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Open House: Reinventing Space for Simple Living
Transforming older homes into modern, functional, open spaces filled with natural light. Author Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen share ideas for remodeling older homes to create modern, open floor plans while sharing lessons learned along the way. Topics include tricks of seeing through cluttered, dark rooms to imagine an open floor plan and space filled with light; how to manage a renovation budget (ideas on where to shop, items to splurge on, where to save); and designing homes for simple family living. Fans of HGTV and DIY Network home renovation shows will love this sweeping behind-the-scenes perspective on home transformations, written in a personal, intimate style, with humor and honesty.
174 pages, Hardcover
Published August 8, 2017
7 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 25, 2017
Transforming older homes into modern, functional, open spaces filled with natural light.
Author Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen share ideas for remodeling older homes to create modern, open floor plans while sharing lessons learned along the way. Topics include tricks of seeing through cluttered, dark rooms to imagine an open floor plan and space filled with light; how to manage a renovation budget (ideas on where to shop, items to splurge on, where to save); and designing homes for simple family living.
My Thoughts: I love interior design, and while I have no training in this area, I devour everything I can find with photos and ideas about changing up my space.
I used to watch HGTV religiously…and then I started buying every magazine I could find with photos that would give me ideas.
I first heard about this book, Open House, and its authors Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen, on the Hallmark show Home and Family. Of course I had to buy it.
I was especially drawn to their passion for renovation and recycling…and re-purposing items to make unique interiors.
The book is filled with text and photos, so a reader can learn a lot about how they accomplish what they did…or the reader can simply luxuriate in the gorgeous photos.
I have enjoyed Corbin Bernsen in several shows and movies, beginning with LA Law back in the day. I also look forward to his occasional appearance on The Young and the Restless, where his late mother, Jeanne Cooper, was an iconic member of the cast.
If you love design, or enjoy looking at lovely homes and interiors, this might just be the book for you. 5 stars.
Author Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen share ideas for remodeling older homes to create modern, open floor plans while sharing lessons learned along the way. Topics include tricks of seeing through cluttered, dark rooms to imagine an open floor plan and space filled with light; how to manage a renovation budget (ideas on where to shop, items to splurge on, where to save); and designing homes for simple family living.
My Thoughts: I love interior design, and while I have no training in this area, I devour everything I can find with photos and ideas about changing up my space.
I used to watch HGTV religiously…and then I started buying every magazine I could find with photos that would give me ideas.
I first heard about this book, Open House, and its authors Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen, on the Hallmark show Home and Family. Of course I had to buy it.
I was especially drawn to their passion for renovation and recycling…and re-purposing items to make unique interiors.
The book is filled with text and photos, so a reader can learn a lot about how they accomplish what they did…or the reader can simply luxuriate in the gorgeous photos.
I have enjoyed Corbin Bernsen in several shows and movies, beginning with LA Law back in the day. I also look forward to his occasional appearance on The Young and the Restless, where his late mother, Jeanne Cooper, was an iconic member of the cast.
If you love design, or enjoy looking at lovely homes and interiors, this might just be the book for you. 5 stars.
August 4, 2025
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I don't share the aesthetic but really like their philosophy.
October 25, 2019
I really thought this book was going to have more ideas for decluttering and simplifying living spaces. It was more of a "How did Corbin Benson and his family decorate their many different homes over the years". I barely finished it.
March 21, 2026
I have a Country Home magazine subscription and they've been featuring some of the renovated upstate NY houses of Pays and Bernsen, which seemed okay enough, so I checked this out of the library.
Nice pics and all (although a lot of shady, blurry ones) and I don't like to use the word "elitist" but could not relate to being able to pour hundreds of thousands into Los Angeles properties, leave on a whim and settle in England (more thousands, if not hundreds of), get tired of the rain and move back to LA one week, pour more money into more LA homes, get bored and renovate lots of other houses, find a rundown property in France and renovate that, downsize the LA house and build another one (then, apparently, take off for NY and mess with a lot of other houses).
Yeah, no. For one, it was exhausting to read about and for two, as a peasant I could not relate at all—the writer seemed kind of insufferable.
But again, some nice-ish pics so there's that?
Nice pics and all (although a lot of shady, blurry ones) and I don't like to use the word "elitist" but could not relate to being able to pour hundreds of thousands into Los Angeles properties, leave on a whim and settle in England (more thousands, if not hundreds of), get tired of the rain and move back to LA one week, pour more money into more LA homes, get bored and renovate lots of other houses, find a rundown property in France and renovate that, downsize the LA house and build another one (then, apparently, take off for NY and mess with a lot of other houses).
Yeah, no. For one, it was exhausting to read about and for two, as a peasant I could not relate at all—the writer seemed kind of insufferable.
But again, some nice-ish pics so there's that?
January 6, 2019
Cute little design memoir of the authors looking back at the homes they’ve flipped and lived in. It’s the down and dirty, no fuss, simple, comfy design. I gave it 4 stars due to some of the photo quality not being too great but the end result shots are nice and you get the hint.
June 28, 2021
Pretty pictures, but sort of disjointed story. Most people are not going to have the budget or opportunities as these two so it all felt a bit unattainable. Still, fun to read through and would make a nice coffee table book.
October 10, 2017
A few nice pictures, but mostly about how the couple renovated all their properties.
November 27, 2017
The narrative jumps back and forth a lot and leaves you feeling like an idiot for even caring about how your house is set up. Plan to look at the pictures and skip the writing.
June 17, 2018
Pretentious AF.
August 28, 2018
Lovely design ideas
September 24, 2018
Beautiful interiors and a lovely story. Though it is not, as advertised, really a helpful guide on how to update/restore/renovate a home of your own, it is an excellent source of inspiration.
February 23, 2019
I really enjoyed both the photographs and the narrative. I especially liked reading the family aspect of this book.
April 17, 2021
This was more than just a book with nice pictures. I really enjoyed that it was told somewhat as a memoir. Very entertaining, inspiring and informative.
May 13, 2022
A home decor book I actually read instead of just flipping through the photos. Interesting to see the family’s style evolve over time.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews