The Nest Home Design Handbook

by Carley Roney

Decorating for the first time can be completely overwhelming. How do you find your style? How do you keep expenses under control? What essential pieces does every home need for maximum functionality and flair? How will you merge tastes—and stuff—to create a space that feels like home to you both? Here to take the guesswork out of decorating is The Nest Home Design Handbook, a practical, gorgeous, room-by-room guide to giving your place unique and affordable style.

Learn how
-Design with your inner stylist in mind
-Arrange your living room
-Mix modern pieces and Mom's hand-me-downs
-Choose the right paint colors
-Freshen a formal kitchen space
-Make a small space look bigger
-Hang pictures properly
-Jazz up your walls
-Buy good furniture (on a budget)
-Kill the clutter

Suggestions for displaying your stuff in fun and interesting ways, DIY wall art ideas, tips for organizing every room, information on basic home repairs, and more!

Genres: Nonfiction, Interior Design, Design, Reference, Crafts, Adult, Coffee Table Books

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2007

Reviews

[Miss Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I shouldn't read interior design guide books, being that I have a degree in interior design. not to say I know everything nor is this book without good, sound advice and very pretty pictures. But when I read these books all I think is, I've heard this idea before, and, the real key to furnishing a home is have money and buy nice things. whereas, I need ideas on a designer's income.

[JamesDove322 Doves]

I really enjoyed going through this book. Although I haven't read everything, what I have read is great! It has great tips, pictures, a nice help at the end of the book and some color schemes. I'm a designer who likes comfort in my projects, it helps me with this custom outdoor furniture cushions But I'm learning different ways. This is a great book if you are new to decorating or want to get some new ideas.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was well organized and insightful. a lot of the style tips were more modern, though they did try to keep it open enough to use for any style.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the content leans towards more modern (not my personal style), I'm giving this four stars due to the amount of information covered in the book.

[Lindsay Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really helpful and included design layouts and tips for designing lots of different rooms.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Modern, contemporary interior design book. I didn't discover anything new but did appreciate that some of the photos in this book seemed to show spaces that are actually lived in and not just staged to be pretty but untouchable.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent reference book showcasing decor, design, organization and DIY projects. It gives lots of practical layout suggestions and basic design tricks.

[Erika RS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book a 3/5 because it is something like a 2/5 on textual content and a 5/5 on pictures. Since I bought it for the pictures, that mix works out great for me.

That said, the content is quite good for a book in the genre of "picture centric books about home decorating". It has a number of good one page summaries of various design principles, and it goes into slightly more detail about practical matters like televisions and computers than these sorts of books usually do. But really, where this book shines is as a repository of inspiring pictures. It does lean toward the modern, so if that is not your thing, you probably will not get a lot out of the book. However, if that is your thing, you will find a lot to inspire.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

Moved to a new place and have no clue where to put anything or how to decorate? Need to refresh and reorganize your current home to make it more comfortable? This book is a great place to start. Created by the editor of the lifestyle website, The Nest, it explains basic decorating and organizing to the rest of us. It offers practical and attractive layouts for living room furniture, as well as possible arrangements of photos and paintings. The handbook explains basic color concepts for coordinating a room and recommends many style and organization tips. A helpful resource and a lifesaver for the decorating-impaired! -Kelly M.H.-

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit, the thing that made me pick this book up was the cover--I have those exact same wall graphics that I put up in my office!
But knowing that someday (hopefully) soon, I'll be buying a house, this was a great prep, and great resource for decorating.
The images gave me inspiration for what I want for my "future" home, and how I want to decorate it....and now I'm using some of the tips for decorating my apartment.

Great as a resource!

[February Four · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does exactly what it says: gives simple ideas and ways to decorate, organize, and personalize a place. It gives you guidelines in a straightforward but interesting ways, there are DIY how-tos and tool/item checklists for the most basic things like painting walls, and overall this is a well-written and interesting design book. Definitely recommended for people starting to look at designing their place for the first time.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

i got this book this christmas because i have a growing interest in interior design. This book is nice but pretty basic im more interested in interior design as a whole that being the actual interior structure and construction of uniquely shaped rooms...taking not your everyday average square room and planning the decor for that.

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been leafing through decorating books lately to figure out what to do to our walls. The section regarding this topic in the book was quite helpful. There ideas were refreshing and simple to implement. I wasn't too fond of the pictures they provided but I did like the layout plans and suggestions. Now I just need to myself a sketch pad and some tools to start the process.

[Afton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just in case you all got a "currently reading" from me about "two knotty boys"--that was just because it was the link above this one and the drop down showed up right beside this one. Seriously, why would that be under a "decorating" search anyway?

I am not reading that book, and if I were, I would not be sending updates about it. ;)

[Nathanael Coyne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book on home design has some great suggestions and is fairly structured in its approach, covering terminology and options for types of seating, lighting, rugs etc but I felt it was a little too 'arty'. I would be keen to hear recommendations of other design books that are of this calibre but a little more practical with functional design solutions.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having moved recently I'm trying to find the way to decorate and organize new rooms. I liked this book a lot. It offered checklists, real ideas that included decorating/organizing for more than one person (they caution making rooms comfortable for just you and encourage thinking about who you live with) and, overall, had more than a handful of ideas that I will use.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love almost every pic in this decor book! It mixes modern, vintage, and traditional asthetics, which is not easy to do. This book has provided the most inspiration for the decor design of our new home.

[aubrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

i thought this book was very nice and basic..it tells you how to arrange your living room and how to design a mantel, etc. a good book for that kind of help. currently i am on the hunt for inspiration and ideas and this didn't quite do it for me.

[Mo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a bit of a design dunce, so this was a good book for me. If you already have a good sense of style or know some design concept, then this book is probably too basic for you. There are also some good resources in the back of the book.

[Relyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, fantastic design books. It was full of information, ideas, and inspiration. The style is FAR more modern than I am, but I still found much to love in this great book. Plus, tons of inspiration.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the modern design featured in this book! I liked the tips on hanging pictures and decorating a mantelpiece. Wish they had included a guide in the back to say where certain items were from - I love some of the pillows and posters but have no way of tracking them down.

[Kate Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of it is stuff that anyone who has thought about decorating already knows, but the photos are fantastic for inspiration and there are some helpful things I hadn't thought about (the kitchen 'work triangle' for example - who knew?). Worth checking out and skimming through.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the diagrams in this book that explain termonology for different types of furnature, cabintets, window treatments, etc. The "ideas" were not really my style. They seem pretty trendy and I think at least some of the trends in this book have passed.

[Mitzi Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you're just starting to decorate, or you've been living in style for decades, this book will give you good ideas and/or reinforce the ideas you have already put in place. Full of pictures, it's like reading a giant magazine.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas for those redecorating on a budget. The styling is great and it gave me lots of good ideas.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of the best basic interior design books around. Its great for amateurs who've done their homework and newbies who haven't

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice design ideas. I don't really go in for the "rules," but there are some great pictures and helpful info.

[Kristin]

great pictures, good guidance - not a lot to fit my style of decorating, but useful terms and layouts

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is a total lifesaver. it served as a massive help during my living room chapter drafting by helping me articulate (in common design terms) how to arrange a space.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful in giving me some great decorating ideas for my new home which has a neutral slate at the moment. Ideas are budget-friendly and good for someone who needs a starting point to build upon.