Kitty Bartholomew's Decorating Style: A Hands-On Approach to Creating Affordable, Beautiful, and Comfortable Rooms 
asked by maxwell on October 30, 2006 3:30 PM
Real people's décor from the real people's decorator-whose clever, creative, noncostly ideas have wowed millions of viewers of her HGTV show and her enormously popular appearances on Oprah.Kitty Bartholomew believes that home decorating can be stylish and comfortable, budget-conscious and beautiful. Rather than suggest expensive, over-the-top solutions to decorating dilemmas, she comes up with inventive, resourceful ideas that are within the average person's means.In this, her first book, Kitty Bartholomew brings her knowledge, decorating savvy, and enthusiasm to bear on every aspect of home design, from window, door, ceiling, wall, and floor treatments to furniture, lighting, and mirrors. There's even a chapter on flea-market shopping, where readers will learn how to find the treasures buried among the trash and how to turn them into better-than-new décor. Each chapter details the basics, offers a photo tour showing how the author handled decorating challenges in her own home, presents step-by-step projects, and includes "Ask Kitty" questions answering readers' most frequently asked questions. Gorgeous color photographs throughout illustrate Kitty's ingenious makeover ideas.
Reviews
0%
0%
This is a fab book full of great tips, beautiful rooms and commonsense! Absolutely LOVED it !!!Worth every penny!
reviewed by imtheboss on November 28, 2006 8:11 AM
0%
0%
I have followed Kitty for a number of years and am continuously amazed by her talents and ideas. Though I have not had a chance to read the book cover to cover, am thrilled to have one of her books for reference, as she covers all aspects in need to know decorating.
reviewed by geo on November 29, 2006 12:52 AM
0%
0%
I'm loving this book. It's full of logical,commonsense, rational advice on making your home look and feel good to your and your family. There are no trends, no being too cool, no trying to show off. This book and this philosophy is what I've needed to get my house feeling better. Kitty is obviously very grounded and very intelligent, as well as being good with her hands. I recommend this book if you want to make your home feel good.
reviewed by jazzman on November 29, 2006 3:18 PM
0%
0%
If you like to read, if you have time to read, this is a fantastic book about a specific decorating philosophy--how to make YOUR house work for YOUR family.
Many of us want books that tell us exactly what to do. And that's fine. But this book encourages you to think about your family, your needs, your desires, your preferences, your history, your future--and then make decorating decisions based on all that. Your house should be very personal to you, not based on the dictates of a magazine editor.
It's an amazing experience to be reading through this book and a specific decorating problem you have starts to bubble up in your mind, and the solution to it begins to emerge. I had this experience while reading this book, as did a friend of mine. For instance, I had never thought about my dining room before with any clarity, but I knew that nobody ever sat there, even though it's adjacent to the living room. With a small house, it doesn't make sense to have a whole space that is never sat in. So while I was reading this book, I started wondering: "What is wrong with that room?" I realized the table should turned the other way, that it needed some mirrors to liven up the walls, it needed more light, and I replaced two of the chairs with a little silk brocade-covered love seat that was in my office. I put bed risers under the four legs to raise it up to be comfortable at table height. Now that is the favorite spot in the combined living room/dining room area. Everybody in the family wants to sit in the cozy corner I've created, to read, or to use their laptops to send email or surf the Internet. I'm so pleased with what I did, and it was completely unique to my house, my needs, my family. There's no way this exact idea would have been in a book, but I got infused with the spirit of creating space that works for me.
Yes, this book has very beautiful photos of cozy and wonderful rooms, but the importance of the book is not in those photos, but in Kitty's decorating philosophy. And to embrace that, you'll need to read her words. You know how with some decorating books you can stand at your kitchen counter and flip through the book in 30 minutes and feel you've "gotten" the whole book? I don't recommend you do that with this book. You need to sit down and read it and let the ideas and spirit of it seep into your being. Then you'll end up decorating your house in a way that is completely unique and nurturing to you and your family.
To me, this is a very valuable book. If you get a copy, take the time to embrace it.
Many of us want books that tell us exactly what to do. And that's fine. But this book encourages you to think about your family, your needs, your desires, your preferences, your history, your future--and then make decorating decisions based on all that. Your house should be very personal to you, not based on the dictates of a magazine editor.
It's an amazing experience to be reading through this book and a specific decorating problem you have starts to bubble up in your mind, and the solution to it begins to emerge. I had this experience while reading this book, as did a friend of mine. For instance, I had never thought about my dining room before with any clarity, but I knew that nobody ever sat there, even though it's adjacent to the living room. With a small house, it doesn't make sense to have a whole space that is never sat in. So while I was reading this book, I started wondering: "What is wrong with that room?" I realized the table should turned the other way, that it needed some mirrors to liven up the walls, it needed more light, and I replaced two of the chairs with a little silk brocade-covered love seat that was in my office. I put bed risers under the four legs to raise it up to be comfortable at table height. Now that is the favorite spot in the combined living room/dining room area. Everybody in the family wants to sit in the cozy corner I've created, to read, or to use their laptops to send email or surf the Internet. I'm so pleased with what I did, and it was completely unique to my house, my needs, my family. There's no way this exact idea would have been in a book, but I got infused with the spirit of creating space that works for me.
Yes, this book has very beautiful photos of cozy and wonderful rooms, but the importance of the book is not in those photos, but in Kitty's decorating philosophy. And to embrace that, you'll need to read her words. You know how with some decorating books you can stand at your kitchen counter and flip through the book in 30 minutes and feel you've "gotten" the whole book? I don't recommend you do that with this book. You need to sit down and read it and let the ideas and spirit of it seep into your being. Then you'll end up decorating your house in a way that is completely unique and nurturing to you and your family.
To me, this is a very valuable book. If you get a copy, take the time to embrace it.
reviewed by ragtop on November 29, 2006 5:30 PM
0%
0%
My passion is decorating my house.It's sort of a mix of Cottage, Country French and Miscellaneous.I have a zillion home decor books and I have always tried to pick up little tricks and emulate someone else's style. But, since I read "Kitty Bartholomew's Decorating Style "I have abandoned all inclinations and obligations to copy. Inspired by the book,I do what I like and what looks good to me and it works out well---in my opinion. And my opinion is what counts!!!I don't think Paige Rense will come calling, but I'm happy!!
reviewed by bestseller on November 29, 2006 7:31 PM