Nell Hill's Style At Home [Hardcover]

Mary Carol Garrity (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2001

Atchison, Kansas, used to be known as the hometown of Amelia Earhart. Now it's famous for two shops -- Nell Hill's and G. Diebolt's. Behind these two magical emporiums of home furnishings is Mary Carol Garrity, whose loyal customers come from across the country to seek her advice in decorating. Now Mary Carol has created a compilation of her favorite tips, tricks, and techniques in Nell Hill's Style At Home. Within its beautifully illustrated pages, Mary Carol tells readers where she gets her ideas, how to reflect their own style at home, and once they've made their home perfect, how to take it apart and do it again an even better way. Readers are guaranteed unlimited inspiration with Mary Carol's unique blend of style, creativity, and common sense. Learn how to create collections, group and regroup favorite accessories, and mix and match styles and sets of china fearlessly. Learn how to create still lifes with tableaux of your favorite things, corral them on trays, fence them in with stacks of books, and feature odd pieces of glass -- decanter stoppers, old bottles, vases without flowers -- as art. Learn how to personalize your rooms in unexpected ways: Recruit a platter as a kitchen sink backsplash or a cake stand as a soap dish.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

A fabulous home furnishings store in Atchison, Kansas? And one where 95 percent of its customers drive more than 50 miles? Stranger things have happened--but Garrity's store, named after her maternal grandmother, is all of that and more. Each of her five major tenets--layer, tell a story through displays, update with fabric, anything can be a wall, and home-ize your house--is explained well (with the help of coauthor Caldwell) through color photographs and a bit of text. In conclusion, her portfolio expounds on her principles, such as injecting a sense of humor in a formal dining room, and arranges them into four lists: 7 rules to break, 5 quick changes to a room, 12 accessories one couldn't live without, and 8 final steps to luxury living. For sure, many of her elements are now common in many urban decorating haunts, but doesn't the heart of the Midwest deserve its own brand of design? Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Mary Carol Garrity, heralded by Forbes magazine as "one of the hottest little retailers," is the dynamic proprietor of Nell Hill's, with locations in Atchison, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. As one of today's top lifestyle resources-with her own paint and home accessory lines-Mary Carol is always on hand to personally answer customers' questions and offer real-life decorating solutions. She lives in Atchison, Kansas, with her husband, Dan.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; 1 edition (August 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740718746
• ISBN-13: 978-0740718748
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #210,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Carol Garrity is the dynamic proprietor of Nell Hill's in Atchison, Kansas, a landmark retail store that has become legendary in the decorating world--more than 95 percent of Nell Hill's patrons travel more than 100 miles to visit Mary Carol at her flagship store. She has garnered national media attention, with Forbes magazine dubbing her "one of the hottest little retailers" in America. Her designscapes have been featured on the Today show, The Early Show, and in the Wall Street Journal, and more. Nell Hill's O Christmas Tree is her latest book, and joins Nell Hill's Feather Your Nest, Nell Hill's Stylish Weddings, Nell Hill's Entertaining in Style, Nell Hill's Christmas at Home, and Nell Hill's Style at Home, all from Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do these bad reviewers have a vendetta?, January 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Nell Hill's Style At Home (Hardcover)

Style is personal, I understand that. I recently purchased a copy of Style at Home while visiting Atchison, KS. I was not expecting a store like Nell Hill's in a town of 10,000. It is true that the book does not give the full picture, but it does give some interesting ways to look at the way a home and its furnishings are setup. The book urges the reader to use things in new and interesting ways while not throwing out the history and the style of the things you have. It does not surprise me that some designers may not like this book, it puts some great tools in the hands of the people who would probably be paying them. If you ever get a chance, beat a path to Nell Hill's and check out the hospitality that is evident in the pictures that are displayed in this lovely book. And by the way, I am not old, I am 25! Mary Carol, keep up the good work!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book with great how-to's, September 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Nell Hill's Style At Home (Hardcover)

Nell Hill's in Atchison, Kansas is a great store.

But Mary Carol Garrity's book goes a step further and - with beautiful photographs and descriptive text - tells you exactly how you can take the things you already own and love and create a fabulous style.

This is pretty enough for a coffee table book and practical enough to pull out and use. There are no unattainable "Martha Stewart"-like crafts or projects.

Nell Hill's Style at Home is a great self-purchase or gift.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An awe inspiring book!, November 30, 2004

By 

Patricia Vinson "decorating diva" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nell Hill's Style At Home (Hardcover)

Well, I AM older!! Mary's book is now the NUMBER ONE book in my decorating library! I have amassed quite a collection of books on the subject of decorting, but not a one is as inspiring as this one. I follow Mary's belief of 'there are no rules when decorating, just things you love'. Her rooms are 'not just another pretty face', but rooms you can live in, while also enjoying the 'scenery'.