Decorating with Funky Shui: How to Lighten Up, Loosen Up, and Have Fun Decorating Your Home [Paperback]

Jennifer O'Neil (Author), Kitty O'Neil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Decorating with Funky Shui encourages you to dig out all those wild and crazy pieces you've been hiding. So c'mon, gather up all those snow globes and let the disco ball sparkle in your living room. Let your rooms tell people who you really are-if you dare.Your home should be a reflection of your own personality, not a hodgepodge of mass-produced whatnots from a "big-box" chain retail store. Inspired by the popular Chinese art of feng shui, this lighthearted book takes you through the "Fun-damentals," the four directions to make your house yours, all yours: Find the playful center of the room: It can be a random garage-sale treasure, that cool mannequin you didn't think you could find a place for, or the tarnished tuba you inherited from Grandpa. That one goofy, unusual, or chic conversation piece can become the star of your room. Brighten up with color: Not everything has to match your boring beige sofa. Rooms without color lack flavor. Enlighten up: Fun, dynamic lighting can brighten a room in more ways than one. Candles add coziness; Christmas lights sparkle year-round. A string of hot-pepper lights can spice up a cool room. Abundance through abundance: The souvenirs you pick up during road trips. Your collection of vintage milk-bottle caps. All the Pez dispensers you can't bear to part with. If you've got 'em, flaunt 'em. Artfully display your collections-whatever they may be-to show them off.Decorating with Funky Shui encourages you to stretch your imagination to find a style that's uniquely you.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"If Feng Shui is the art of arranging objects to promote harmony, then Funky Shui is the art of arranging objects to make your home and your life fun," note the authors of this guide to "playful good taste." Borrowing from (and merrily riffing on) the lexicon of Feng Shui, the Chinese design philosophy that has garnered so much attention in recent years, the sisters offer a trove of suggestions on how to showcase quirky objects, create themed rooms with kitschy charm and integrate color and lighting to ensure good cheer, evoke pleasant memories and generate a sense of both stabilizing harmony and off-kilter whimsy. Arranging snow globes, stringing twinkle lights and serving chocolate milk in fine china are among their conduits to fun. Each chapter addresses a different room in the home, and offers tips on reinvigorating these spaces with cheeky, winking touches (a surfboard-turned-desk for the home office, silk scarves draped over the bedside lamp, black-and-white autographed pictures for the dining room). Some of the tips are too time-consuming for everyday life, and those who can’t stomach the cutesy bits won’t want to follow the advice to the letter. But the sisters have included plenty of good ideas for imbue a home (and therefore, they affirm, the life of its residents) with happiness-without spending a fortune.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Sisters Kitty and Jennifer O'Neil have "Funky Shui'd" homes from Miami to Boston to Copenhagen. Kitty is a toy designer, artist, and writer with experience in consumer product development for LEGO, Star Wars, and Barbie. Jennifer is a writer, producer, and director at a San Francisco production company and creates gala-event scripts for such clients as Columbia Tri-Star and Discovery Networks. Jennifer and Kitty both live in the San Francisco Bay area.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740741993
• ISBN-13: 978-0740741999
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,171,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Decorating with Funky Shui, July 26, 2004

By 

Susan Harrow "author of Sell Yourself Without... (Northern, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Decorating with Funky Shui: How to Lighten Up, Loosen Up, and Have Fun Decorating Your Home (Paperback)

The antidote to unhappiness-Decorating with Funky Shui.

This is a jewel of a book, as beautiful as it is funny. I love all the tongue in cheek tips. For your bedroom: "A single white rose bud in a glass vase represents chastity--so you don't have to." It's a humorous look at making your house a home that really represents who you are and how you like to live. Since reading it I've taken out several of my collections that were under the bed and in the closet (like Kitty & Jennifer recommend) and displayed them as beautiful objets d'art in my home. I'm feeling better already--and I bet I'll be happier this year just because I can find stuff. If you know a friend who needs more fun and less work or has clutter instead of collections (don't we all) buy this book for them today. Highly recommended!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Funky, yes -- practical, no, November 16, 2004

By 

GenXmom (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Decorating with Funky Shui: How to Lighten Up, Loosen Up, and Have Fun Decorating Your Home (Paperback)

Decorating with Funky Shui is a fun book, no doubt. It's fun to read and look at, and I was thoroughly entertained by the kitsch and the collectibles. But I have to say that beyond the few good ideas in the book, it's not a very practical decorating strategy for families with babies, small children, or rambunctious pets.

I love the idea that you can decorate with stuff you accumulate and can't toss out, but I can't see myself collecting so much stuff in clusters and having to dust my decor. Imagine the intricate work involved! And with pets, forget it.

In theory a great, fun book. In reality, only if you're single or not sharing a space and have the patience to clean all these objects and spaces.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heavily invested in fun, July 22, 2004

By 

L. A McWeeney - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Decorating with Funky Shui: How to Lighten Up, Loosen Up, and Have Fun Decorating Your Home (Paperback)

I loved this book! It is well written, fun and funny to read. I was happy to have suggestions for what to do with my extensive "lady bug" collectibles. Now I have them prominently displayed in a variety of areas throughout the house. I love the idea of not following traditional decorating rules. The pictures were great - colorful and creative! I especially enjoyed the "have a nice day" photos. The cookie jar reminded me of the exact one from my Mother's kitchen. Keep writing ladies!