House Beautiful 750 Decorating & Design Ideas: Express Yourself with Color, Pattern, Light & Style

By: House Beautiful Magazine Editors

750 of the best decorating ideas from House Beautiful magazine Tips and hints from professional decorators From paint colour to furnishings, accessories and fabrics Lavishly illustrated with colour... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1588162699
• ISBN13: 9781588162694
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Hearst
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 12.0" x 1.0" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Let's get the record straight.

I'm amazed by the bad reviews this book has gotten. I was absolutely enthralled w/it. Let's get this straight, everyone is looking for something different in a design book. Some ppl want to learn how to design on a budget; some people want some how-to knowledge; some ppl just want to look at pictures and formulate their own ideas about how to decorate and get a spark of creativity, or ideas. I myself was the kind of person who wanted some pictures & differently designed rooms to look at to get some creative ideas. And I was not disappointed. If I was wanting to learn decorating on a budget or JUST how-to stuff, I would have been. It just isn't that kind of book. After all, look at the title. It doesn't promise those things. The book is a tad misleading because it doesn't really have 750 tips. For example, in the book in the fireplace section it gives tips on how to start a fire. Ok, not only does that have nothing to do w/design or decor, but the book uses several steps breaking down how to start a fire, each listed as one tip. Also it gives you some storage solutions. Great for packrats, but I have closets, clean them out regularly & get rid of stuff I don't use to make room for what I do use. Oh, and also in the home office decor section it gives you several tips when you are just moving into a house & setting up your home office, such as making sure that room is wired so you have enough power & whatnot. Has nothing to do w/decorating, plus is just common sense. I agree that it has some rooms in the book that I would hate to live in or even stay the night in. :) But isn't this a lesson learned?? You learned what kind of things to avoid when you are decorating. I am sure there are plenty of ppl who like that kind of decor, otherwise it wouldn't be shown. Another reviewer talked about a horrid pink floral room that looked to be straight out the 80's. Some ppl really like that kind of room, esp if they're older & not as hip. It's almost like a "period room." Wrapping up... the pictures are great, some of the tips are helpful. It would be a great book to pore over w/someone you are moving in w/so you can get an idea of what their taste is compared to yours. That's how I used it, and it was useful. It gave me some great ideas too. I recommend it and I look forward to looking at some other House Beautiful decorating books; this was my first.