Step-By-Step Home Design & Decorating - Dorling Kindersley

My house is a work in progress - and has been for many years! It's always fun to plan the next project. (Which was my laundry room when I picked up Step-By-Step Home Decorating by Clare Steel from Dorling Kindersley)

The book is divided into chapters based on...rooms of course! Each room starts out with a wonderfully logical 'What to do When Renovating Your....' section that details the steps you should take. A 'mood board' is suggested for each room - collect paint chips, fabric swatches, pictures from magazines - things that suggest the look you're going for. Then plan your layout, choose your materials and furniture.

Throughout each chapter are examples of just about everything you may be considering - flooring, wall coverings, tiles, lighting, appliances, window treatments, furniture and more. Many step by step colour photos of projects you can undertake yourself such as roman blinds, stencilling and others.

There is a myriad of ideas presented with lots of food for thought. Where the book fell down for me was in the use of line drawings with one colour. For example in the entry '7 Ways with Planters', I feel actual pictures would have been much more effective in presenting options, rather than a picture of doors with pictures of pots in varying positions. Or how about line drawings of curtains that are full length vs. sill length vs. dress curtains presented in two tones - blue and black. It just seemed a bit cheesy and almost juvenile. This same presentation method was utilized in many many sections. This was a disappointment as I have come to expect so much from a DK book. Although there are some colour photos used, there were not enough in my opinion. It dropped what could have been a really good book down to a mediocre one.

There was good, solid information included, but I am a visual learner and much of the book came across as bland to me. Just okay for this reader.