The Nest Home Design Handbook: Simple ways to decorate, organize, and personalize your place [Paperback]

Carley Roney (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 6, 2008

Decorating for the first time can be completely overwhelming. How do you find your style? How do you keep expenses under control? What essential pieces does every home need for maximum functionality and flair? How will you merge tastes—and stuff—to create a space that feels like home to you both? Here to take the guesswork out of decorating is The Nest Home Design Handbook, a practical, gorgeous, room-by-room guide to giving your place unique and affordable style.

Learn how to:
-Design with your inner stylist in mind
-Arrange your living room
-Mix modern pieces and Mom's hand-me-downs
-Choose the right paint colors
-Freshen a formal kitchen space
-Make a small space look bigger
-Hang pictures properly
-Jazz up your walls
-Buy good furniture (on a budget)
-Kill the clutter

PLUS: Suggestions for displaying your stuff in fun and interesting ways, DIY wall art ideas, tips for organizing every room, information on basic home repairs, and more!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carley Roney is the editor in chief of the hip lifestyle website TheNest.com, and cofounder of the world's favorite wedding brand, TheKnot.com. She is the author of ten books from The Knot and The Nest and appears regularly on Oprah, Today, and The View.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Potter Style (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307341917
• ISBN-13: 978-0307341914
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.6 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carley Roney is at the helm of the world's favorite wedding brand as editor in chief of TheKnot.com and its sister sites, TheNest.com (for newlyweds) and TheBump.com (for first-time parents). She appears regularly on national television shows, including Oprah, Today and The View. She is the author of several popular wedding and home decor books from The Knot and The Nest and will be releasing a highly anticipated baby book, "The Baby Bump". "The Baby Bump" will feature expert and real mom advice on everything future moms really want to know.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful for the Clueless! February 25, 2009

By G. Contreras

Format:Paperback

I can only speak on behalf of myself, who is a completely clueless when it comes to decorating a home! I have always lived with others in apartments or school dorms, so I never had a say on home decor. Now, in the process of buying my first home, I am completely lost as to how to decorate it and what to buy! I love entertaining and I love having visitors over. I love color and I love beautiful furniture... if it wasnt for this book, I'm sure I would have gotten tons of different focal points and tons of splashes of color (I was color deprived when I was young!). This book helps you organize your thoughts mentally, and helps when you are starting off with a clean canvas. I say it's helpful for the clueless because it is of tremendous help to me (very clueless!). I'm not sure how helpful it will be if you already have ideas about home decorating! It's also pretty modern (I'm 24) if that is the direction you are looking towards.

The last section is also really cool! It has a floor grid and cut-out furniture pieces and a checklist that I can't wait to play around with!

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, create tips for those that like to "invent" September 3, 2008

By Allie

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased this book because I wanted some unique ideas in an easy to read format and sure enough, this is what I was given!!! I love it!!! It is FULL of pictures which makes it easy for my husband to flip through and say like it/hate it....and that brings a huge grin to my face ;-) Oh, we relocate every three to four years (nope, not a military family) and we ALWAYS have new places and spaces. This gives great advice on using what you have and really adding speacial pieces.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a supremely useful book on home decoration and design May 26, 2009

By L. M. Keefer TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This book is perfect for the beginning home owner or renter who doesn't know where to begin in making decisions about how to decorate their home. The book has material you can't find elsewhere on layout, types of sofas, chairs, beds, rooms etc. The rooms are contemporary, up-to-date and fresh.

The book has useful charts and questionnaires which will help the reader in decision-making and it's very clear and easy to read. It's a wonderful springboard to begin to articulate your personal style. I teach a class on interior design through continuing education and find the book very useful for students as an introduction to a complex subject like interior design.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good buy for new homeowners! June 28, 2009

By Yolonda Greggs

Format:Paperback

We're purchasing our first home and I felt overwhelmed at the prospect of designing every room from scratch but this wonderful book inspired me to embrace the entire project, including painting walls. It's elementary, the Nest Home appears to be geared toward newly marrieds, but for those like me who need a refresher on the basics, this works!

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Basic Design Book October 31, 2008

By S. Brogan

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed looking through this book. I haven't read the whole thing though but what I have read is great! It gives great tips, pictures, a nice reference in back of the book, and some color schemes. This is a great book for just getting started with decorating, or if you would like some fresh ideas.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite Good For Wide Variety of Incomes, Tastes and Abilities November 1, 2011

By carol irvin TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

The very best thing about this book is that many people of differing budgets, tastes and ideas can use it. Also, if you have strong color preferences, you can go over the color pictures again and again with your fellow householders. Many of these home decorating books hits the other extremes. They are either for someone with an enormous budget or they are for someone who personally has the skills to gut and renovate from top to bottom on a matchstick budget. This book fits the rest of us.

If you are shy about color or modern furniture, I think this book will be good for you. It reflects the way a modern person lives. For one, today's person has to be more easily able to move their furniture around than people once did, The people who had all that heavy furniture were born and died in the same town, usually in the same house. We are a lot more mobile. Since the Nest also has its own website which carries through on all of these topics, you can view the book as a launching pad and then take up permanent residence on the website.

If you are a professional in this field, this is not the book for you. It is not aimed at a decorator audience.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE this book April 6, 2010

By S. Joanides

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has helped me so much. I made use of the lists they provide for you in the back and when I went shopping for a room in my house, I had my list ready to go and picked everything out. It was so helpful. I love all the ideas and WOW, it is SO easy to read and easy to follow. This book has great tips along the sides of the pages and explains everything so easily, and it's easy on your eyes. The font and the way they designed the book layout is great, like I said, easy to read and understand. Very modern ideas that I love. Plus it's a pretty book to put on display. I can't say enought about this, I would recommend this to anyone who wants an easy read for fresh and modern approaches to interior design.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for everyone December 31, 2011

By M. Thomas

Format:Paperback

This book is fine if you are only interested in spare modern or contemporary design. If that look turns you off completely you need to find another source of inspiration. Rather than a nest, the photos seemed wholly bare and spare, with no coziness, warmth or owner personality in evidence.