Flip! for Decorating: A Page-by-Page, Piece-by-Piece, Room-by-Room Guide to Transforming Your Home [Paperback]

Elizabeth Mayhew (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2009

In this fresh, fun, and unique book, design consultant and Today show lifestyle expert Elizabeth Mayhew shares essential insider tips for making any space stylish and timeless in a snap. Forget expensive fixes or labor-intensive endeavors, Flip! for Decorating can show you how to redecorate with what you have on hand, or with the simple purchases you’ll need to create the room of your dreams. Flip through the upper right hand pages, and watch four rooms receive an instant makeover! Inside you’ll discover:

• step-by-step instructions for decorating the four most commonly used rooms: living room, dining room, family room, and bedroom
• the fundamentals of color, including no-fail wall and trim colors, when to use wallpaper instead of paint, and the facts on different paint finishes
• the ways to treat a window, from Venetian blinds and Roman shades to simple curtains–and the secrets to making a window appear taller or wider
• the art of picking the perfect sofa, chairs, tables, and lighting
• strategies on how to prioritize your decorating decisions

Flip! for Decorating also features time-saving “reality checks,” handy shopping tips, and easy and informative sidebars that will give you instant solutions if you’re stumped, stymied, or need to add a quick jolt of style to virtually any room in your home. With this amazing, practical book, decorating is so easy you’ll flip!

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Learning decorating tips from Elizabeth Mayhew is like spending time with a good friend who has your best interests at heart.”—Katie Couric

“Finally! A book that really shows you how to put a room together. A book that explains what really works, and why. A book about finding your own style and being comfortable, too. Decorating has never been this much fun.” —Stephen Drucker, editor in chief, House Beautiful

“Elizabeth Mayhew’s breezy, confident, and glamorous decorating style has long been envied by design experts in the know. Fortunately for us all, she now shares her insider’s view on how to achieve her particular brand of high/low chic with Flip! for Decorating. I think it’s pitch-perfect.”—Miles Redd, interior designer and creative director, Oscar de la Renta

“Point of view – prescriptive, descriptive and definite – is what distinguishes…Flip! for Decorating…It is extremely satisfying, like watching a stop-action film, and very, very useful.”—New York Times

About the Author

Elizabeth Mayhew is the lifestyle expert for NBC’s Today show and is special projects editor for House Beautiful magazine. Previously she was editorial development director at Real Simple magazine. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, she now lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; Original edition (April 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345507517
• ISBN-13: 978-0345507518
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #332,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful - lots of photos and clear instructions, April 13, 2009

By 

J. Coon "Always Critical" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flip! for Decorating: A Page-by-Page, Piece-by-Piece, Room-by-Room Guide to Transforming Your Home (Paperback)

This is the book to buy if you actually plan on decorating a room instead of just thinking or talking about it. Lots of practical instruction and step by step photos covering topics like "how to make a room appear larger." The author recognizes that we all have different budgets. Lots of ideas can be done cheaply or expanded based on available budget (wallpaper instead of paint for instance). Some suggestions help make more out of a room without buying anything at all. Highly recommended for anyone starting a decorating project.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a really useful decorating book, April 28, 2009

By 

Jill S. "author" (Larchmont, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Flip! for Decorating: A Page-by-Page, Piece-by-Piece, Room-by-Room Guide to Transforming Your Home (Paperback)

I have read a lot of decorating books. I've even written some. It's the rare book that actually gives you useful advice in a very accessible manner. Elizabeth Mayhew has come up with a clever, fun concept--a flip book in which you see how each of four rooms come together, step by step. But she's also filled this book with tons of practical advice that helps you narrow down the overwhelming breadth of options out there, and cuts to the chase by coming right and saying what you need to know--sisal isn't really practical, what coffee table to buy if you can't choose, no-fail paint colors, why you don't need elaborate swoopy curtains, and how to style a tabletop so it looks fabulous. It makes decorating look fun and do-able. Even if your style isn't anything like hers, you will find lots of valuable advice here.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll FLIP, April 14, 2009

By 

Susan E. Iacovacci (Stamford, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flip! for Decorating: A Page-by-Page, Piece-by-Piece, Room-by-Room Guide to Transforming Your Home (Paperback)

I always watch Elizabeth on Today and read her monthly column in House Beautiful, so I knew purchasing her book was a no-brainer. It had to be good, and I was right. I'm doing a house renovation and her book couldn't of come out at a better time. I felt stuck in a rut with my decorating scheme, even though I wanted a change I kept going back to the same things I've done before time after time. Elizabeth's book helped me pick a whole new color scheme for my house. Elizabeth's first chapter titled Color is my favorite. I was obsessing through the Benjamin Moore palette for weeks until I read her book. FLIP is full of great tips and ideas and it has a great resource guide at the end. You won't be disappointed. I'm already looking forward to her next book!