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The Inspired Room: Simple Ideas to Love the Home You Have
The eagerly anticipated, lavishly illustrated "book" experience of Melissa Michaels' celebrated blog, The Inspired Room, is here. If you're a longtime fan of her personable style or a fellow lover of pretty, real-life decor, you'll delight in this full-color tour of Melissa's home and favorite family spaces alongside room-by-room ideas.
Step inside as Melissa shares lessons learned when turning her house into a home, plenty of inspiring photos, and encouraging insights to help you embrace your authentic style through: doable improvements for every roomattainable decorating, organizational, and DIY solutionstransforming tips for lighting, color, and styleways to reclaim small or unique areas
Best of all, you don't need a big budget or perfect DIY skills to embrace Melissa's practical home decor philosophy. You'll return to this book again and again for inspiration to fall in love with the home you have.
Step inside as Melissa shares lessons learned when turning her house into a home, plenty of inspiring photos, and encouraging insights to help you embrace your authentic style through: doable improvements for every roomattainable decorating, organizational, and DIY solutionstransforming tips for lighting, color, and styleways to reclaim small or unique areas
Best of all, you don't need a big budget or perfect DIY skills to embrace Melissa's practical home decor philosophy. You'll return to this book again and again for inspiration to fall in love with the home you have.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2015
70 people are currently reading
617 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Michaels
10 books58 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Melissa Michaels is the author of The Inspired Room (theinspiredroom.net), one of the top decorating blogs on the web for the past eight years. The Inspired Room reaches over 600,000 readers each month and was voted Better Homes and Gardens Readers' Favorite Decorating blog in 2014.
Melissa (along with her home and The Inspired Room) has been featured in top publications and magazines online and in print. Through The Inspired Room blog and her upcoming books (Love the Home You Have, March 2015, The Inspired Room, October 2015), Melissa offers a refreshing perspective on finding contentment in creating an authentically beautiful home, right where you are.
She lives with her husband and family near Seattle, Washington.
Melissa Michaels is the author of The Inspired Room (theinspiredroom.net), one of the top decorating blogs on the web for the past eight years. The Inspired Room reaches over 600,000 readers each month and was voted Better Homes and Gardens Readers' Favorite Decorating blog in 2014.
Melissa (along with her home and The Inspired Room) has been featured in top publications and magazines online and in print. Through The Inspired Room blog and her upcoming books (Love the Home You Have, March 2015, The Inspired Room, October 2015), Melissa offers a refreshing perspective on finding contentment in creating an authentically beautiful home, right where you are.
She lives with her husband and family near Seattle, Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
January 29, 2018
A really good book, build a happy home that you love.
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August 27, 2017
Very pretty photography and the content was less dry than the usual home decor guide - it's one of the better ones I've picked up, even if I wasn't blown away.
July 4, 2024
This was pretty enough, but mostly - enh.
April 12, 2019
There is no need for me to write a book about my design philosophies....Melissa Michaels has already compiled it all in one place!
February 17, 2016
Perhaps you've seen Melissa Michaels' Inspired Room blog. This lovely book includes ideas I've seen on the blog, as well as some I haven't. She describes this book as inspiration rather than an interior design manual.
Michaels encourages creating "authentic" spaces, full of items your love that serve a purpose and fill you with happiness. She wants homeowners to design their own spaces based on the emotions they want to evoke.
The pictures show both full rooms and close-ups of vignettes on tabletops and in bookcases. I especially enjoyed her wall arrangements of art in frames blended with unusual elements. The photos are "staged" - no televisions, telephones, or stacks of magazines - but still manage to depict livable spaces.
Michaels encourages creating "authentic" spaces, full of items your love that serve a purpose and fill you with happiness. She wants homeowners to design their own spaces based on the emotions they want to evoke.
The pictures show both full rooms and close-ups of vignettes on tabletops and in bookcases. I especially enjoyed her wall arrangements of art in frames blended with unusual elements. The photos are "staged" - no televisions, telephones, or stacks of magazines - but still manage to depict livable spaces.
January 10, 2016
I think I liked this book because it had dogs in the pictures! No really, I think she had good, real life advice. She does a great job of describing what to do and why--with a lot of pictures! She recommends using the things you have and doesn't expect you'll just toss everything and start new.
August 26, 2016
*Contains doable tips that actually make sense.
*More inside than pages of enviable photographs of a home you will never achieve.
*Text that has a smattering of humour.
