Dopamine Decor: Alter Your Space, Alter Your Mood

by Kate Rose Morgan

Embrace colorful, maximalist style and create the home that makes you happy with Dopamine Decor, a lushly photographed ode to joyful interiors from design expert and social media star Kate Rose Morgan. 

Find your color confidence with Dopamine Decor, an aspirational yet practical guide to vibrant, maximalist style. Throughout this playful, joy-filled book, design expert and proud color lover Kate Rose Morgan (@kate_rose_morgan) teaches readers of all kinds how to channel the aesthetic that makes them happy, to create the homes of their dreams. Inside you'll find:

• Guidelines for finding your comfort color and design vision.
• Ways to connect with your "inner child" as you hone your aesthetic and find joy.
• Practical guidance on paint, DIY projects, and achieving balance.
• Tips for both homeowners and renters on how to brighten up any space.
• Budget-friendly ideas for introducing playfulness into your home.
• Inspirational images from dozens of colorful homes around the world.
• Personal stories from Kate's own colorful home transformation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Interior Design, Design

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2025

Reviews

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm hit or miss with interior decor books: sometimes I love them, sometimes I'm unmoved. I tend to love them when I love the pictures. This one came close, but my entire reason for buying it was to try to convince my husband that a colourful maximilist style would be lovely for us to adopt, rather than our current beige good taste.

But the book contains photo after photo of pink rooms, probably because (a) the author loves pink, and (b) the author has painted her entire home pink, and many of the photos are of her home. I still like her style, but even I found it mentally challenging to try to translate a pink room into a yellow with pops of aqua and teal room, for instance, and I know my husband will not be able to manage it: if he takes one look at this book, my dreams of eventually saturated maximalism will fly out the window.

There were also less specific helpful hints than I'd hoped for: several pages were devoted to soul-searching questions like "what colors do you like?" or hints like "what movie had a set you really liked? Use that as inspiration" and so forth ... when I eagerly got to the section on how to arrange knickknacks, I was told merely something like "put something tall in the middle with smaller things around it" and I already knew that.

Read more of my ramblings at my blog The Wunsapon.

[Note: 5 star = loved it | 4 star = liked it lots | 3 star = it was fine | 2 star = disappointing | 1 star = hated it]

[Spudpuppy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It starts out cute, but the same pictures are repeated over and over and over again... the strawberry vase was cute the first time, but by the third photo of it I'm so over it... at one point the same exact photo of the same exact spot in the same exact room appears twice in 20 pages, and as a full page each time... it CANNOT be that hard to find more material, idk what's going on here...

I did laugh out loud in the seasonal decor section at the photo of a dolled up skeleton staged in the bathtub with pumpkins and candles surrounding it on the floor, making that whole bathroom totally unusable. Oh to have a house big enough that I can have a whole extra bathroom just for staging my silly skeleton for people to giggle at... these books are never practical for real people, but at least that scene was comically absurd, and wasn't a photo being repeated for the tenth time, like most of the others here...

[Natalie Carvajal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted so much to love this book! I love the author’s Instagram page so I assumed the book would be amazing. It fell really flat for me, sadly. The concepts are extremely basic and *too* personal…I would been okay with that and have kept it as a coffee table book, beautiful to look at but not substantial. But this was not to be. As I flipped through, I noticed that some photos were repeated! That was unforgivable and a big no for me. How did this sloppiness get past an editor?

[Erin (bookwitchenergy) · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book published by a mainstream publisher, it was embarrassing (for them) how many typos were throughout this book.

And for a book about color and creating joy in your home, I found this book incredibly dull and even repetitive in a few places.

I love home design. I read these kinds of books for fun, and I love creating joy in my home. I AM the target audience. So it feels like a bad sign for this book that it didn't hit with me.

This book feels like a collection of blog posts rather than a cohesive book, though, and that certainly didn't help.

I can't say I recommend this book. Even the pictures, while colorful, were repetitive and sometimes seemed irrelevant to the content written on adjacent pages.

I was not impressed.

Better luck next time, I guess.

[Chelsea Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything in this book is so cute! Basically my dream decor.

