the flow of energy through your life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Design, Interior Design, Architecture

176 pages, Hardcover

Published October 9, 2018

Reviews

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some interesting ideas!

[Alisa Cupcakeland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I am not into Feng Shui.

Holistic Spaces gives you a small introduction to Feng Shui, including the bagua map and its colors and elements. After that small introduction Anjie offers you different tips to create a "holistic home". The pictures are beautiful, and really inspiring if you are starting to think of how you can decorate a place, but I guess the book focuses too much in Feng Shui (which feels closer to superstition to me) rather than designing places, and I started to read the book because I was interested in home interiors.

I appreciate that Anjie thinks of people who might not have a big place to follow all the tips she offers, and gives alternatives for them. I also liked that at the middle of the book she has "green tips", giving importance to sustainability inside our homes.

That being said, it's not as much as it is a bad book, it is simply not my piece of cake.

[Kimberly Martin]

I'd probably give this 3.5 stars. I liked the format of this book with a Feng Shui principle and photo on each page to illustrate that principle. My only major complaint was that around 1/5 of the tips (it might not have been that much but felt like it) were green tips that I wouldn't really consider as being Feng Shui. I compost and recycle and turn the water off when I brush my teeth like she recommends (so I'm not against taking care of the earth), but I would have preferred to not read about that when I'm taking time to sit down and learn about a specific subject.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just love this book. Loads of tips.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting read. I was hoping for a few more design tips and a few less superstitions. Feng shui is not for me.

[IE · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grabbed this on a whim from the library. Based on the front cover alone I had no idea that it was a book about feng shui until I began reading it. For me that was a pleasant surprise, however, I can understand how for some other readers who don’t believe in things they can’t see, they may have been disappointed, as the front cover isn’t clear about the feng shui content. It’s a quick read, with a great layout, easy to read a few pages at a time, go and make some changes to the space (or make a note of something to buy), then continue reading on. It would have benefited from an editor as there are some typos in it which makes it feel a bit rushed. I get that it’s 108 tips because it is auspicious to have multiples of 9, however some of the tips were repetitive and a little dull and seemed like they were just there as fillers. Some additional ideas I had when reading it: if your stove is not in the commanding position, if you don’t have room to add a mirror, or a mirror would look out of place in your kitchen, you could consider a mirrored backsplash/splashback. For spaces where the metal element is deficient you could consider adding a metal singing bowl. I really enjoyed this book and give it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

[RaeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really pretty book. The pages are thick with beautiful pictures and clear concise thoughts. I’m not sure how much I buy into Fen Shui, but I still got some good ideas for our home. A book that got my creative juices flowing.

[Alexandria Blaelock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book. Quick run down on Feng Shui principles, followed by a bunch of easy to implement changes to your living space.

[The_J · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to create a living space with a blend of space, light and color.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tips and ideas

[Tuyen Tran · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introduction to Feng Shui for a newbie ^^^