Real-Life Decorating

194 Pages·2010·39.325 MB·English

by  Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens
®
real-life
decorating
your look, your budget
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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ISBN 978-0-470-56499-8
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Better Homes and Gardens
®
real-life
decorating
your look, your budget
Real-Life Decorating is packed with practical advice to help
do-it-yourself decorators like you create rooms that fit your
lifestyle and decorating style. We put the real in Real-Life
Decorating with case studies of real homes with real people
who share their decorating secrets and know-how.
Regardless of your style and budget, hard-working lessons
and easy-to-achieve tips help you decorate your home your
way with confidence and a fresh perspective. Learn how to
make decorating decisions about color, pattern, furniture
arranging, small spaces, storage, and more.
contents
2
QUIZ: What Does 1
3
Your Home Say
About You? .........6
DECORATING COLOR & BEFORE &
BASICS ...................10 PATTERN ...............34 AFTER ....................70
CASE STUDY: CASE STUDY: CASE STUDY:
Creating Character Decorating by Leaps A Girl Can Change Her Mind
and Bounds
What’s Wrong, What’s From Shack to Chic
Right:Family Room How to Pick a Paint Color
Make It Your Own
What’s Wrong, What’s Afraid of Wallpaper?
Right:Bedroom Get Over It! New Look, Same Stuff

