Location: Home » Interior Design Books » Design Rules: The Insider's Guide to Becoming Your Own Decorator

Design Rules: The Insider's Guide to Becoming Your Own Decorator

Author: Elaine Griffin
Publisher: Gotham
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$25.00~~
Buy New: $15.65
as of 11/21/2009 05:03 EST details
You Save: $9.35 (37%)

Seller: a1books
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

6 reviews
Sales Rank: 7520

Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 7.2 x 0.8

ISBN: 1592405061
Dewey Decimal Number: 645
EAN: 9781592405060
ASIN: 1592405061

Publication Date: November 3, 2009 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Features:

»	ISBN13: 9781592405060
»	Condition: NEW
»	Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
»	Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Also Available In:

»	Kindle Edition - Design Rules

Similar Items:

Style and Substance: The Best of Elle Decor

The Comfortable Home: How to Invest in Your Nest and Live Well for Less

Suzanne Kasler: Inspired Interiors

Sister Parish Design: On Decorating

Glamorous Rooms

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
The essential do-it-yourself guide from one of the top designers in the country that uncovers the secret home design rules used by the pros

Many design books are filled with lavish photography of perfect rooms that most of us can only dream of re-creating. Without any practical advice, the look is unattainable. That's where Design Rules comes in. Here, Elaine Griffin, one of the country's 100 top designers (House Beautiful), explains all the practical decorating standards that professionals use behind the scenes to create flowing, balanced, gorgeous design. Packed with helpful illustrations and hundreds of step-by-step tips, Design Rules includes essential advice such as:

Pick a pleasing color palette (that really works)

Correctly size their bedsize tables (so they don't tower over their beds)

Enhance the visual appeal of windowless rooms (so they're not dungeons)

Design furniture arrangements that function and flow

Style up even the most forlorn kitchens, baths and yes, basements and laundry rooms (honey, no space is too dreadful to be made ultra fab)

Brighten up their kitchens with a can of paint and a burst of strategically-placed color (location, location, location!)

Figure out which styles of furniture go together (there is a rule and it's easy!)

Make their own personalities shine throughout their homes (because they should)

And oodles more!

Design Rules is for the growing number of savvy, novice home designers who are well-versed in what good design looks like, but need advice on how to translate it into their own home. It is the home design bible people have been waiting for.

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 1-5 of 6

1 2 Next »

Love it! November 15, 2009
BS
I am loving this book! It makes decorating so easy and simple. I actually like that the design layouts are sketches and blueprints because then its easier to imagine your own style in the space. I am not bothered by her "flavored" speech...its not over the top in my opinion, just sprinkled throughout. It does help make it a little more fun, and not so technical. However, she does NOT skimp on the technical details...she gives measurements and ratios for EVERYTHING under the sun. I will definitely be taking this along with me before I buy furniture again. If you are decorating for the first time, this is a GREAT book to purchase!

2 out of 5 stars

May be useful if you are very inexperienced November 14, 2009
K. Waldron (Atlanta, GA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

If you are looking for a book to make decorating more approachable, then this might be a good book for you. If you are looking for more advanced guidance - beyond "wallpaper looks great in X room" to "the best sources for wallpapers are A, B, C" - beyond "mix two or more stains [for wood floors]" to "this mixture looks great on white oak: XYZ" then this book will not be satisfying. I have read countless decorators say that mixing several stain colors produces better results, but which colors? Which brands of stain? What percentages of each color?

I was excited about this title because I saw it reviewed - very positively - in two shelter magazines I read, but it is disappointing because it is so very basic. This book may be useful if you have never decorated a room before and have no intuition for how to do so, but it lacks depth. I have read it cover to cover, and I have not learned anything I did not already know (and I am not a professional decorator). Perhaps because I was expecting the book to be a resource, I was also annoyed by the "we're close friends having coffee" tone of the book (the reader is "sugar" "doll" and "honey" throughout). The conversational tone makes weeding through the chit-chat for the information even harder.

3 out of 5 stars

Content OK, Writing style needs improvement November 13, 2009
Hildy Lake (United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

While the content of this how to book may be valid and credible
, her over the top writing sytle (sweetie, honey, girlfriend, girl) was a total distraction. So much so, that I almost wanted to return the book.

Not sure why she, or her editor, thought it lent anything to the book, but it was totally overpopulated with this "honey child" type dialogue.

3 out of 5 stars

Does not live up to expectations November 13, 2009
Kentucky Girl (Louisville, KY)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I really wanted to like this book as I am decorating my home on a budget and felt that learning a few decorating tips would enable me to avoid costly mistakes. First and foremost, this is the first decorating book that I've read that lacks photographs. There are a handful of sketches of room layouts and furniture styles, bur absolutely ZERO photographs. I understand that the book has an instructional objective, but photographs would have been most helpful.

The book is also not well organized. There are many sections in the book that are six or seven paragraphs long and have no bullet points or lists to highlight the important information. Additionally, I found the author's rambling, Southern style of writing ("Designer Girlfriend can't have that honey") to be quite annoying.

While the author may offer a few helpful tips, the book lacks photographs and is not pleasingly organized. I would not have purchased this book had I flipped through it at the bookstore.

5 out of 5 stars

Revolutionizing do-it-yourself design November 3, 2009
L. Garber
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Elaine Griffin proves that with a little designer insight, those of us with a big vision and a small budget can realize our decorating dreams on our own. Smart, savvy Griffin's advice makes you feel like you're taking tips from a stylish friend. Anyone with an outdated, tired, or just-plain-ugly room should buy this immediately. loved it!

Showing reviews 1-5 of 6

1 2 Next »

CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.

Powered by Associate-O-Matic

Interior Design Ideas