*A book I will probably revisit again.
Yep, it was good.
*More inside than pages of enviable photographs of a home you will never achieve.
*Text that has a smattering of humour.
*A book I will probably revisit again.
Yep, it was good.
May 3, 2016
I enjoyed this book. It gave me some new ideas and made me really think about what I wanted my home to be like rather than what is popular.
March 29, 2019
Perhaps my favorite design book ever! I absolutely LOVE her perspective on home decor and beautifying your space. There's more to the decisions we make in our home than having the nicest or trendiest stuff. The more purpose and intention we put into our home the more meaningful and beautiful our homes will be to us. It's a very uplifting message! There are, of course, many helpful decorating and organizing tips.
Only downside, which also is nice in some ways, is that there are only pictures of her house. She is able to explain clearly why she made the choice she did, but it limits being able to see options.
Only downside, which also is nice in some ways, is that there are only pictures of her house. She is able to explain clearly why she made the choice she did, but it limits being able to see options.
September 18, 2020
4 stars; Home Decor
I really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job incorporating DIY projects and other budget friendly techniques to make her house a home. It’s always fun to see those magazine mini mansions and dream of what could be! but the reality is— most of us live in basic homes with basic budgets and sometimes, that drains us of our creativity and/or motivation to make them beautiful. In this book, Ms. Michaels encourages the reader to focus on what they do have and what small changes can be made that make a big difference in our perspective. Even if you don’t change a thing, this book will help you see (and appreciate!) your home in a new way.
I really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job incorporating DIY projects and other budget friendly techniques to make her house a home. It’s always fun to see those magazine mini mansions and dream of what could be! but the reality is— most of us live in basic homes with basic budgets and sometimes, that drains us of our creativity and/or motivation to make them beautiful. In this book, Ms. Michaels encourages the reader to focus on what they do have and what small changes can be made that make a big difference in our perspective. Even if you don’t change a thing, this book will help you see (and appreciate!) your home in a new way.
October 18, 2020
What a lovely book! Beautifully designed, beautiful photos. Melissa's home is calm, cozy, and inviting, and she offers some tips on how you can make your home the same! But more than that she really encourages you to embrace your own style, be authentic, and take time (even years!) not to just decorate your home, but transform it into a retreat you love to be in. It's similar to Joanna Gaines' "Homebody" book. Both are more for inspiration than how-tos, though Melissa does include a few DIYs here! I enjoyed The Inspired Room more than Homebody - perhaps I was drawn more to her decor style or felt less intimidated by expensive rooms. I would pick this book up again!
February 24, 2020
The Inspired Room is practical and freeing. The author focuses on empowering readers to feel confident in their own style, to experiment, to embrace the chaos of everyday life, be at peace with mistakes, and to decorate practically and iteratively. Her style is quite different from my own, but the lessons stick.
December 19, 2016
Fun book if you like the style of this blogger, which I really do. She gives a lot of practical, easy tips for making your home cute and stylish and reflect your interests, family life and personality. Really enjoyable, with tons of gorgeous pictures of great ideas.
December 23, 2017
The book has some good tips for creating a cozy space but I wish there was more storytelling within the pages. It also only looks at one specific home so I thought it could be better with more examples. Pretty coffee table book though!
January 2, 2019
Fun design ideas! It was neat seeing her own place and how she decorated. Some rooms I loved more than others, but I think I found something of interest in each room that I want to incorporate in my place.
December 5, 2019
Based on valid design principles, which were good to review, but only her home was shown (which makes sense as most of us know our own spaces well) and her style was not really mine. A relaxing read.
February 25, 2020
Quick read that had quite a few interesting tips. This book provided more detail than her "Simple Decorating" book. Will add learnings when I have a chance to go through my highlights!
August 31, 2021
Very pleasant to read, but I didn't learn anything to help me change my own home which was disappointing.
August 10, 2020
We're about to embark on a few home renovations and I wanted to get a few ideas on how to update our decor, overall. So, when I spotted this book at the library... I thought it a good place to start.
The Inspired Room is filled with beautiful photography, along with tips and ideas on how to decorate your home. As stated in the title, simple ideas. In my opinion, this equaled things you could do yourself without breaking the budget.
I'd take a gander at Ms. Michaels's website for more information, or grab this from the library.
The Inspired Room is filled with beautiful photography, along with tips and ideas on how to decorate your home. As stated in the title, simple ideas. In my opinion, this equaled things you could do yourself without breaking the budget.
