Book Description
Whether the readerÂ's home is stuck in the 1970s or they are looking to freshen things up, they will learn cost-effective strategies to maximize their investment—or their enjoyment, if selling isnÂ't in their immediate plans.
Packed with practical interior design ideas, home improvement tips, and real estate insider secrets that help home sellers go beyond just cleaning up the place.
Provides the tools to increase the beauty and functionality of every home, while maximizing the ownerÂ's investment.
Expert advice from Designed to Sell host Clive Pearse and interior designer Lisa LaPorta on selling a home quickly and getting top dollar for the property.
Filled with clever and useful information for getting a home ready to sell or for making the right improvement to increase the homeÂ's value.
Customer Reviews:
Change "other views" .......2007-10-09
Before I bought the book, I read the reviews, but what really got me interested was the "other views" or pages from the book below the book title, you know the ones that you look at to get a better idea what's in the book. Well it shows a page with "glazed cabinets" but there is no such page in the actual book. I was really disappointed just because I expected it to be there if it was right below the book.
Not for a beginner.......2007-09-05
Not enough detail info or "example" pictures to please me. When one is just "breaking in" to designing more before/after pics would help.
great pictures, good advice.......2007-08-18
The Designed to Sell book offers the same frank commentary, sage advice, and money-saving tips as the TV show. Many large full-color photos are a special treat and a great resource for both fans of the show and homeowners looking to stage their property for sale.
The book could have been strengthened by a conclusion (noticeably absent) and also more before-and-after pictures; sometimes only the "after" was shown.
If you've seen the show...........2007-08-14
You don't need to read the book. There wasn't anything new or insightful to be garnered from reading the book. I was hoping for some more in depth tips that the show doesn't have time to cover.
Always keep eyes open and mind questioning.......2007-07-12
The book, like the show, is invaluable whether you will actually sell your house or not. More than one "seller" has changed from seller to keeper or rental owner because of how well the renovation turned out, and that is okay, too. The principal idea is to take a long, hard look at your dear little abode and see it more as others may see it. Clutter abounds, dirt has made itself at home in hard to reach places, repairs have been put off, etcetera! This book, like the program, will help you to sort out these problems, but many of the costs are not realistic: they hide some subterfuge.
Just for starters, I have never seen a cost entered for labor. Where the program is concerned, we know, or should know, that all labor is provided by the crew, who are on contract to the show. Furthermore, the work for the show is always completed on time and professionally well done. In real life, however, we have the problem of finding qualified, honest and trustworthy contractors/workmen who will charge us fairly for a job done well. None of this is dealt with in the program or in the book. Perhaps that part is "another story?"
If anyone goes into a remodeling/renovation project with only $2000 to spend, they had better have some talented and willing family or friends as well as being able to do some/most of the work themselves. As for the "new" furniture, it would be more helpful if the sources were mentioned. It is quite acceptable to purchase furniture from outlets and "used" stores at serious savings. However, these sources are not always available everywhere, and that, in all fairness, should be pointed out. This is my only criticism of the show and the book. The ideas are there and the needed jobs layed out, but the money is not realistic. Still, the book is worth the time to read it and the money to buy it - used.
Book Description
The international bestseller How Clean Is Your House? is a new kind of cleaning book—full-color, hilarious, and fun. Packed with trade secrets and inventive cleaning solutions, it goes through the house room by room, offering doÂ's and donÂ'ts, step-by- steps, and before-and-after “grime scene” photographs.
Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie are known as “the queens of clean” from Lifetime Television and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Tips include:
• Use a banana peel to dust plants; the dust clings to the skin and the juice nourishes the leaves
• Leave laundry detergent to soak in your bathtub overnight—the tub will gleam in the morning (no scrubbing required)
• To loosen dirt and grease inside the microwave, put a few slices of lemon in an uncovered bowl of water and cook on high for 3 minutes.
