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56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reality Check, Please!, May 5, 2004
"Home Cheap Home" is published by Budget Living Magazine (which is one of my new, favorite magazines.) I have purchased three issues of Budget Living, and found many of the decorating ideas already published in the magazine, published again in "Home Cheap Home". This is an annoying redundancy I have noticed a lot in books published by magazines -- note to publishers: We do notice!!! That said, "Home Cheap Home" is a pleasant enough, realistic approach to decorating on a "budget". I do think many books and magazines need a reality check on what the average consumer's idea of "cheap" and "budget" are, since recovering a thrift store sofa for $1,200 would leave many of us gasping for air and eating nothing but Snack Ramen for the next three months. "Home Cheap Home" is REALISTIC budgetwise for those of us who are forced to think of Pottery Barn AS the expensive stuff. The book relies heavily on flea market and thrift store looks and finds, and if this isn't your bag, this isn't the book for you. I did enjoy some of the decorating/craft projects, especially the book-folding thing -- very funky! There were not a lot of new source ideas, Budgeteers already know to shop Target, Ikea, eBay, the fleas, and rumage sales. (If you have shopped for secondhand junk lately, you will have noticed a lot of the prices are less than budget friendly, and the day of the fabulous $10.00 Goodwill sofa has gone the way of drive-in movie theaters.) Still, "Home Cheap Home" offers up a fun approach (if not exactly fresh) to decorating within ones means. Like the magazine "Budget Living", one of the most delightful things about "Home Cheap Home" is that it never takes itself to seriously. And,when your end tables are cardboard boxes covered with sheets, this is a welcome attitude.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very helpful, September 2, 2005
I am a low-level nonprofit manager, and my husband makes less than I do, so while we are very fortunate in world -- and really even in U.S. -- terms, the cost of an average new piece of furniture is a bit beyond our means, and the ideas offered by most decorating magazines and books are laughable. So, when I paged through this book, I found it very inspirational. The designs presented are truly inexpensive. Yes, some of the sources (like flea markets) are obvious, but the book also gave me ideas like purchasing decorating items from Oriental Trading Company -- something that never would have occurred to me, aside from holiday items. The book mentions occasional splurge items, but they are limited and reasonable. They won't be affordable for everyone, but the ideas are meant as inspiration, not as a follow-to-the-letter guide for readers. Finally, I'm not at all crafty, but some of the DIY ideas presented here seemed like projects I could actually tackle. Since I've never read Budget Living before, everything here was new to me. I highly recommend this for people like me who might not be very creative decorating-wise and who have tight budgets. That said, read the other reviews from Budget Living readers -- if you are a subscriber, it sounds like maybe you should skip this.
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37 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
home chic home, not cheap, October 29, 2004
The title, something that will grab attention, is misleading. This is not Home cheap home, but should be Home chic home. That would not be misleading. Examples: p. 15 "... splurges included a $1200 Murano glass chandelier and a cast-iron fireplace." Huh? How is that cheap? The room is made up of cast-offs which is what people buying this book probably are all too familiar with already. Where's the "cheap" inspiration? Gather cast-offs and then spend $1200 on a chandelier. p. 61 "... with little more than $3,000 ..." If the purchasers had $3,000 for a kitchen re-do they wouldn't be buying a book with the word "cheap" in it. Countertops: $2,000 marble. p. 66 "... properly restored model [vintage stove] like hers can run anwhere from $4,500 to $5,500." Lesson learned here: get lucky and inherit one like this person did. p. 69 "... at $560 each [Italian designer dining chairs] they may seem out of character for the frugal French-woman ..." Maybe we can find one of these at our local General Dollar store, where el cheapos are known to frequent. p. 71 "... A grand total of $1,800 divided by six chairs and a table equals about $200 or so per chair..." $200 per chair? Where's the cheap part? Read on about the fish sculpture that cost almost as much as their dining room set. p. 73 "... So they called on designer Darren Ransdell ... who transformed their space [tiny kitchen] for less than $3,000. Where's the cheap? Where's the inspiration other than to get out the yellow pages? And so on. Hold onto your $19.95 for a vintage sock monkey and start a collection as seen on p. 97.
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