From Booklist
Editor Callery tackles the A-Z of home design in a unique fashion in three steps: ready, or understanding your options; set, the preparation stage; and decorate, the time to do it yourself or hire a professional. She starts with the easy stuff, painting and wallpapering, including the kind of advice only a well-conditioned instructor-expert could provide, whether it's decorative techniques like ragging and striping to copy or tips when papering around light switches or doors and windows. Then it's full speed ahead to seven other categories--tiling, flooring, kitchens and bathrooms, soft furnishings, window treatments, storage, and lighting--each containing more than enough information to finish part or all of one room or the whole house. A great guide for first-time and old-hand home owners alike. Reviewed July 2006))Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
Lesson one is that it doesn't hurt to be a mediagenic author; name recognition-as in NBC expert and TV host Corbett (and, by the way, author of Find It, Fix It, Flip It!, 2006)-counts, as does his life experience in flipping 30 pieces of property. Lesson two is that real estate and all its attendant information sells. Think Donald Trump, as one prime example. Lesson three is that it's all about business; leave emotions behind when marketing real estate. Much of the advice proffered here is in the professional know-how category. Such as declutter the rooms, inside and out (or, as Corbett says, save it/store it/sell it/check it); paint, repair, and otherwise make sure it's squeaky clean; hire a professional realtor (avoiding the FSBO lure); and never close on a Friday. Lots of tips around Ready, Set, Sold (RSS) sales successes, as well as data-packed sidebars (e.g., a list of 411 real estate Web sites), add an even higher value to Corbett's counsel. -- Barbara Jacobs, Booklist