I'd take a gander at Ms. Michaels's website for more information, or grab this from the library.
January 4, 2025
A great book about decorating and cultivating a home that is beautiful that you love and is functional for your families needs. Decorating for ages of your children and the purpose or multi purpose of rooms along with decorating for the season.
It also includes tips for painting your home, choosing rugs, choosing tiles etc for those who own their own home.
It also includes tips for painting your home, choosing rugs, choosing tiles etc for those who own their own home.
September 30, 2016
THIS is what I wanted Love the Home You Have to be. Beautiful photos, great tips, not at all preachy. I enjoyed the read & actually came away with some inspiration for changes I can make around the house.
I borrowed this one from the library but can see myself purchasing it at some point. It's a lovely book & I would definitely visit it again.
I borrowed this one from the library but can see myself purchasing it at some point. It's a lovely book & I would definitely visit it again.
December 29, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. I just discovered The Inspired Room blog so I didn't know a while lot about her style before. But this book is about more than following what Melissa does. It's doable, small, where you are at tasks that help you decide what you like in a home. I've been to that place of 'if I had this house or that space or a different layout then...' This book helped me look at my house with new eyes and consider fresh ideas. I didn't love all her decor choices for her house but that isn't the point. I loved her advice to take time, discover your own style and how you use the space. I look forward to reading again slower as I go through by room in my house and write down future projects and ideas.
August 9, 2016
I liked this book much more than I expected. I don't read the author's blog, nor had I heard of it, but I saw the book while looking online at another home decorating book and the cover kept catching my eye, so I decided to check it out from the library. Most of these types of books that I've encountered (admittedly not many) are written by designers, so only having read the amazon description, I knew Michaels was a blogger, but thought she was an interior designer as well. Once I started reading, I realized she wasn't and really enjoyed her tone and writing style. I liked her advice about loving the home you have and figuring out how to work with the available space to meet your needs and turn it into a sanctuary for yourself. Likewise, her advice to take your time decorating and to not feel afraid of empty space and to take the time you need to decide what you want is great.
All the pictures in this book are of the author's home and the advice is reinforced with examples from her own situation. For me, the downside to this is that her style is rather different from mine, and it might have been nice to see her advice and tips applied in a different style context. On the upside however, I found her tips, ideas, and advice to be applicable to most any style and, although I can't see photographic examples of that in other styles (that's what Pinterest is for, I guess), it was nice seeing pictures of her home because I felt like she was a normal person creating a nice home she obviously loves, as opposed to a professional trained to do this for a living (meaning there is hope for the design and style challenged among us, like me!). I found myself making copious notes throughout reading it.
In the end, I suspect this book would be pretty basic for someone who already knows a lot about this topic or reads many decorating books. However, it was pretty helpful for someone like myself, in my first (not rented) home and able to decorate as I please (and as money and time allows - ha!), but really knows nothing about it and has no natural talent in this area. Also, just validating and supportive in tone. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but I quite enjoyed it.
All the pictures in this book are of the author's home and the advice is reinforced with examples from her own situation. For me, the downside to this is that her style is rather different from mine, and it might have been nice to see her advice and tips applied in a different style context. On the upside however, I found her tips, ideas, and advice to be applicable to most any style and, although I can't see photographic examples of that in other styles (that's what Pinterest is for, I guess), it was nice seeing pictures of her home because I felt like she was a normal person creating a nice home she obviously loves, as opposed to a professional trained to do this for a living (meaning there is hope for the design and style challenged among us, like me!). I found myself making copious notes throughout reading it.
In the end, I suspect this book would be pretty basic for someone who already knows a lot about this topic or reads many decorating books. However, it was pretty helpful for someone like myself, in my first (not rented) home and able to decorate as I please (and as money and time allows - ha!), but really knows nothing about it and has no natural talent in this area. Also, just validating and supportive in tone. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but I quite enjoyed it.
February 12, 2017
Inspired Me
I liked the way the author had the reader take stock of their room, their lifestyle and what they how they wanted to live in each of their rooms instead of telling the reader here is a living room and here is how you should decorate it. The author gave simple, sensible and in most cases inexpensive advice on making the rooms in house reflect your style and personality. Thanks to this book my home will be more personable and less "trendy" and I won't break my budget decorating it. Best of all I'll enjoy living in them and sharing them with friends and family.