What’s Wrong, What’s How to Mix Pattern Furniture First Aid
Right:Living Room
Escape from Beige Land
Making Arrangements
5
4
6
STORAGE & SMALL
BUYMANSHIP .....110 ORGANIZATION ...138 SPACES .................168
CASE STUDY: CASE STUDY: CASE STUDY:
I Only Buy if It’s on Sale Clutter Control Secrets from Apt. C
How to Buy Sofas How to Organize Live Large in a Small Space
Your Closet
How to Buy Tables The Five-Day Decorator
Order in the House
How to Buy Rugs RESOURCES .........188
Leave It at the Door
INDEX ..................190
REAL–LIFE DECORATING I 5
*
What Does Your Home Say About You?
take our
QUIZ
2 3
1
Your kitchen
What item is most
Displayed on your counter is usually: prevalent in your
walls, you have: A. very clean—you can’t stand to home?
have even one small appliance out
A. several framed pictures of B. cluttered—a display of old A. books and magazines
family and friends cookie jars and cookbooks B. baskets and candles
B. only one or two items C. congested—full of random C. photographs
C. items that follow your theme kitchen gadgets and a TV D. cleaning supplies
(chickens, apples, cows, etc.)
D. covered in dirty dishes
D. original art pieces by people
you know 6
5
4 If your family invited
you over for a meal,
How many items do after eating, you
One item you would
you have on your would be found
bring back from a trip is
A. a stack of pictures refrigerator? A. taking a nap
B. a good tan A. one to three B. drinking and talking
C. a souvenir sweatshirt B. four to seven C. filling coffee cups
D. a one-of-a-kind piece of local art C. eight to 10 D. cleaning up
D. so many that you can’t see the
refrigerator
9
7
8
How would you
If you could identify classify your home
What trait do you
one color scheme in organization?
value most in your
your home, it would be A. meticulous—everything is in its
home? place
A. neutral—beige, white, and black
B. warm—reds and yellows A. creative influence B. health-department hit list—
C. cool —blues and greens B. aesthetic value and style what’s organization?
D. too hard to identify C. physical comfort C. comfortably congested
D. pleasing scent D. organized clutter—there’s a
method to the madness
6 I REAL–LIFE DECORATING
12
11
10
Would you pull You find people who
Do you deny yourself things out of other spend a great deal of
sleep, food, and fun people’s trash and time on their homes
in order to get things think, Hey, I can use A. caring—their love of life is
done? shown in the heart of their home
that?
B. boring—there is more to life than
A. often C. rarely
A. sure C. doubtful making sure your house looks good
B. sometimes D. never
B. maybe D. never C. responsible—it shows that
they like to take good care of things
D. interesting—you admire them
13
and wish to be more like them
14
Do you break out in
a sweat when you How embarrassed
15
can’t get things done would you be if a
at home? friend stopped over
Do you fret about how
A. always C. rarely unannounced and your
others might view
B. sometimes D. never house was a mess?
your place?
A. ready to die—you would be in
A. yes—it’s what you live by
shock and might find her rude for not
B. sometimes—you want them to
16 phoning first
be comfortable
B. a little, but you would quickly recover
C. rarely—you like what you like
Do you have because you love seeing your friends
D. never—why waste the energy?
C. moderately—you would act
trouble throwing
hospitable, make a lot of excuses, and
things away? find a reason to move her out fast
19
A. often C. rarely D. totally numb—you would curl up
B. sometimes D. never into a fetal position and suck your thumb
When you open your
pantry doors, do all
18
17 the labels face out?
When you shop for A. often C. rarely
If you had a bit of extra B. sometimes D. what?
decorative stuff for
money, you would
the house, it is
A. buy all new expensive bedding
to impress guests A. anything goes—if you like it, key
you buy it
B. buy whatever strikes you in the
first store you see B. erratic—depending on the
1. A: 1 B: 2 C: 3 D: 4 ___
item, you might make quick or slow
C. treat yourself to a small 2. A: 2 B: 1 C: 3 D: 4 ___
decisions
cappuccino and put the rest away 3. A: 4 B: 3 C: 1 D: 2 ___
in a savings account C. hectic—you get irritated 4. A: 1 B: 2 C: 3 D: 4 ___
with too many choices and 5. A: 2 B: 1 C: 3 D: 4 ___
D. go on a trip . . . anywhere
would rather pick from just a few 6. A: 4 B: 1 C: 3 D: 2 ___
7. A: 2 B: 3 C: 1 D: 4 ___
selections
8. A: 4 B: 2 C: 1 D: 3 ___
D. slow and deliberate—you 9. A: 2 B: 4 C: 3 D: 1 ___
20 search dutifully for the right thing 10. A: 2 B: 4 C: 1 D: 3 ___
11. A: 4 B: 3 C: 1 D: 2 ___
12. A: 1 B: 4 C: 2 D: 3 ___
Do toilet paper or 13. A: 2 B: 3 C: 1 D: 4 ___
21
14. A: 4 B: 1 C: 3 D: 2 ___
paper towel rolls have
15. A: 2 B: 3 C: 1 D: 4 ___
to go on the holder a Does your mood 16. A: 4 B: 1 C: 3 D: 2 ___
17. A: 2 B: 3 C: 1 D: 4 ___
certain way? change when your 18. A: 4 B: 3 C: 1 D: 2 ___
19. A: 2 B: 3 C: 1 D: 4 ___
A. absolutely surroundings are not 20. A: 2 B: 3 C: 1 D: 4 ___
B. you’ve got to be kidding 21. A: 2 B: 3 C: 1 D: 4 ___
in order?
C. sometimes your total: _____
D. you don’t think about it A. often C. rarely *
B. sometimes D. never Turn the page to get your results!
REAL–LIFE DECORATING I 7
37–52
points
perfectionist
impresser
You aim to impress, maybe even to wow.
Everything has a place, and everything is clean
and sanitized, from the countertops to the dog. Your house
has a specific look, and everything in it was purposefully
chosen to coordinate. Outwardly, you appear comfortable
with visitors and might even entertain often. Yet inside
you are nervous and often insecure about how others
might view you and your home. You desire order and are
willing to put aside other life demands to tend to your
home. You may prefer modern touches to traditional
or classic. Your home often shines with chrome or
glass pieces. Colors tend to run in muted neutrals and
earth tones with small splashes of quiet color. Your
choice of pattern is subtle and understated, likely
solid tones with a few small stripes and prints.
21–36
points
hopeless
romantic
You cry during Hallmark commercials
and have seen Sleepless in Seattle at
least a hundred times. Friends tease you
for your soft nature (but secretly love you for it). You
want to make your house a home—a place to relax
and get away from it all. Because you are so rich
in sentiment, you tend to value everything in your
home and find it hard to select favorites, so you
don’t. Thus, your house might be overloaded with
photographs, artwork, and knickknacks. When
shopping for new decorative items, you select with
your heart first, responding to what makes you
feel good rather than something that perfectly
coordinates. In your house, colors tend to run
to the blues and yellows with a heavy mix of
patterns and textures.
8 I REAL–LIFE DECORATING