Customer Reviews:
Good Book.......2007-10-14
I love the show and was disappointed that Lifetime no longer shows it but BBC still doesn
The book is great. I have learned a few things that I have never seen on the show.
Just makes you want to get up and clean something! .......2007-10-02
Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie tackle some of the messiest houses on two continents, and they do it with humor and style. Just because you're elbow deep in muck is no reason not to look elegant! (I especially like their glamorously trimmed rubber gloves.)
This terrific companion book to the TV series, "How Clean Is Your House," isn't a comprehensive guide on how to clean anything and everything. It's just a fun little book with hundreds of tips from Kim and Aggie. It's hard to keep reading though - you keep wanting to get up and dust something!
The chapter called "Getting Started" includes both ladies' preferences for putting together an essential cleaning kit. Kim and Aggie prefer simple, easily available things like white vinegar, salt, baking soda, lemons, laundry soap - even denture cleaning tablets. It's amazing how common items and a little elbow grease work miracles if you know when and where to use them.
Other chapters offer advice on Kitchens, Living Rooms, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Pets and Allergies.
These ladies really know how to motivate people and make cleaning fun!
Recommended
Love These Ladies!.......2007-09-19
Excellent book, makes me want to clean my house! I like that they use so many common household supplies (lemons, baking soda, vinegar, etc.) instead of commercial chemicals.
Hip, Funny and Helpful.......2007-08-18
Gotta love these two old British biddies with their "Oh my gawds" style of speaking. Their show is grand and the book is not bad. One of my peeves is on the show they use the term "biological powder" but never tell you what that is. A friend says it's "Fab" but that's just detergent, right? The girls don't mention what biological powder is in their book nor own their website. This is frustrating. Other than that, it's a good romp about how to clean your house - start in the bedroom first! - and move to the front (or bottom) of the house. Super advice. Good writing. Nice presentation. Lots of colorful photos.
How much happier a clean house makes you........2007-08-10
Kim and Aggie change lives- If you have never seen the TV show, these women go into homes that should rightfully be condemned, clean them from top to bottom, and return them to the owners with stern warnings to "keep it clean". The book is an extension of this fantastic show that literally transforms people's lives. One can easily underestimate how much cleanliness and order contributes to a happy life. This book is a great guide to achieving and maintaining such order. The cleaning tips and methods are smart and easy and the cleaning solutions they use made from borax, salt, vinegar, baking soda, lemon to name a few are "cheap and cheerful". Cleaning made fun.
Book Description
A do-it-yourself guide to designing, building, and maintaining water tanks, cisterns and ponds, and sustainably managing groundwater storage. It will help you with your independent water system, fire protection, and disaster preparedness, at low cost and using principles of ecological design. Includes building instructions for several styles of ferro cement water tanks.
Customer Reviews:
very excellent detailed book.......2007-10-14
This book is well written and complete. I feel that after reading this book I can safely capture rainwater and I know all the details to think about when designing our system, specific reasons to place pipes etc in specific places ... an excellent detailed referrence book and enjoyable read; I read the entire book and enjoyed it. If you are seriously considering to have a rainwater catchment system this is a must read.
Water - more important than oil.......2007-08-25
Wow! This book has a ton of usefull, usable information packed into such a thin booklet! No wasted space, which makes me feel that I've not wasted my money on this book! If you are serious about helping to save this planet, or even just surviving the next tragedy that may befall upon us: Get. This. Book.
Can I just say again: WOW!
Save It!.......2007-08-14
What a shame that so much water is wasted...especially when our roofs and gutters simply make a mess rather than being utilized to store rainwater. This book will help even the urban dweller to get in on using precious water for immediate use. For the country folks, it will help in better planning for future use. Highly recommended.
Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers and Ponds........2007-08-04
Too much social and environmental commentary which I have noticed is common for books on this subject. I just want information on how to best design and build a water collection system. The benefits are obvious to anyone who would buy this book so why use half the book to convince the reader?
for everyone that uses water.......2007-02-08
I found this book very informative. Lots of easy to understand information. It has affected the way I store drinking water, even in small amounts simply to bring on a bike ride or to work.
