The New Apartment Book: Inspiring Ideas and Practical Projects for Decorating Your Home [Paperback]

Michele Michael (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 26, 1996

From an enlightening discussion on such basic principles as function, style, and color to a straightforward look at issues of budget and time, Michael covers all the essentials of creating a dream apartment easily and affordably. A winning blend of creative inspiration and practical guidance, The New Apartment Book provides "tricks of the trade" that new home decorators need. Full-color photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There comes a time for most young urban dwellers when they tire of futons on the floor and brick-and-board bookshelves. That's when they discover that decorating an apartment comes with a unique set of problems. Most people don't want to spend a lot of money renovating a place they may live in for just a year or two, and landlords can be picky about renovations such as enlarging rooms by knocking down walls. The New Apartment Book illustrates how to create a stylish home in limited space on a middle-class budget, whether your preferred look is upscale-funky or clean and spare. Though many of the examples feature light, roomy, well-proportioned apartments, many are also designed around elements that one might consider a problem: a tiny kitchen, a bathroom with no storage, an odd brick wall, or a single living/sleeping area. Treat these as interesting design features and use the space creatively, as this book does, and bingo! No more problem. The "smart tips" scattered throughout are easy and fast. Although there are a few rather dull step-by-step projects for lampshades and the like at the end of the book, The New Apartment Book really shines as an inspiring guide to the possibilities of an average apartment or condominium.

From Publishers Weekly

Space-saving and self-expression drive The New Apartment Book: Inspiring Ideas and Practical Projects for Decorating Your Home by Michele Michael, former home editor for Family Circle magazine, with Wendy Israel. Chapters examine the process by room (including studio living) and include a few unnecessary suggestions for do-it-yourself projects, such as painting lampshades. More than 250 color photos and some valuable tips, such as buying the best sofa that one can afford, make this a handsome guide especially good for those setting up their first nest.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (November 26, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517887592
• ISBN-13: 978-0517887592
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.6 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #482,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best decorating book that I've read, January 21, 2000

By 

Jennifer Gregory (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Apartment Book: Inspiring Ideas and Practical Projects for Decorating Your Home (Paperback)

I bought this book 2 years ago when I was decorating my first apartment and have referred back to it a number of times, especially now that I'm buying my first house. Most decorating books are either books that are simply pretty pictures with no information, simply text that provides information with no pictures, or just contains decorating projects. This book manages to successfully combine all three. The ideas and looks are both stylish and very practical.

The main thing that I like about this book is that it assumes that you want a great looking home but don't have a fortune to spend. It offers many many tips on how to achieve a stylish home without breaking your budget. Most books that I have read, assume that we all can buy brand new top of the line furniture.

I highly reccommend this book for anyone decorating, whether you are in an apartment or a house.

81 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for renters--more for those who OWN their apartment, July 11, 2000

By 

A. North "Alix North" (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Apartment Book: Inspiring Ideas and Practical Projects for Decorating Your Home (Paperback)

I ordered this book based on the title, thinking that "apartment" referred to a rental space. I quickly discovered that the book was geared more for New York City residents who own their apartment. (That's what we'd call a condominium here on the West Coast.)

If you're looking for a book on how to decorate an interior when you can't modify the paint color or structure, this book isn't it.

That said, the ideas in this book are creative and colorful, and will certainly inspire many people...I just could not use many of these ideas in my rented space.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars not very useful for "new apartments", April 15, 2002

By 

Justus Pendleton (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Apartment Book: Inspiring Ideas and Practical Projects for Decorating Your Home (Paperback)

Don't get me wrong, there are certainly some nice designs in this book (although that will probably depend upon your specific tastes) and a VERY few guidelines/rules-of-thumb that are useful when decorating an apartment. However, if you expected this book to have any relation to its title, you will be disappointed.

It says it is the new apartment book. The two key words are "new" and "apartment". If you have a new apartment then wouldn't it stand to reason that you either don't have any (or much) furniture at all, what you have could stand to be upgraded, or maybe even you aren't sure if what you already have goes with the new apartment? Michael doesn't address any of these concerns. There are only a few sentences paying lipservice to the notion of trying to integrate different styles of furniture and architecture. We never see the rooms BEFORE all of the design has been done, so it is hard to see what other alternatives might have been taken.

And what about the apartment aspect of the book? The vast majority of the book really doesn't have anything specific to say about apartments at all. It has sections on decorating kitchens and bedrooms and living rooms but doesn't really address the issues that an apartment dweller has to deal with. Another review mentioned that the book mostly presumes you have free reign to paint and remodel if necessary, which isn't really true for anyone who lives in an apartment. If you own the space it is called a condo (even here on the East Coast). It isn't until the sections on "storage" and "one space living" that Michael talks about issues specifically related to living in an apartment. The rest of the book could have been gotten from any old design book. Unfortunately those two chapters are the shortest in the entire book. Storage, a question near and dear to the hearts of every apartment dweller, gets four whole pages...two of which are full page photos and the other two having some meager text.

All in all there isn't much in this book to recommend it. If you are specifically interested in figuring out how to handle decorating your apartment or condo there isn't a lot to recommend this book. It has some nice designs -- although most other design books do to -- and nothing about the designs is really specific to apartments.