I liked the way the author had the reader take stock of their room, their lifestyle and what they how they wanted to live in each of their rooms instead of telling the reader here is a living room and here is how you should decorate it. The author gave simple, sensible and in most cases inexpensive advice on making the rooms in house reflect your style and personality. Thanks to this book my home will be more personable and less "trendy" and I won't break my budget decorating it. Best of all I'll enjoy living in them and sharing them with friends and family.
January 29, 2016
Melissa Michaels writes a blog. One of her posts is a self-help article on keeping the home "clean enough" which I use in my everyday life.
The Inspired Room is fine for a young/older-but-newly-married/downsizing/first-home-buyer with plenty of wherewithal and a great need to live comfortably in a home that just doesn't feel/look/seem/work right for any of a million reasons. BUT, Michaels uses her own home to illustrate her teaching points. To me, her house looks busy and unlivable.
Frankly, I don't like clutter. I use leather, teak, and rattan. Walls full of seascapes. Blues on vanilla, morphing into greens on white, morphing into blues/reds on vanilla in guest rooms. A little something red in every room. I'm not going to go out and buy "stuff" to clutter up the works. That's the job of the artwork and of the collectables and of the teak cabinet full of Mother's Chinoiserie.
I'm a Feng Shui enthusiast. The important thing is the placement of objects so that the chi can move happily throughout the house. I really don't know why I downloaded this self-help book. I don't have any idea what I expected The Inspired Room to do for me. If YOU need it, or simply like to see other people's decorating ideas, use it in good health.
The Inspired Room is fine for a young/older-but-newly-married/downsizing/first-home-buyer with plenty of wherewithal and a great need to live comfortably in a home that just doesn't feel/look/seem/work right for any of a million reasons. BUT, Michaels uses her own home to illustrate her teaching points. To me, her house looks busy and unlivable.
Frankly, I don't like clutter. I use leather, teak, and rattan. Walls full of seascapes. Blues on vanilla, morphing into greens on white, morphing into blues/reds on vanilla in guest rooms. A little something red in every room. I'm not going to go out and buy "stuff" to clutter up the works. That's the job of the artwork and of the collectables and of the teak cabinet full of Mother's Chinoiserie.
I'm a Feng Shui enthusiast. The important thing is the placement of objects so that the chi can move happily throughout the house. I really don't know why I downloaded this self-help book. I don't have any idea what I expected The Inspired Room to do for me. If YOU need it, or simply like to see other people's decorating ideas, use it in good health.
October 2, 2016
I don't know why I even borrow books like this from the library anymore. I love seeing pictures of other people's homes, and I take pride in the way that mine is presented to the world, but every time I read a book like this, I am disappointed. It's all so very fussy! Everything's so matchy-matchy! There are useless things everywhere! I have yet to find a decorating book that meets my own expectations of "when you buy useful things, choose the more beautiful option because you'll be looking at it all the time, and get rid of nearly everything that's not useful in some way."
That said, I'm sure many people would love this book. Michaels' style of decorating is extremely on-trend with middle America right now, and this book is beautifully produced. The DIY projects (if you can even call them that) are pretty stupid (want a crystal chandelier? drape a cheap chandelier in clear plastic beads! *facepalm*), but some of her advice is solid. And her dogs are pretty cute.
That said, I'm sure many people would love this book. Michaels' style of decorating is extremely on-trend with middle America right now, and this book is beautifully produced. The DIY projects (if you can even call them that) are pretty stupid (want a crystal chandelier? drape a cheap chandelier in clear plastic beads! *facepalm*), but some of her advice is solid. And her dogs are pretty cute.
December 20, 2016
I really enjoyed this. I often like Ms. Michaels' style (although not always) but her tips are straightforward, her styles are easy enough to emulate, she gives examples, she suggests real-life rooms (not just living rooms full of white couches, $3000 side chairs and sharp metallic edges, AKA, not realistic for most people) for pets and kids, and she lists sources in the back [THANK YOU MS. MICHAELS!].
I would come back to this book again for inspiration, and I will be checking out Ms. Michaels' blog.
I would come back to this book again for inspiration, and I will be checking out Ms. Michaels' blog.
February 6, 2017
Wonderful read for this girl who just never learned how to decorate. I'm already implementing tips like "everyday on display" with things I already had!
January 20, 2016
Beautiful images and practical ideas!
January 9, 2016
Loved this. So many great ideas that are ace an,e for a real home
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews