Easy & Elegant Home Decorating: 25 Stylish Projects for Your Home [Hardcover]

Andrea Maflin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998

Here's a guide for everyone wanting to freshen up or completely remodel their home without spending a fortune on an interior decorator.

Written by an up-and-coming new designer, Easy & Elegant Home Decorating is packed full of inventive interior decorating ideas that will suit both feminine and masculine tastes.

Fabrics, walls, furniture, and accessories in the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room are transformed using six basic techniques: mosaic, gilding, decoupage, fabric painting, printing, and stenciling.

A separate chapter explains exactly how to master each technique and what materials are needed to make sure each project is foolproof. A comprehensive stocklist section details where to find each product. Each project has been carefully designed to be accessible and achievable using clear, step-by-step photographs and hints on how to obtain a perfect finish. Plus, a special eight-page appendix contains templates to use as stencil or decoupage motifs. Stylish color photographs of each finished project complete this book that is a "must-have" for both novice and experienced decorators everywhere!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-While this book's title may not at first attract teens, the clear instructions will encourage their creativity and the craft projects will be fun to complete and look great when finished. Readers can choose from gilding (a flower pot, picture frames, a glass table); stenciling (a blanket, cushion covers, a mirror); decoupage; painting and printing; and using mosaic tiles. All projects use basic supplies available at any craft store. A separate section of templates adds to the ease of creating each activity. Its organization, instructions, and colorful photographs make this book an outstanding introduction to mastering a number of crafts that might become lifelong hobbies.
Catherine Charvat, King's Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

These project books contain quick, do-it-yourself decorating ideas with easy-to-follow instructions. Lynn and Dimmick cover sewless fabric projects, decorated picture frames, etched glass, and napkin rings, among other things. Maflin shows gilding, stenciling, paper crafts, painting, printing, and mosaic projects using an Engish modern style. Lynn goes into more complicated projects such as rug painting that are covered in more detail elsewhere (see Caroline O'Neill Kuchinsky's Fabulous Floorcloths, reviewed below), but her "Shabby Chic"-style projects include a guide to the type of store that will carry needed materials. Dimmick, whose projects will appeal to twenty- and thirtysomethings, includes a mostly New York resource list and the approximate cost and time needed to complete each project. All good additions where there is a great interest in crafts, with Lynn's perhaps the most highly recommended because of the variety of projects.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Checkmark Books (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816038295
• ISBN-13: 978-0816038299
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,977,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want some verve in home design projects, get this!, July 11, 2000

By 

"iloveprovence" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Easy & Elegant Home Decorating: 25 Stylish Projects for Your Home (Hardcover)

Do you want to create elegant accessories for your home? Do you want to have fun adding sophisticated detail to your lovely living space? Do you want to have a fresh look without spending a fortune? if you answered yes to any of these questions, then I urge you to get your hands on Andrea Maflin's exquisite, home decorating book, Easy & Elegant Home Decorating! Ms. Maflin has executed one of the most beautiful yet practical home decorating books that I have seen, and I have seen SO many! This volume is packed with wonderful detail to help the beginner or advanced crafter create gorgeous additions to your home. Using six techniques, she demonstrates how to achieve new decor with mosaic, gilding, decoupage, fabric painting, printing, and stenciling. If you follow her easy lessons, you will create professionally looking fabrics, walls, furniture, and accessories in every room of your home. The design that she offers are pleasing to both the feminine and masculine eye. This "choice" book is not only wonderful to look at, but the author has included a fool proof approach to design, even to the inclusion of templates, hints for perfection, and product accessibility. Don't let this book get by you! You can even give your home an Italian flair with this book!