Review of “More Than Just a Pretty Space” by Reiko Gomez

Score: 95/100 (9.5 out of 10)

More Than Just a Pretty Space is an excellent, heartfelt feng shui book by Reiko Gomez, a feng shui practitioner of over two decades!

The thing we love about this book is just how practical it is! Yes, there's some spiritual-energy-ish stuff. Yes, there's some mystical esoteric stuff. But, even if you're a straight-up atheist or someone very “grounded,” you can still come away from this book with a lot of information and, more importantly, INSPIRATION!

This book INSPIRED us to clean.

This book INSPIRED us to organize.

This book INSPIRED us to get up off the couch or out of bed and ACTUALLY FIX OUR $^%*@.

Let's pull the curtains back a little bit: the offices and storage spaces used for the Outstanding Creator Awards—our medals, stationary, books, and documents—are quite cluttered. We have about 2-3 feet of walking space in between some of these places. And, yes, we generally know where things are, but those things are usually buried under layers of other things (or behind layers of other things). That just isn't good. It's not conductive to productivity and positivity. It's frustrating to lose things or have to dig through piles of stuff just to find the stuff you're looking for.

What's amazing about this book is that, while being very personal sometimes, it's also very practical. Everything is laid out in a step-by-step manner. Also, everything has a purpose. One of the main takeaways is that the changes you make to your living/office space need to reflect YOU—YOUR goals and YOUR personality. That's actually a bit different from some feng shui books which insist on your living space being a certain way.

Yes, there are reoccurring recommendations like decluttering and livening/brightening things, but there are also exceptions. For example, the author talks about having an artist friend who needed some clutter on their desk and on their walls for inspiration for their creativity. This actually makes sense for some people. For example, think about the famous picture of Einstein's desk, the desk of the man who changed scientific understanding forever through his unparalleled ability to think outside the box.

Another aspect of this book that really spoke to us was the idea of moving on from toxic and negative things. For example, the author talks about what happens to a living space after someone toxic or negative leaves it (i.e. after a divorce or breakup). What do you do with a space like that? Do you cling to it? Make a shrine to your dead relationship? Or should you change it, take out the trash, and rebuild it? Or do you move on from it?

The author provides so many suggestions and options for the reader. It's really encouraging!

Check this out on Amazon!