Well written. A wealth of information without having to wade through a bunch of extranious fluff.
Product Description
Maybe you've made melt-and-pour soap and want to move on to something more challenging and rewarding. Maybe traditional soapmaking appeals to you, but you figure it's too difficult or dangerous. Or maybe you're already doing it, but outmoded ideas and methods are complicating the process and slowing you down. No matter which of these fits you, you'll find Smart Soapmaking practical, helpful, and refreshing. Written by a former professional soapmaker, this book explodes the myths about soapmaking and shows you how to make luxurious soap with the least fuss and bother.
Customer Reviews:
Great Soap Book!.......2007-09-25
I purchased three books on soapmaking, and in my opinion, this one is by far the very best! The author's instructions are clear, concise, and the techniques are simplified and de-mystified over other soapmaking books. I made my first batch of "Anne's Shea Butter Supreme" today, and the soap turned out beautifully without a glitch. I also had a newbie question about a product I purchased, so I emailed the author. Anne responded back quickly and was very helpful, a fact that I greatly appreciated! I can't wait to use my soap and make more of the recipes from the book.
I LOVE This Book!.......2007-08-14
Anne makes soapmaking simple -- I'm a newbie and I'm still learning. This book gives just enough information to educate, without overwhelming. She challenges the "soap theology" of most of the other books, but it makes sense.
I highly recommend it!
disappointed.......2007-07-14
After reading all the great reviews I was expecting a lot more than this. The first disappointment was how thin the book was - just over a hundred pages. Then it's all questions and answers (the ones the author thinks are important) and a couple of recipes which aren't very great either. I don't recommend this book for beginners, it won't tell you how to make soap. And it's definitely not a book for experienced soapmakers who, like I, have been making soap for years. You won't find anything new in there.
I guess this book would be for the in-between soapmakers. You've made a couple of batches and have a few questions. Though, personally, I think you'd find those answers in most good soapmaking books.
Not worth the money.
Great things come in small packages!.......2007-07-09
This book has everything you need to start making soap. The instructions and illustrations for the cold-process of soap making are easy to follow, the recipes are simple and produce great soap every time. Anne's Shea Butter Soap is a very versatile recipe, and her references to other sources are invaluable. Would love to see the author produce a volume of soap recipes!
smart soaping.......2007-05-07
You can't go wrong with this book. If you get anybook on soaping this is the one you need.
Book Description
Your Moving Bible! The
Moving Survival Guide leads you by the hand through the daunting tasks of selling, packing, and moving your household. Detailed to-do lists, organizational tips, and proven advice will help keep you focused, informed, and energized for your move.
Customer Reviews:
A wealth of information, and checklists!.......2007-08-28
The best thing I can say about this book is that it *thoroughly* helps you get organised for your move- and that is saying a lot!
One of the hardest things about moving is the upheaval and disorganisation it causes. This book will help you, step by step, by identifying potential pitfalls for you to avoid and by providing you with checklists to help you avoid forgetting anything during the tumult of moving.
I really can't say enough about the checklists. I've moved twice since purchasing this book and these lists have been a lifesaver! The author is so very thorough that I felt calm and at ease knowing that as long as each line had a tick in the box, I was going to be ok- and I was!
If you're thinking about buying a book to help with your move you may as well put this one in your cart and head to the check out. I would recommend it over several others as the only book you need. (Of course, I might supplement it with a city guide if you happen to be relocating all the way to a new city as opposed to across town.)
Its Ok, but not extraordinary.......2007-04-20
Maybe I was expecting something different, but the recommendations in this book seemed to be basic and the lists overly complicated. It should be retiled `Moving for Dummies.'
Also, this book is really not for renters or low budget movers. Most of the information is relevant only to people who own their own home and are relocating at somebody else's expense.
