[.ca] Elegant and Easy Rooms: 250 Trade Secrets for Decorating ... (ISBN 044050774X)

From Amazon.com:
It's easy to see why this nifty little book is already a bestseller in the crowded home-decorating field. If you're put off by--or just need a break from--all those plush design books filled with gorgeous but intimidating photos of rooms you can't afford, Elegant and Easy Rooms can help you meet your decorating needs as it gently but firmly shatters common decorating myths and offers countless specific alternatives. For example, white walls aren't the best neutral or the ideal way to maximize space, but there are plenty of other "safe" choices; a tiny wallpaper pattern won't make a small room seem airy but a bolder motif actually will. Those color coffee-table volumes are great for inspiration but often require effort to extrapolate specific, usable ideas. Here you can open any page at random to find concise, terrific advice drawn from the author's own considerable knowledge and from noted designers and design publications. You'll also find strategies for working with a professional designer even if you're on a tight budget. There's so much excellent and readily accessible information that even seasoned do-it-yourselfers will find themselves spurred to spruce up their decor after perusing this book. --Amy Handy

paint colors dated:
I was really excited to read the section on paint colors. However, Benjamin Moore and fuller O'brien have changed their color palates and do not have these colors any more. If anyone knows how I can get or mix Fuller O'brien's Beauty C-23, please let me know.

great book full of tips and "recipes" to make it all work:
I bought this book, and Lauri Wards Use What You Have Decorating, and it's sequel. I'm glad I took a chance on this book. It's full of good ideas to spice up your space. I found that by going to the Benjamin Moore website, I was able to look up the paint colours she recommends and see them in place in rooms similar to mine. It's about little bits and pieces, hints and tips, designer colour room recipes that work to pull from. The author says that any three tips in any room in your house will improve it tremendously and she is right. I've used quite a few little odds and ends from this book. One of the best tips is the two white paints that go with any colour and look great. Benjamin Moore's Cloud White and White Dove. Not using pure stark white. Another off white, she recommends again Benjamin Moore-- Navajo White which I've seen in 2 completely differently decorated houses and both times it looks terrific. Different in both spaces, this is a very reflective offwhite which takes on the dominant colour of the room, but has a warmth to it and depth. Choosing paint is hard but this book makes it easier. Another tip from the book that I loved, take a cup of wall colour paint, and stir into your ceiling paint. It will be invisible, but still affect colour perception just enough to make the whole room look better, richer, more pulled together. Ditto with the trim paint. I love this book, it and the Lauri Ward ones and the Pottery Barn books. They've all really helped me pull my house together and make it look great. I'm not a decorating type at all, and I highly recommend these books for anyone wanting a course in decorating that won't leave you having to laugh at your decorator friends snippy little jokes about your lack of design sense.

This is a different little decorating book:
I've bought many magazines and books filled with pictures and information about decorating, so I thought I'd give the one with no pictures a try - and am I glad I did! This book (and the others in the series) give hints and advice I haven't seen elsewhere. If you enjoy decorating and want to stimulate your creativity, or are looking for hints to separate your home from the rest, this is a great book. It's a quick read, the ideas are clearly and succintly stated, and many suggestions are at minimal cost. If you're willing to try something a little different, you won't be disappointed.

Helps concretise ideas:
A wonderful book that gives helpful details, "chair rails" for example, "are at 36 inches high, one shade of paint above the chair rail, one below." The book is filled with usable information on how to achieve a desired look.

From the Simple to the Silly:
This book is a list of bullet points with specific decorating ideas from the simple (weave artificial ivy through the security bars on your windows) to the impractical (have your lampshades custom lined with gold or pink silk for a flattering light). If some of the ideas appeal to you, you may find the book worthwhile. If not, you won't find any general decorating theories to help you design own space. (And by the way -- if you can afford custom-lined lampshades, skip the book and hire a decorator.)