New Decorating Book, 10th Edition (Better Homes and Gardens) (Better Homes and Gardens Home) (Better Homes & Gardens Decorating)

Today we apartment and home dwellers want to be involved in decorating our homes. But we need to be informed on an abundance of topics to do so. This is an affordable "how-to" book that breaks the process down room-by-room with hundreds of ideas, and photos to illustrate the ideas, on how to create a room. It's great for those new to the process and those who are looking for ideas they haven't considered before. Ten design basics are introduced for each room: living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, offices, entries etc. Then, examples of popular styles of the room (playful chic, nature inspired, urban modern etc.) are illustrated along with a possible color palette for each room, important room elements are highlighted and our favorite before-and-afters of the room are shown. Three common flaws and three suggested fixes are covered for rooms. "Style made simple" regarding rooms covers topics like curtains, storage, headboards etc. Scattered throughout are short "try this" tips on the photos for DIYers (one example: cover self-adhesive lampshades with fabric). There's styles for almost any taste featured in the House Tours section--my favorite section--including 10 styles such as modern cottage, classic bungalow, refined rustic, fresh traditional, modern family, today's farmhouse, artistic cottage and scandanavian modern. The styles tend to be more informal, but the tips could be adapted to more formal and glamourous styles as well which would be fun to do. The workroom section at the end offers nuts and bolts basics on how to decorate with lessons on pattern, color, scale, balance, texture, paint, wallpaper, fabric etc. There's a complete "try this" section on wall art, storage, organization and projects followed by a "know-how" section on window wardrobes, lighting and room arranging. I've been team-teaching interior design through continuing education for 10 years, and there's ideas in here I would like to try. For example, for armless dining chairs with leather-like round backs, make a slip-cover skirt for the chair that reaches to the floor in a striped fabric with a solid horizontal panel at bottom to match the leather color of the chair--it was very casual chic and you can change them seasonally. The self-adhesive fabric covered lampshade looked great, too! You can spend hours going through this book and marking ideas you like. There's an average of 5 tips per page and almost 300 pages--so 1500 illustrated tips in current styles for you to peruse and highlight at your leisure. It's like an illustrated textbook on design--although much more fun than most textbooks you've encountered. I think it's one of the best introductory books on design available. It's a great introduction to and overview of the design process and like a refresher course if you've been studying design for awhile. I love the fresh, colorful, eclectic, welcoming room on the cover--it's representative of the styles you'll find inside.

This has a grerat format, and great ideas and photos! I love all the Better Homes & Gardens books!! They are always fresh and inspiring.

We will be staging our home for resale in the near future, so I ordered this book to jump-start decor ideas. There are so many creative ideas presented in the book that I'm already rereading it for the second time. I know staging is different from designing a living space for your own use, and calls for more neutral sparse decor than much of what is in the book. And if you take the photos at face value, many of the rooms are way too cluttered and the furniture is cramped together. But that's fine, because I found inspiration and value in each room presented. Utilize these photos like they are 3D design boards, and examine the elements as individual pieces, or study how colors and shapes interact with each other. Get ideas for clever storage ideas and accent pieces, or new ways to arrange furniture and utilize your space. There are also terrific chapters at the back which basically serve as a comprehensive mini-course in design. Love it!

I enjoyed the de orating book, but wish it had more of a variety of ideas. However, it was somewhat helpful.

I have always loved BH&G books but this has to be my all time favorite. Such great pictures and wonderful layout! I usually put a tab on pictures I like in decorating books but I had to stop using them in this book since there were just too many pictures I loved. So much inspiration! I think it has a very current cottage vibe to it but still traditional as well. I get new ideas every time I open it.

Better Homes & Gardens has come out with another fantastic decorating book. I love this book because it is FILLED with tons of ideas for every budget and design style. I am an interior designer, blogger and decorative painter so I am constantly looking for new ideas and inspiration. I have already read this book cover to cover at least three times and still I find something new that catches my eye. I highly recommend if you can only buy one decorating book a year, this is the one! Also if you missed the last BH&G New Decorating Book, do yourself a favor and find it.

When I initially looked at the excerpts of this book, the sample images seemed more traditional and dated. I'm glad I gave it a chance despite that. This book is image-heavy and the majority of the rooms/homes are contemporary and stylish without being overly trendy. The layout of the book is great, with a practical and helpful reference section at the back. The writing is friendly and conversational but informative.

I was looking for new ideas for my home, and this book has some great ones! The photos are beautiful, and the advice is practical and easy to read. The price couldn't be beat either! I wish there was another edition!