Helpful and thorough.......2007-04-06
This book is very thorough, though geared towards those who are selling/buying property more so than renters. Also, there's a lot of info about moving kids (which I skipped because I'm childless by choice). But I found the author to be soothing, it's clear she's been through this many times. She's super-fastidious but that's an asset for someone who's stressed about an upcoming move.
Good book for those who have a deep love of lists and organization! -[...].......2006-05-24
I used this book when planning my move and found it to be very helpful. I was movig across country and had lots of valuable items that needed to be kept track of and properlu insurec. After a previously bad moving experience I wanted to make sure that i got everything right this time around. This book was a huge help, I especially liked all of the lists and organizational aids that were included in it.
If you're an organizational nut and love lists this book is for you!.......2006-04-12
I'm planning a move across the country due to a corporate relocation, and was looking for a resource to help me plan and execute the move with minimal problems. This book did the trick for me.
It's organized into chapters dealing with emotional issues, preparing for the move, selling and buying a house, packing, and starting a new life at you new location.
The author also gives you blank calendars to keep track of dates, a moving timeline, and tons of worksheets that made a list maker like myself very happy, along with blank pages for taking notes. The moving checklists cover everything from changing addresses to moving medical records. The worksheets help you to keep track of moving expenses and phone numbers or contact info from cellular, utility, and insurance companies, schools, doctors, and other service providers.
The book only touches upon the emotional issues, so if you are moving with kids (as I was) I would recommend buying a separate book if you're looking for more information on that issue.
Book Description
What can you accomplish in a weekend, start to finish? Any one of the more than fifty-five exciting projects in
Debbie Travis' Weekend Projects, by the star of the TV series The Painted House. Following the inspiring full-color photographs and simple instructions, even the beginning do-it-yourselfer can create beautiful pillows and frames, boxes and screens, and slipcovers -- each in just two days or less.
In transforming a home from plain to personalized, it's the little touches that make the difference. "The furniture and accessories you make or decorate yourself are the most successful," Debbie explains. "It's not just about the money we save . . . it's the experience of creating something by hand." Not only are these projects quick, inexpensive, and easy to make, but they also yield some of the most appealing and useful objects you could own. For example, a plain dresser or shelving unit can be completely restyled with a few hardware store add-ons and a bit of paint. With no-sew Velcro and self-adhesive hemming tape, anyone can hang patterned curtains or create a decorative pillow. A roll of screening and a staple gun turn a frame into a kitchen divider and tool rack in one. In sections that cover tables, screens, frames and mirrors, lighting, storage, fabrics and floorcloths, and garden furniture and accessories, Debbie visits every room of the house. Each project has been photographed to show not only the finished results, but also the step-by-step techniques needed. With so much variety in materials, processes, and end results, Debbie promises over a year of fun weekends, with a beautiful house as the bonus.
Lavishly illustrated with more than 350 full-color photographs,
Debbie Travis' Weekend Projects is also the weekend crafter's manual, packed with valuable information, including tips on where to find pieces to make over, a complete listing and explanation of tools and materials needed, and instructions on how to prepare an array of different surfaces.
Whether it is a basic wood frame, a pressed-tin candlestick, or a velvet pillow, these treasures may take just a weekend to make, but they will bring a lifetime
of enjoyment.
Customer Reviews:
Preparation Chapter best part of the book.......2005-12-23
Debbie Travis' books are a mixed bag. Some of them I really like and some are scarce on steps and details. This book falls into the latter category. The best part of the book to me were the two chapters, "Preparing your Project for Decoration" and "The Professional Touch". These chapters cover repairs of pieces, sanding, stripping, glazes and how to tint glazes, plaster, varnishes, stains, etc. and the best way to apply them for a professional finish.
This book covers all kinds of projects, indoor, outdoor, furniture, curtains, floors, screens, slipcovers and more.
