Vern Yip's Design Wise: Your Smart Guide to a Beautiful Home

by Vern Yip

HGTV and Trading Spaces' trusted interior designer Vern Yip shares his favorite design secrets to creating living spaces that have flow, balance, and harmony -- while opening his doors to show how he's made these principles work in his own beloved homes. This New York Times bestseller provides both the inspiration and the clear, essential guidelines you need to create a home that perfectly reflects you .

Have you ever wondered exactly how high to hang your artwork? How about the light fixture over your dining table? Do you know how to ideally size a rug for any room, or the best way to arrange your furniture? Beloved designer Vern Yip answers these questions, and more, by revealing the right formulas and measurements that can make any room feel just "right." And once you know these key design principles, you're free to confidently create a home that uniquely celebrates your needs and style. With gorgeous photos throughout, Vern Yip's Design Wise is a book you'll return to again and again.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Interior Design, Reference, Home Improvement

288 pages, Hardcover

Published September 13, 2016

Reviews

[Mitzi Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your coffee table should be 18" from your sofa. The height of an end table should be even with the arms of the chair by which it sits. These and other rules are described by designer Vern Yip (whom you might remember from Trading Spaces on HGTV). But once you learn the rules, Yip encourages you to design your home around things you love. He cautions against common mistakes: paint your child's CLOSET their favorite bright color but leave the main part of the room neutral, for example. The end of the book is full of beautiful pictures of his three homes; while none of them reflects my own style, I appreciate the lessons I learned from this book (for example, that I should HAVE a style, and express myself, yet keep things comfortable for my family and whoever might visit). I promise to never have a dinner party centerpiece taller than 15 inches, Vern.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy could be a teacher if he wanted to! This book has practical helps about design ideas that the average schmo like me doesn't know. It would make a great reference book for everything from the shape of furniture to how low you hang pendant lights and it's arranged in one page descriptions on many topics. It also includes a quick guide at the end of a person wants to access a topic "in a nutshell." And he has really good taste...

[Lisa Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot remember where I caught wind of this backlist book, but as a former fan of Trading Spaces who was a huge fan of Vern's, I had to pick it up. This gives you lots of great info to consider when you are doing some redecorating. Even if you don't love Vern's style (although one of his 3 personal homes that he features is bound to have some elements you like), there is so much practical information about random things like area rug sizing and sectional height that will be helpful. This is a great reference book to consult.

[Kris Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm doing it wrong.

[Merry Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided great guidance on spacing and placement of furniture and sizes.

[Kim Veach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful book. The first part is rather dry, but that's because he gives you specific measurements for sizes of everything - furniture, layouts, traffic patterns, counter heights, etc. The second part is photos of his 3 houses.

I got this book from the library and may get it for my own personal reference.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a very good reference book for things like types of furniture, what to look for, standard heights, etc. This is not the book to pick up if you're clueless and just starting out (me). I found other books, like Your Home, Your Style by Donna Garlough to provide a more practical guide and tips for novices who need less "this is the standard height of a table" and more "here are the 5 steps to get started on understanding and executing your style".

[Heidi Thorsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book cover to cover, despite much of it being very reference-book-y. I generally like the author’s design style, and found plenty of inspiration in the photos. I’ll be sure to use all his furniture placement guidelines when planning out my upcoming home renovation. It’s not the only decorating book you’ll need, but it’s a worthy addition for the technical details about placing furniture, rugs, and lighting.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I used to watch Trading Spaces, I always thought that of all the designers, I would hope Vern Yip would be assigned to my house. (The other designers were lunatics). I always thought he had a lovely style.

This book had lots of helpful “rules,” many involving measurements. So I have written those down for reference. And although I wouldn’t choose the same furnishings and colors as he did! I still appreciated the overall look of his homes.

[Anna Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend to have this book at home if you enjoy creating a perfect home! Book is more like encyclopedia with exact numbers for comfortable furniture placing inside your house or apartment! Loved it!

[Niniane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Specific measurements for distances, heights between furniture.

His style is more "busy" than my preference (zebra print rugs, orange patterned curtains) but I like his practical mathematical rules.

[Karen Bluestein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Includes helpful specifics about measurements and proportions, such as how tall a lamp should be on your nightstand, and how the lampshade should be 1/3 of the total lamp height. How to hang artwork, etc. Exactly what I was looking for.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reference book for all types of measurements - from lighting, rugs, height of tables, end tables, lamp types and so much more

[Marylu Sanok · Rating 3 out of 5]

a Good reference boo

[Westley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just further proof that Vern has impeccable taste.

[Sean S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is as useful for inspiration as for the practical measurement references.

[TJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many helpful measurements - I will be referring back to this book often!

[Martha]

contains all those design "critical measurements" numbers; Asian aesthetic

[Shawn Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures has very little to do with what the text was explaining. It would be nice to see examples other than his own residences. Good advise about measurements.

[Angela Doyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed the book

[Pamela Fishel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the cheat sheets!

[Jonna Gjevre · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author could certainly use more variety in his photos, but he provides useful information about floor plans, table and counter heights, properties of lighting, and more.

[Mary Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for a basic manual and for fans of Vern. I don't love his aesthetic but I like his ideas and no-nonsense voice. You can almost hear him reading the book out loud to you! I did pick up a couple of tips I didn't know before, so for that, 4 stars from me. Also liked the book layout and design, easy to read for my aging eyes.

[Ambur Taft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures, beautiful family, and great tips for the serious interior designer.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Vern anyway, but really good tips and reference points that many times are missing - height, length, type of wood that is best...

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant quantitative/qualitative mix of home decorating advice and inspiration. Got it from the library. Liked it enough I bought my own copy. Has specific measurement guidelines for setting up your living space, and explains why for each. The guidelines provide the boundaries inside of which it is easier to be creative. Genuinely useful on top of inspirational.