Customer Reviews

Design on a Dime: Achieve High Style on a $1,000 Budget

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Like many folks out there, I wrote a lot of checks to "professionals" before even thinking I could tackle any type of home improvement myself. Sure, Bob Villa and Norm were out there teaching folks, but they were the ultimate DIY geeks. Just look at the plaid shirts! I didn't even own anything flannel! How could I do it myself? Then Paige entered my life.

Trading Spaces showed me and my wife that we were capable of doing a lot around the house ourselves. If some of the chuckleheads they had on could help Ty or Amy-Wyn without losing digits then there was no reason for us to be afraid of power tools either. Then I discovered HGTV and Design on a Dime.

The projects are completed by professional designers and builders, but they walk the viewer through all steps of design and construction. While Frank may give a couple of hints to the home owners viewers mainly get to watch them rolling paint onto the walls or stuffing pillows. There are loads of great ideas, but no detailed, step by step instruction. (It's not that type of show) After watching an episode of Design on a Dime anyone with half a brain should be able to complete at least one of the projects competantly.

This book is a great companion to the series with detailed, step by step instrucitons on how to complete almost everything in each of the rooms showcased. Thoughts on the mechanics of planning the room are included and the photography is beautifuly done as well.

Check out the show, pick up the book and dust off the hammer and saw. Inspiration is right around the corner.

I checked this out of the library, hoping I would find some inspirational ideas. I was disappointed. When Design on a Dime first premiered on TV, I tended to only like 2 out of 10 of their designs. I have noticed over the past year, the designs have improved tremendously.

I enjoy home decorating projects and like sewing, upholstery and doing any type of project where I get to work with my hands. I believe that you don't have to spend gobs of money to have a beautiful environment that reflects your style. Knowing that many of these rooms were created on a $1000 budget, I expected more. The photography is not even very good. Many of the rooms look somewhat washed out and lack detail, as if taken with a lower resolution.

The "tips?" were so general that I did not find them helpful. The info is more like what you already know. There was a paragraph titled "Enliven with Fabric", the tip was "Extra doses of color enter the room through fabric on the chairs." It then described the fabric on the chairs, but nothing useful about fabric selection or why the colors were chosen. The worst part of the book was a lack of instructions for many of the projects shown. For example, on page 13 there is a caption for picture B that says "Summer prepares to complete a 1950's atomic-style light fixture." Where are the instructions?! Nothing! Why is there a picture of someone building something if there are no instructions or buying resources if it can be purchased (it is not in the Credit/Resources section in the back of the book).

This book needs work.

I bought this with a gift certificate, and I am so glad I did. I never miss Design on a Dime. The rooms are great and the cast is cool. I always want to see more of every episode. I always wish I could pause my TV and study what the designers have done to the rooms. This book lets me do that. In the book I can see more details of rooms from the show, and the book also has detailed information on how to create projects from the show which is a real plus to me. On the show they don't have enough time to show enough "how to" steps. But those steps are in this book. The book captures the fun of the show but offers more than the show itself. It's my favorite Xmas gift.

I bought this book after flipping through it in a busy bookstore yesterday, and after getting it home and taking a longer look I was disappointed.

First off, when buying a book on DIY cheap decor, I would expect more than just a re-cap of episodes of the show and a biography of the team. There are very few instructions on how to create the looks in the photos - a painted chandelier here, a college dorm memo board there, that's about it.

It is also interesting to note that this book gives no prices per project as the show does, so you have no idea what the projects will cost.

I agree with another reviewer that, on paper and without the dismal "before" photos, the rooms are pretty lackluster. A couple of them looked like some of the theatre sets I worked on in college. Sure it's cheap decor but a little more care could be taken with the paint, upholstery and other details - this extra care doesn't cost money, only a matter of time, minutes in some cases, and the finished products would look 100% better. The tall upholstered headboard for the guest room looked sloppiest of all, I was suprised they actually included it in the book as it looks so slap-dash. If you're going to bother with a project aimed at making your living space more aesthetically pleasing, at least take the time to make it look good or what's the point?

I have a lot of experience with DIY projects - my Dad is a woodworker, my husband's family runs an upholstery shop, and I am a technical theatre major. You CAN decorate cheaply yourself and make it look like a million bucks. You don't have to be a talented artist either, it's amazing what you can put together if you have good instructions and a willingness to experiment and screw up from time to time (you can practice a new skill with a very small project and cheap materials so you don't waste a lot of money.) This book will not help you achieve the most style for your money. I would suggest finding a secret shopping deals guide for your area, so you can find the best materials possible for your budget and then find books that contain more practical information on different aspects of decorating (paint techniques, no-sew upholstery, furniture finishes, etc.)

I love the Design on a Dime show, but I've been annoyed when I can't get enough detailed information as I watch the show. This book solves that problem for me. Instead of just repeating what's been on TV, the book digs in and pulls out more ideas than I was able to see when their video cameras panned the rooms. It's so good to be able to stop and look carefully at every angle of a room makeover in this book. The book also includes detailed how-to-do-it information that I can't get on the show. Great book. I love it. Thank you HGTV!

The book showcases some of the ideas from the show - with pictures, explanations and instructions for some projects. I also have "6 Steps to Design on a Dime" and I like it better - more useful info and nicer pictures.

After watching the show, I eagerly grabbed the book. Flipping past the designers' bios, I gazed in dismay at the uninspiring photos. Somehow the rooms look less on paper. Less high style, less creative, less appealing...
Maybe seeing the dismal "before" room on TV, and watching the team transform it, grabs the viewer. On paper, it is too static with the views too limited to excite.
Still there are some useful do-it-yourself projects such as making a padded storage cube. The room arranging kit, consisting of graph paper and some furniture shapes to cut out and arrange is pretty ho-hum.

I've looked at many, many home decorating books lately. This is the only book where the basic house and furniture looks like the mix-matched hand-me-down stuff I have. Going on a shopping trip to France for antique furniture is just not an option for me. I appreciated the everyday practical approach to design and decorating. Some of the designs are not my style but I found a lot of inspiration. I do wish the book was a little more detailed in the before and after pictures.

After watching the show, I eagerly grabbed the book. Flipping past the designers' bios, I gazed in dismay at the uninspiring photos. Somehow the rooms look less on paper. Less high style, less creative, less appealing...
Maybe seeing the dismal "before" room on TV, and watching the team transform it, grabs the viewer. On paper, it is too static with the views too limited to excite.
Still there are some useful do-it-yourself projects such as making a padded storage cube. The room arranging kit, consisting of graph paper and some furniture shapes to cut out and arrange is pretty ho-hum.

If you love the Design on a Dime TV show, you'll love this book. Now I can finally stop and study the rooms from the show, which is hard to do on TV. The book goes beyond what you see on the show with its detailed how-to information, which explains how to do actual projects seen on the show. The show is cool, and so is the book. I was assuming that you have to be young to appreciate the style of the show, but I went home for Mother's Day, and my mom had this book on her coffee table, too. So, I guess the show and the book are aimed not so much at young people as at people with sophisticated tastes. 5 stars!!