Like another reviewer I thought many of the projects were very plain, but the beautiful ones sometimes seemed to leave out steps. Some of the more interesting projects were the:
~ vinegar-grained table (pg 70),
~ crackle varnish clock table (pg 76),
~ classical screen (pg 111),
~ faux leather frame (pg 118)
~ some of the curtains
The most interesting project that immediately caught my eye was a lamp made from an antique silver coffeepot (pg 130). Even though it had a full page photograph, it was not covered at all.
Very disappointing book.
Just not enough.......2005-11-06
I agree with other reviewers that this book has some great projects, some of which I plan to do, and it gave me some very good ideas. The problem for me is too few pictures and, in some cases, incomplete instructions.
For example, on page 70 is a gorgeous vinegar-grained and faux tortoiseshell table. But the instructions are incomplete, explaining and showing just two small sections of the work and parts of the process, and not giving instructions for the remainder of the table. The table has a very nice border that separates the center and the tortoiseshell edge, but the instructions don't even acknowledge its existence.
In several other cases, the pictures with the instructions seem to stop in mid process. It would be much better if the pictures continued through to the finished product.
This book feels as if Ms. Travis tried to jam as many projects into a set number of pages as possible, which gave me the feeling of being hurried while I was looking at the book.
I think she paid too little attention to giving full instructions and providing enough pictures. If expanded to include these things, this would be a five-star book.
Better books on the market than this one........2004-11-01
This book looks good at first glance, but then it falls apart. The nice colored pictures cannot compensate for the poor hints and guidelines in creating the same effects. Also, many of the finished projects were downright ugly.
I expected this book to offer something really fresh but it didn't. I feel majorly ripped off.
Inspirational!!.......2003-06-20
Debbie Travis really breaks down projects that look complicated into easy steps. In looking for info on one project, I immediately became inspired to do several of her projects. They are all easilly adapted to your home and style, and definetly make you want to go for it!!
Great projects!.......2003-04-12
Lots of easy to do projects. Most of the projects can be adapted to suit your own decorating style.
Average customer rating:
- disapointed
- Good for play houses, but not for swing sets, etc.
- Very good guide to building outdoor play sets.
|
Backyard Play Areas You Can Make: Complete Plans and Instructions for Building Playhouses, Forts, and Swing Sets
Paul Gerhards
Manufacturer: Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
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Similar Items:
-
Playhouses You Can Build: Indoor and Backyard Designs (Stiles, David R. Weekend Project Book Series.)
-
Build A Kids' Play Yard
-
The Backyard Playground: Recreational Landscapes & Play Structures
-
Kid's Places to Play
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How to Build Treehouses, Huts and Forts
ASIN: 0811730883 |
Customer Reviews:
disapointed.......2007-08-28
the book contained almost no items to build like swing sets, slides monkey bars climbing stuff, great if you want a playhouse, but lacked variety. $16 wasted in my opinion don't recomend buying this book.
It only had about 20 items to build. omly one swing set.
major disapointment.
Good for play houses, but not for swing sets, etc........1999-05-05
This book has great plans for building forts,play-houses, but it does not have much in the way of swings. If you want a swing set play area, better find another book.
Very good guide to building outdoor play sets........1998-12-01
A very good introduction on constuction. Reviews materials and details methods of building from foundation to roofing. This book also includes detailed plans for fifteen projects for all skill levels. A very good book to use, for the plans or just for the ideas and instructions.
Book Description
In FamilyFun Home, the editors of FamilyFun magazine show how to bring order and more fun to the hardest-working rooms in the house-namely, the kitchen and bathroom-as well as create a family-friendly computer zone, build a loft bed, craft a glow-in-the-dark lampshade, or make a picnic table or sandbox for the backyard. This volume is further proof that there is no greater authority on new and fun ways to spend time together than the experts at FamilyFun.
