Small Space Decorating (Better Homes and Gardens) (Better Homes and Gardens Home)

If you favor the new trend towards smaller homes and rooms, you should enjoy this SMALL SPACE DECORATING book. Why throw hard-earned $$$ heating oversize homes and rooms when it's a few rooms that we want to primarily be in? Using our resources wisely seems to be a new decorating trend that's here to stay. How do you decorate smaller homes and rooms attractively? What design and decor principles maximize space? This book answers these questions, and is one of the few books published recently on small space decorating. It's brimming with ideas and photos to illustrate the ideas so you can see how the principles look in a real room. The book organizes rooms by function with chapter titles: Live, Cook, Eat, Bathe, Sleep, Work, Multitask, Enter and Play. The Live chapter highlights topics such as furniture, storage, windows & light, walls & ceilings, color, art & photos, fabric & pillows and accessories. There are an average of 3-5 small space decorating tips per page with accompanying photos to illustrate the tips--the rooms tend to be more informal, casual and comfortable in styles ranging from contemporary to cottage, to traditional with a twist to modern or an eclectic combination of these. Interspersed throughout are eight case studies of actual homes in which small space principles have been used successfully. My favorite case study is a stylish New York City studio apartment. There's a skillful use of color with white covering the dominant surfaces--walls, sofa, bookcase, Parsons desk and bed--punctuated with gold, beige, black and leopard print accents. The result is sophisticated, fun and looks spacious. What interested me about the book is that the rooms didn't look cramped or small--they look natural and cozy. Some sample tips which were among my favorite in this book: * Multitask--a dressing table or vanity can double as a desk. * Portability--furniture on wheels or a foldable desk, for example, offers flexibility * Folding dividers such as screens, which can be moved easily, are stylish ways to separate spaces This is an affordable introduction to, and overview of, attractive small spaces that are sure to inspire your own decorating ideas. The book is about the size of a magazine although much thicker and includes a one-year free subscription coupon to BETTER HOMES & GARDENS magazine. Many of the ideas are great for budget decorating and DIY design. If you like the cover picture, you should enjoy the book, as it is indicative of the fresh and original small space style inside.

I live in a single-wide of 840 sq ft manufactured home, and this book is helpful and has good ideas for sizing furniture for small spaces. I give it only 4 stars because several photos are not 'small space' homes; they are beautiful and large enough for entertaining or living well in an expensive-looking home- as you could expect from reading any Better Homes and Gardens decorating book. However, I do recommend this book for purchases of smaller furniture, dining room compact sets, office ideas, and ideas for entry ways where there's hardly any but a hallway, and others. I know of half-million dollar homes that actually have many walls for every room and compared to open floor plans, they need to decorate with smaller pieces of furniture. This was probably the best resource I found for small spaces ideas.

We are purchasing our dream home on the bayou! With an empty nest, we are downsizing to a beautiful Acadian cottage. Before moving in we are making cosmetic renovation/updates to kitchen, baths, and flooring and purchasing new furniture and accessories. A big concern is for optimizing space and storage. After purchasing several decorating books, I discovered this gem on Amazon.com! Just the resource needed for our project with ideas galore! Great manual for the visual learner. Written in a reader friendly, cookbook format, it "cuts to the chase" addressing each decorating issue without laborious text to scan through. There are text boxes inserted throughout labeled: Design Basics, How To, and Glossary. Virtually every design suggestion has an illustration. The beautiful pictures are a feast for the eyes. All of the designs have eclectic appeal with classic charm. Emphasis on cozy--no far out designs. I find a new idea each and every time I look at the book. The only problem with the book is that we can't do it all! Oh, by the way--I love this book!

Better Homes and Gardens consistently produces good information with lots of inspiring photos. I like the serene cottage look for everyday living and thanks to them and others my house now has a refreshing cottage look.

I was a little confused at first at this being called a book. Was it going to be a 'book' or a magazine? Chapters on Amazon are often called books by people paying $2-3 for a chapter. I ordered it, as I love 'small space' decorating. The rooms are not always expensively decorated, and I liked that too. I ordered it, and when it arrived, I asked my husband to give it to me for Christmas, as I didn't have time to look at it just then. So on Christmas, opening my gifts, there it was and he and I had a good laugh at my happy 'surprise.' Very nice book and the photos are beautiful. ***Update 10-7-14 I have gone through this book at least 15-20 times. I haven't tired of the pictures or descriptions of rooms yet. It is truly a good book. I added a star for that.

It's got nice pics and may help you generate ideas for your own space. But it's not the best book on the subject.

Some good ideas for built-ins and furniture arrangements in small apartments. Good price for the content, lots of good color photos. Not much in the way of highly creative solutions, but a good basic place to start.

Great book for ideas on small space decorating. Covers colors, fabrics, furniture size and other problem one may encounter in decorating a small space. Was especially helpful for me because we had sold our family home and downsized to a condo. It helped me develop a mindset needed for redecorating in a small space.

Die Bilder und Texte geben einem einen guten Eindruck von soliden Einrichtungsideen, die man auch im eigenen Zuhause umsetzen kann. Auf einigen Seiten sind allerdings einzelne Räume abgebildet, die fast so groß sind wie meine halbe Wohnung ... von "small spaces" kann hier nicht mehr die Rede sein. Insgesamt aber für den Preis ein schönes Buch, in dem es Spaß macht, zu blättern.

I love this book! Super simple to read with lots of great tips on how to maximization small spa you may be living it..

I like this book, Many pictures, many ideas, very nice book for such a good book ! Gives many ideas about decorating small spaces. As you know in Europe, in big cities there is not great chance to live in 200 square meter houses, so it helped me to get ideas about decorating my home.

新居の間取りを決める際、色々なインテリア本を見たけれど日本のものより海外のインテリアに惹かれました。小さなスペースを有効活用するアイデア満載。

I did not enjoy this book very much, the information including the pictures appeared dated and old fashioned. Did not like the feel of the paper and print difficult to read and not a book that i would be recommending or a book that you would want to dip in and out of.