Amazon.com Review
Nowadays, busy homeowners are looking for decorating ideas that are not only inexpensive but easy to implement as well. Leslie Linsley meets both challenges head-on with her
High-Style, Low-Cost Decorating Ideas. Linsley's tips focus on the creature comforts that make a house a home--what she calls the "details that make a difference." She emphasizes using pillows, blankets, candles, curtains, linens, artwork, and holiday decorations to create an atmosphere of warmth that will envelop homeowners at the end of a long day.
Many of the ideas can be implemented in just a day or two and without breaking the bank. For instance, Linsley explains how pillows can be used to introduce a new color to a room, create a seasonal look, or add interest to a monochromatic scheme. Try adding an element of surprise to a home by painting a hall or bedroom closet a bright, cheerful color or by lining plain white drapes with a floral or other bold print that's noticeable when the curtains are pulled back.
Linsley does cover larger-scale decorating techniques such as painting walls and refinishing furniture, and she includes time-saving shortcuts--such as wiping down furniture with denatured alcohol to avoid having to strip it before painting. Pictures in the book are limited to black-and-white line drawings, but her directions are explained simply and clearly. Her tips are heavily influenced by what she calls the "clever, comfortable, and carefree" style of decorating--a formula that should appeal to homeowners looking for a cozy but low-maintenance living space. --Kris Law
From Library Journal
Both of these books take a helpful approach to interior decorating. Babylon, designer of home decorating patterns for McCall's, gives tips for every room of the house. Instructions for projects referenced within the text are all contained at the end of the book. Linsley (First Home, LJ 5/15/98) continues with her style of sparsely illustrated advice, this time on how to decorate in a luxurious style within a budget. Both books give instructions on various projects such as painting effects and sewing soft furnishings that are covered better in such books as Jocasta Innes's Applied Artistry (LJ 1/96) or Complete Book of Soft Furnishings (reviewed below). However, the advice in both will give an amateur decorator hundreds of ideas.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