[LibraryKath · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun, colourful, inspirational read. I am already well acquainted with dopamine decor and dressing, long having been one for colour, quirkiness and kitsch in my clothing and home. This beautifully presented book was therefore like icing on the cake. It is a real confection to read, packed with glorious photos in delicious colour palettes, and lovely graphic design. The book is full of ideas and inspiration for all levels of need, from those who want to add a quirky touch to their homes, to the full, all out, candy coloured splendour. I really appreciate that Kate Rose Morgan has factored in people who rent their homes and those on a limited budget, offering ways to scale projects to suit budget, resources and the appeasement of landlords!

[Victoria]

so much cuteness!!

[Mary Lynn]

Difficult to rate this book because basically it’s just someone’s social media posts in print form. It’s not bad, but just not enough content for a book. Also, most of the images are from the author’s own home so not enough variety in the illustration of concepts. However, I did appreciate that the decor was attainable for the average person, this is a true DIY decor book and so great for people just starting out with decorating on a budget. Recommended for fans of the author or for beginners.

[Val~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. The photography and the book design is super colorful and fun, however some pages had a really small font, which was uncomfortable for reading. Also I received a damaged hardcover. I found some interesting ideas, and some others were not new or not my style. Overall it was a cute book.

[Kristin Eoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked this book out at the library because I liked the cheerful cover. I like pink and eclectic decorating, but the decor in this book is next level. Most of the photos appear to have been taken in the author's home, so you get to see a lot of views of the same rooms, which is really repetitive. There is a whole lot of Pepto-Bismol pink, and a lot of disco balls. Fortunately for author Kate Rose Morgan, her husband sounds like a gem because he not only doesn't mind all the pink but helps the author with many of her projects around the home.

The book does offer some good, basic advice and information on decorating, but a lot of it will be more helpful to young adults than to those who have already been living in their homes for decades. I honestly skimmed most of the book because the writing wasn't very interesting, and the main points were summarized in gigantic, colorful graphics.

One line I thought was funny was "Make sure you have something weird or odd in every room" (182). Morgan definitely takes this advice to heart, because every room of her house appears to be well stocked with weird and odd items.

I think the most important message I take from this inspiring book is to be unapologetic, unafraid and bold in decorating one's home to make it as unique, quirky and colorful as one pleases, regardless of current trends.

But one still has to compromise with one's spouse.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun photos, and I really like the friendly, accessible style of the decorating suggestions.

My only complaint is that I found it strange how often the author described in detail the appearance of something she had styled in her home, rather than just including a photo. The book has lots of photos! Maybe she was describing things she had done in the past but didn't have a good picture of? Who knows.

But otherwise, nice book with practical, beginner-friendly ideas and a conversational tone.

[Sasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written. Reads like a recipe on a mom's cooking blog where she talks about her children and husband for several paragraphs before actually giving you the recipe. Kate, I really don't care about your son's autism diagnosis- I'm here for home decor tips. Essentially just a TikToker who wants to talk about herself and hardly offer any tips. A generous 2 stars.

[Holly M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite what I was wanting/thinking - pretty basic book if you've decorated at all. Ingrid Fettel Lee's books offer more to my mind but this one has great thoughts on decorating with color and some fun worksheets built in.

[Ronda Canary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4

[hea booktubes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had some helpful formula takeaways. I did skim parts. Beautiful pictures. Really enjoy her TikTok.

[ketny jean-francois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very beautiful and straight forward

I love the photos and the explanation on the effect of colors and the easy instructions of how to achieve a colorful home

[Tina Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun interior design read if you like colorful, fun, vintage and eclectic. Which, I do.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, such a good approach to figuring out your own style. Loved the questions and "worksheets" that are aimed to helping

[Kristin Vandersluis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, accessible, inspiring guide. Loved the layout and spacing / pacing of the pages and design. Ate this book right up!

[Leigh R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this decor book more than most others that tend to feature various shades of beige and an unlimited budget. It includes great ideas and encourages one's own eclectic taste.

[Katie Suppes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read that sparks ideas and a beautiful cover that makes it great as a coffee table book

[Spinster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has a few good tips. Wish there was more variety in the photos; it skews very mid century pastel.

[She Who Shall Remain Nameless · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to living with color for those who don’t already do so (like me!). I very much appreciated the lovely photographs which were a feast for the eyes.