Customer Reviews:
LOVE the book, hate the binding.......2006-09-30
I love this book. It has ideas for REAL families. Sometimes you flip through books and magazines that have decorating and organizing projects for some fictional family that must have way too much money, way too much time, and kids who don't behave like real kids. This is a very down-to-earth, realistic book of projects that are doable, affordable, and work for real people.
That being said, I really wish this book was in regular paperback or hardcover, not spiralbound. I hate that I have to worry about the pages tearing out. I expect to have this book a long time and I don't look forward to when the pages will inevitably start to come off the spirals. Please, FamilyFun, make the bindings of your books more practical!
Mom's New Best Friend.......2003-12-30
I received this book for Christmas and I've already used it three times. My two year old son loves that he can be a "big boy" and do things all on his own (get his own snack, put his toys back in the right boxes, etc.). We're heading out today to get some more supplies today!
Terrific book for practical families!.......2003-10-29
I purchased this book when we bought our first home. I have made many of the projects to fit our home and decorating style. The projects are easy, fun, and EXTREMELY useful!! Some of the ideas I have used with my 7 and 5 year old relatives as crafts that serve a decorative and practical purpose - they love to use what they made. Even my husband likes this book!
I love this book!.......2003-09-25
I wanted to see the projects in this book before I bought it. Unfortunately, no book stores had it in stock. So I decided to buy it anyways. I'm so glad I did. It has lots of projects, how-to's and just loads of information. I think to myself, why didn't I think of that idea. It's really going to help me and my family get organized and ideas for redecorating!
Fun Ideas.......2003-06-24
This is a great compilation of the projects that are in the Family Fun magazines. From outdoor fun to creative decorating for kid's rooms. I bought this for my wife as a present and she loves it and my 2 year old son packs it around with him constantly.
Book Description
This book is filled with suggestions to make life easier and more enjoyable for older persons with physical limitations.
Customer Reviews:
Chock full of great ideas!.......2006-07-15
This book features more than 100 hints and tips for making life easier or safer for anyone with any sort of physical limitation due to arthritis, illness or life-long disabilities. The illustrations are excellent and the instructions are easy to follow. Any friend, neighbor or family member with a couple of basic tools can help create these items. Many would be wonderful homemade gifts decorated by grandchildren!
Not really for the disabled.......2003-01-06
I found this book to be focused primarily on the physical limitations of aging and not for persons with disabilities. I would recommend one of the several books on Universal homes if you are looking to really help improve the living spaces for someone who has a disability or degenerative disease. Low cost alternatives for strength and reaching issues of aging were the primary focus of this book.
Quality of Life Enhancing Improvements for At-Home Joy!.......2001-01-31
This book clearly deserves more than five stars for the very high benefit to cost ratio involved in the suggested solutions.
Most disabled or elderly people would prefer to be in their own home. At home care is expensive, and most people do not have long-term care insurance. (Although, if you can afford it, this is a good investment at around age 65.) Most people bought or rented their homes to raise a family in, or to live as a fully-functioning adult. As soon as one becomes more frail, or even slightly disabled, these homes present many frustrations and challenges. Before moving out or hiring help, I suggest that you avail yourself of the many helpful suggestions in this book. They are cost-effective and relatively easy adjustments that are well worth the effort and investment involved.
I strongly recommend that all physically disabled and elderly people have a copy. The children and grandchildren of these people should also read this book, because they can help make the modifications. In addition, caregivers should become familiar with these ideas so they can help improve the home environments for those they serve.
The book focuses on the needs of those in wheelchairs, people with trouble gripping (from arthritis or a weakness), those are unsteady on their feet (from dizziness, weakness, or complications), individuals with the use of only one hand, and people who are not as mobile as they once were. Research has shown that people in these circumstances can replace the need for more care by making household modifications. For those who need care, these modifications can reduce the level of care required and improve safety.
The time to make these changes yourself is before you need them, especially for grab bars and lowered sinks. Looking at this book about the time your AARP card is starting to get a little worn around the edges should give you plenty of time to prepare.
