Downtown Chic: Designing Your Dream Home: From Wreck to Ravishing [Hardcover]

Robert Novogratz (Author), Cortney Novogratz (Author), Elizabeth Novogratz (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2009

Robert and Cortney Novogratz, starts of the hit Bravo series 9 BY DESIGN, have been renovating and designing unique and hip homes for families for over ten years. Describing their signature style as a sophisticated but bohemian mix of high and low, new and old, they offer their realistic advice on how to create original, warm interiors with ease. One part practical guide, one part inspirational volume on creating a look for the home, the book pairs humorous anecdotes about the pitfalls and pleasures of renovation with a treasure trove of decorating tips: how to use both boutique and flea-market finds; how to inject lots of personality into a room affordably; how to decorate kids’ rooms so they appeal to children and adults; how to easily rehabilitate outdated furnishings; and many more. In each of the ten projects featured—which include a townhouse in New York City, a country house in Massachusetts, and a beach house in Brazil—before and after shots document the agony and ecstasy of any renovation project, as well as revealing the design duo’s vision and remarkable ability to see through the most awful of spaces to the amazing home that lies within.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Hottest new home decor book!” ~New York Daily News

“… fresh, new design and decorating book by Robert and Cortney Novogratz. For this design duo, details make the design, and there are surprises everywhere, which to my mind give the houses a thoughtful and lived-in appeal.” ~Debbie Travis, syndicated house and home columnist

“There is an unmistakable playfulness to the [house] Robert and Cortney share with their [seven kids]. We dare you to look without saying ‘wow.’” ~O Home Magazine

“You might live in a box, but that doesn’t mean you can’t think outside of it.
With tips on decor from Sixx Design’s Robert and Cortney Novogratz, you’ll be living large in no time.” ~DailyCandy.com

“No matter what people think of the homes featured in Downtown Chic, few would dispute the uniqueness of their interiors.” ~Houston Chronicle

“Want to steal ideas from Robert and Cortney’s arsenal of [home decorating] tricks? Check out their book Downtown Chic.” ~Family Circle

About the Author

Robert and Cortney Novogratz, native Southerners, came to New York City more than ten years ago and soon after founded Sixx Design. Featured in scores of American and European shelter magazines, their work includes residential and commercial projects throughout the world. They are currently stars of the hit Bravo TV series, 9 BY DESIGN. 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli; Ill edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847831736
• ISBN-13: 978-0847831739
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 0.8 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Arts & Photography > Design & Decorative Arts > Decorative Arts

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love Dowtown Chic!, August 13, 2009

By 

Susan Lake - See all my reviews

This review is from: Downtown Chic: Designing Your Dream Home: From Wreck to Ravishing (Hardcover)

have spent every minute poring over my copy of DOWNTOWN CHIC since I got it , which chronicles the design evolution of Robert and Cortney Novogratz of NYC, and their seven (!) kids. It is a combination of cool ideas that work for anybody who wants to upgrade or change their living environment, and a great aspirational story from people who seem to be able to have it all. Darn them! Personally, the book really spoke to me when it constantly urges the reader out of their safety zone when it comes to home decoration. Try a bright color of paint, dare to have mismatched chairs, mix cheap pieces with your fancy stuff. And don't settle for something boring and predictable just because you are parents! Or have a heart attack if there is a scuff or a stain. There are plenty of helpful hints, like how to get rid of clutter, and while I don't really have the time or the budget to travel the world looking for design objets, finding flea market treaasures is an activity I can do close to home and on any budget. Robert and Cortney have written a fun and funny book chock full of ideas of how to have the home of your dreams, with or without lots of cash. Their ideas are easily translatable to anybody to go boldly into home improvement, letting us know where it is fine to cut corners and where it isn't. I love this book and not at all ashamed to admit I needed a kick in the butt to get my unrealized dreams about my own living space to a place where I now feel I can actually make it happen.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Downtown Chic- Inspires bold moves, March 12, 2010

By 

Swee10 (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Downtown Chic: Designing Your Dream Home: From Wreck to Ravishing (Hardcover)

Downtown Chic is a handsome coffee table book celebrating the work of Cortney and Robert Novogratz. Over the past fifteen years this husband-and-wife design team has bought and renovated houses for themselves and their seven children in Manhattan, upstate New York, Massachusetts, and Brazil. Their interiors have a chic, bohemian sensibility that mixes antique and thrift store furniture with ultra-sleek contemporary pieces.

The book has information that's useful for anyone remodeling their own home, like "Tips for Buying a Wreck" and a "Contractor Checklist." Some of the Novogratzs' ideas, like buying a building in SoHo, or shipping home a zinc-topped bar from a flea market in Paris, might be out of reach for most of us. But the designers' attitude is liberating. Their interiors feel loosely assembled, as if the objects inside a room weren't put in place by designers but accumulated naturally by its inhabitants. They make unconventional choices that seem just right, like painting a room bright orange, covering a wall with framed comic books, or leaving warped wooden floor boards in place.

As Cortney writes in the introduction, "A home isn't just where you live, or at least it doesn't have to be. A home is who you are." In both how to live and how to decorate, this book inspires us to make a bold move.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Order this book now!, May 3, 2010

By 

Elizabeth Bessel "of "Libby's World"" (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Downtown Chic: Designing Your Dream Home: From Wreck to Ravishing (Hardcover)

I had big hopes for this book and I am usually disappointed when my hopes are so high. Not in this case. Downtown Chic is a book that will unleash your imagination AND you will never again be able to use the excuse that you are too busy to work on your home again.

Even if your personal style is not reflected in this book, it will inspire you to think outside of the box and feel as if you can do anything!