Home Cheap Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to Great Decorating FROM THE PUBLISHER
When it comes to decorating with sophistication and flair, great style doesn't have to come with a big price tag. The editors of Budget Living magazine, the leading experts on living large and spending small, give readers the lowdown on design and show how to transform a home into a haven-without breaking the bank. From tiny studios to sprawling houses, this innovative do-it-yourself guide will inspire readers to add color, wit, and chic style to every room in the home. From floor plans and storage opportunities to quirky finishing details and small-scale projects, this book teaches you everything you need to know, including: How to use color to energize and unify your home Where to find distinctive pieces that bring panache to any room What you can do yourself-and when to defer to the experts How planning ahead and thinking creatively can save you thousands of dollars Why sometimes the smartest thing you can do is splurge on something you really love
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
As any reader of Architectural Digest or Interior Design knows, it's easy to make your home look like a million bucks if you have a million bucks. But for readers whose budgets tend more toward the Ikea level of home decorating, here are "192 pages of proof that you can live the good life on the cheap." Reminding readers that style is a matter of "attitude, not price," Budget Living's editors give tips for decorating every room of the home, from living rooms to kitchens to bathrooms to home offices, integrating anecdotes from real people who decorated their own homes without going broke. The editors lay out six tenets of low-cost decorating: think creatively, shop at the big chain stores and make their mass-produced items your own, use common items in uncommon places, make things yourself, splurge if you must and, above all, have fun. The book has a magazine-like feel to it, with sidebars, different sized fonts and chatty prose. This format works well, allowing readers to pick up the book at any point and start learning how to shop for a vintage quilt, grow plants in a tiny bathroom, use two rugs to make a room feel like it has distinct sections, or redo kitchen cabinets for less than $250. Although the editors do have a penchant for vintage items (which they tell readers to hunt for on eBay and at flea markets), they're also fans of such typical outlets as Crate and Barrel, Target, Pier One and Home Depot. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
The editors of Budget Living enlisted the help of decorators, architects, and stylists to produce this guide to developing one's personal style on a dime. Featuring d cors that range from modern minimalist to eclectic country, the book is chockfull of inexpensive decorating ideas. Sections color-coded for browsing show a variety of rooms from different homes, some with before-and-after views. The mostly young contributors share unique tips on how they made cheap fixes to hide decorating problems, e.g., stenciling a wool rug to hide stains. For its variety of real-life interiors, inexpensive decorating advice, and stylish, unique decorating styles, this book is recommended for all public libraries. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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