The author wrote this book from her own experiences as an advocate for the disabled and helping her elderly parents live at home. Many suggestions came from people who thought up the solutions themselves. The book's stated purpose is "to get you thinking about your own situation and get your creative ideas going." The book is not a comprehensive solution for every need, but it certainly shares many wonderful ideas . . . at least some of which will be helpful to anyone.
There are six chapters, plus a list of resources you can draw upon. These chapters include:
Bathroom & Washing Up
Bedroom & Getting Dressed
Kitchen & Meal Time
Living Room & Leisure Activities
Housekeeping & Getting Around
Outdoor Activities & Home Security
Let me describe the last chapter in more detail to give you a flavor for all that is in this wonderful book. Space limitations prevent me from providing more detail. This chapter includes adjustments for patios and porches, ramps, a salt shaker for ice melting, pulley-based hanging plant baskets and bird feeders, combined planter boxes and benches, raised flower beds, smaller gardening tools, ways to garden with one hand, container gardening tools, making your own seed tape, household security, making keys easier to use. Like all of the sections, it also contains notes for caregivers.
Here are some of my favorite ideas in the entire book: customizing a walker so you can do tasks with it more easily; lowering the "hot" water temperature so you cannot burn yourself; using dining smocks from old shirts instead of bibs; a playing card holder; one-handed broom; salt shaker for ice melting (I plan to make one of those for myself since I recently had surgery and cannot lift very much); hot pad using the microwave; build-up handles for gripping; drying yourself with a terry cloth bath robe instead of a bath tower; light-switch extensions; pulley-based bird feeders; and long handles for reaching.
I also think this book can stimulate your mind, as it was intended to do. Many people with restricted physical capabilities find themselves becoming less mentally active. This book should help reduce that problem, and provide new reasons to be hopeful.
Whatever your age and physical situation, your mind can extend your reach and your grasp. What do you think is beyond you? How can you reorganize how you pursue those activities to make them feasible?
Dare the possible dream . . . even about that which seems "impossible."
Little things mean a lot.......1999-12-16
This book is a distillation of the author's background in disability advocacy, her career in assistive technology design and extension at a major university, and her personal experience as caregiver for two frail elderly parents. Written in a clear, down to earth style, the book is crammed with practical ideas for simple and inexpensive modifications for homes and items in daily use by elderly and disabled people. On each page I found myself wondering: "Why didn't I think of that?"
You needn't have an O.T. degree to know whether a project will be helpful for you - the needs and uses are clearly explained. Nor must you be wealthy or an experienced handyman to complete the projects - some take minutes and cost under $5. Best of all, the modifications look natural and homelike, not clunky or hospital-ish. Suzanne Bloom's clear, graceful line drawings show exactly how the projects will look and how to create them. Every page glows with caring and respect.
This book is a must-have for anyone caring for an elderly or physically disabled person, or just growing old gracefully.
Easy homes needn't cost an arm and a leg.......1998-12-22
If you're lucky, this fate shall greet you. Rather than doom bright futures, this common sense book brightens any abode. By explaining how a few, tiny modifications to anyone's home creates a new world of ease, subsequent comforts apply equally to able-bodied and physically challenged dwellers. How we ever let the luxury of mild modifications escape us might be a lasting question for all readers. Shhhhhhh! For now, perhaps some of these inside tidbits are best kept secret. Easy reading.
Book Description
Christopher Lowell has done it again! In response to thousands of letters requesting a book on small-room decorating, the Emmy Award-winning star of the Discovery Channel's most popular decorating show applies his innovative thinking to the challenge of turning cramped quarters into a comfortable, stylish home. He takes the Seven Layers of Design system introduced in his first book one step further by applying it to small spaces and inspiring readers to create extraordinary rooms out of the ordinary.
