Create a Home That's All Your Own: Learn the Art of Decorating and Living Well with The Perfectly Imperfect Home

yevette: This book is absolutely beautiful. From the moment I opened the first page. The sentiments, the watercolor pictures are stunning. It’s a very charming book. Such a find, such a treasure.

I wasn’t sure what condition the book would be in when I purchased it. I received the book quickly and while the book was published in 2011, it looks as if it was printed today. I highly recommend the seller who I Purchased it from 10 stars.

United States on Feb 13, 2023

Aussie enthusiastAussie enthusiast: Cover had some black and blue smudges on it in three places that wouldn’t rub off. Not ideal for a brand new purchase. Disappointed because I have previously studied this book and adored it. Won’t bother returning it because I am offshore and the next version might also be grubby.

Australia on Jul 05, 2022

PT: The book is interesting in its approach to decorating with basic how too, Like how to make a pretty bed and fold a towel. I thought that level was a bit rudimentary. I get why Erin lived this book. It is filled with water colors of rooms. I was disappointed at first, but now I love them. I will probably be cutting the book up to use these in frames around the house. Read it first because there is some good advise included. And the casual, not matchy matchy approach is lovely. It focuses on your style not the latest trendy thing going on.

United States on Oct 19, 2021

Heather: Not your average decorating book. Useful as a tool to explain to the other half that, yes, furniture height matters, and that, no, I'm not some statistics crazed woman with a tape measure when I map everything out before buying/rearranging/hanging bits and pieces in the house.
Also a good reminder to me, the practical one, to lighten up and go buy some scented soaps and little bits that soften up a house and make it more homey. All in all, a practical approach to making a house into a nest.

Canada on May 07, 2015

BettyBoo: Such practical, down to earth tips to decorate your own home. The ideas are not a budget breaker but still very tasteful. A great allrounder book suitable for novelists in interior design as well as those who know their subject. I keep it at my bedside table so I can refer to it every now and when. Would make a lovely present for anyone who is into eclectic colourful interior design.

United Kingdom on Feb 28, 2014

L. J. Jackson: I am nearly finished devouring every word in this wonderful book.

It doesn't look much at first glance with it's rustic sketchy illustrations, but along with it's advice it sets out to empower rather than dictate to the reader. It's advice is universal and will span the decades.

Having completely revamped our loved 90 year old house and filled it with a collection of lovingly collected old furniture, it looked good, but not great. I was at a loss how to pull it all together and make it reflect our lives and be casual and comfy, yet elegant and interesting (I wish!)

This book is giving me lots of ideas about how to look at things differently and puts into words the elements of a warm and welcoming yet stylish house.

Rather than just giving you photos of impossibly grand and stiff rooms to copy, this book paints mental images of the goal you are aiming for and sets you on the track of the many individual ways of achieving that. Day to day variations are catered for in different moods that are appropriate and how to make your guests feel at home.

The book is as much about making your home a joy for yourself as well as your guests.

I will be...

United Kingdom on Oct 10, 2012

WeAreWhatWeRead: This book's images of interiors are not what one would expect to be the lifeblood of such book - good quality interiors photos. Instead, every single illustration is a watercolour, often so simplistic it looks like something a 10-year old would paint. On the cover this is acceptable because it looks pretty and whimsical; but when watercolours make the entire content, this renders the book utterly useless.

There is the obvious question: why on Earth would anyone think this was a good idea? One would certainly not buy an interiors magazine if photos were replaced by wobbly naive watercolours. So why do this in a book? There is no inspiration to be had from the illustrations, they all look unclear and very much the same. Maybe it was done for the sake of the 'art'? Well, art it ain't (I will soon add some scanned images so anyone can make their minds up, but little paintings of curtains and armchairs and sofas etc would hardly qualify as art, would they?).

And anyway, we buy this kind of book to see how other people decorate their homes, via accurate good quality photographs taken from interesting angles - not to see watercolour artists' representations of random...

United Kingdom on Jul 31, 2012

Gweneth: This book is great! It is a wonderful counter point to all of the minimalism out there in decorating today. I appreciate the author's discussion of comfort. At first I was displeased at the lack of actual photographs in the book. Instead, the author chose to do watercolors to represent living areas. This was at first imperfect but became perfect as I read the book. It removes the perfection we are all used to seeing in home and garden magazines and books. I love the humanity of the book. It encourages you to buy things that you love and from different styles. As a mother of two toddlers, it is folly to buy brand new fussy and trendy furniture. Thank God I had my kids before I could afford to furnish my home straight from a showroom. This is a holistic approach that encourages creativity and individuality which result in a more organic and livable home. Because of this lovely book, I used Craigslist to find unique pieces and quit pining after $700.00 arm chairs. My home doesn't look a magazine to be sure but its comfortable. More importantly, it reflects me and this lovely book gave me great guidance. How can you not adore a book that has a chapter titled "A Bit of Quirk" which...

United States on May 06, 2012

L.M. Keefer: This book is as refreshing and lilting as a Cole Porter song. The tone of it is a great mix of what the author loves best in design, and writes about: it's light, welcoming, chatty, quirky, comfortable, insouciant, cozy, glamorous, festive, personal and has a sense of history.

For design aficionados, it may read like a good novel. The winsome watercolors by Virginia Johnson add to the quirky charm of this book. They are frame-worthy and would be lovely on the walls of a reading corner, guest room or small bathroom. The watercolors of rooms are appealing the way a painting of a loved one is appealing in place of a photograph. You may enjoy guessing which rooms by designers the illustrations are capturing.

The star here is the text--the pointed point of view of the author Deborah Needleman who was founder of one of the most original design magazines DOMINO and is now Editor in Chief of WSJ MAGAZINE. If all design is opinion, she's got one; it has been informed by the pantheon of the first generation of great professional designers. They are quoted liberally in this book. We know them by their last names: Wharton, Fowler, Baldwin, Hicks, Hadley, Parish, Hampton and de...

United States on Nov 10, 2011