With his trademark energy and innovation, Lowell guides us through two modular homes, one designed in a traditional style, the other in a more modern decor, but both intended to offer the reader a myriad of design options and ideas. The traditional home features a Nantucket-style master bath, a sunroom with faux stone walls, a French-influenced guest bedroom, and a separate dining room. The modern home contains a kitchen finished in sophisticated stainless-steel paint, a living room-guest bedroom partitioned with sliding bookcases, and a Zen master bedroom with a space-saving platform bed.
Room by room, Lowell tackles such problems as how to make the most of tiny master bedrooms, how to create several rooms from one, what to do with narrow hallways, how to conserve space by creating multipurpose rooms, and how to renovate a guest bathroom for under $100. Before and after pictures show how anyone can perform miracles just by "thinking outside the box." Once again, Christopher Lowell inspires readers to dream big, no matter how small their space.
Customer Reviews:
Misleading!! Not really for tiny spaces........2006-11-08
I don't watch cable tv and Christopher Lowell isn't familiar to me, but I was eager to read this book as I have a number of small rooms. I was extremely disappointed to find that all the rooms in the book were comparatively huge. I was hoping for decorating tips for rooms 12 x12 and smaller. Oh, well. Some of my friends who have bigger rooms have been happy to borrow it.
Browse for Ideas.......2006-08-21
This was a bit of a let down, as I'd loved Lowell's Dream Decor On A Budget. This one is choppy and hard to follow. Reading his descriptions and then trying to find what he's talking about in the photos is tough.
Some of the rooms are delightful and there's quite a few do-it-yourself projects included (mission style table, settee-divider, island bed).
They included too many photos of Lowell, making it seem like a fan club book rather than a serious decorating guide.
Some good ideas in the sketches.......2005-11-17
My chief complaint is the photographs used to illustrate how Lowell's ideas and sketches were carried out DO NOT at all compare to the photos of the empty original rooms. It is extremely hard for the eye to determine the angle and placement. Several photos I couldn't even figure out what area of the room I was looking at. The AFTER photos are too close up and it's impossible to use them as a reference or anything more than a vague idea. BAD PHOTOGRAPHY.
I did get a few ideas for small spaces. I found a lot of use of the same colors over and over again, same plush fabrics and lawrence-of-arabia style draping. A bit lush and overdone for the typical home perhaps? I like his ideas very much though about clutter and making the most of your surroundings. But please re-issue with better photographs of the results of his ideas and works! What a disappointment in that regard.
Packed full of ideas.......2005-09-20
I think some of the other reviewers were overly harsh in their assessment of this book. You have to read the first chapter to get the context of the decorating he did for these two houses. Also, if you had a chance to watch his TV show when he decorated these houses, you'll see they actually turned out quite livable. He walked around and discussed what his team had done. I do agree that the book is a little over the top. Chris likes looking at himself and saw fit to include 47 pictures of himself. But I think he crammed in so much "stuff" so a reader could pick a little bit from here and there and come up with his or her own style. If he had been spartan in his design, the reader would have fewer ideas to choose from. I'm rather glad he gave me lots of choices. Even when I threw a bunch away, I still had more ideas then I get from similar books. I encourage the reader to look at it from that perspective and enjoy the metamorphosis of these two empty, bland trailers into little fantasy houses. I found his "Seven Layers of Design" book even more useful, because he spends a lot of time explaining his design methodology. If you're afraid of the investment, buy the books used from the Amazon marketplace. I bought all three for less then the price of one brand new. Cha ching! Good luck!
Over the top decorating - and not in a good way.......2004-10-02
Christopher Lowell comes so close to getting it right but unfortunately doesn't seem to know when enough is enough, not just over the top. He uses the word "merchandising" a lot and...well...his rooms often look like department store displays, so filled with things that it is hard to imagine living (let alone breathing) in those rooms. Subtract half of what he puts in the average room and you'd have a decent space. But, please, Christopher, stop before it gets tacky. A living room is not a window display in a shopping mall.
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