This book does not focus on interior decorating as a whole or the components that are traditionally addressed in interior decorating books(picking a style, a color theme, window treatments, picking furniture and accessories). This book concentrates on the arranging portion of decorating. The book does not contain color photos (However, I did not find that to be an issue and actually found black and white to be helpful in this case because it didn't distract me from the topics). If you are looking for a book to guide you through the overall decorating process, you will be disappointment with this book. Check out Better Homes and Gardens New Decorating Book for a complete book on interior decorating. However, if you are looking for a book to help you arrange your stuff, then you will be absolutely thrilled with this book and the results you produce.

Most of the principles are illustrated using living room re-designs, but she also spends time discussing the foyer, bedroom and dining room.

I've arranged my living room furniture many different ways and never knew why it didn't work. In one day, I rearranged the stuff we already had and everyone in the family felt immediately more comfortable (even my husband who dislikes change). I even found room for the piano which had been stuck in my daughter's bedroom.

This book does not address colors, patterns, walls, floors or window treatments or what furniture to buy if you are replacing a lot of pieces. Will have to find another source for those. Meanwhile, make the most of what you already have!

I suggest a more accurate subtitle -- something along the lines of "Transform Your Home into the Blandest Possible Landscape Using Ten Rudimentary Design Principles."

Props to the author, though, for reducing clutter in nearly all "Afters."

This book, however, is a noteable exception. The pictures are all black and white, and some of them are slightly fuzzy. But the text is very clear. I have been trying for at least a decade to get my furniture arranged correctly. It is now perfect, thanks to the very simple instructions in this book. And my art is hung correctly, my lighting is both functional and attractive, and I am comfortable in my own home. When people come to visit for the first time, they frequently say, "Wow! Who decorated this place?" All the credit goes to Lauri Ward, who has addressed a real need.

If you want to look at pretty pictures, this is not the book for you. But if you want to carefully analyse your rooms and figure out how to make them look wonderful using mainly items you already own, this is the book for you.

But, since I'm not ready to go out and buy new things, I'm doomed to living with what I have for the time being.

The other day however, I was in the bookstore and picked up Ms. Ward's book. I just loved it!! I went home and set myself to work on my apartment, correcting her ten common decorating mistakes and changing my home. The principles she uses are straightforward and easy to understand, as well as being a quick and easy read, and although at first I missed having those beautiful glossy color photos, I soon realized that the lack thereof helped me to concentrate on dealing with the things I had, not dreaming of new things that I could buy (but never would).

I changed the whole look of my apartment in one evening, and I didnt have to buy anything. Although I still hate some of my furniture, it made my whole apartment look better and feel so much more comfortable.

This is the best interior decorating book I have ever read. It doesn't show pretty pictures, leaving you to wonder how you can possible recreate the spectacular rooms in your own home; it truly imparts KNOWLEDGE. After reading this book I felt that I had learned something, not just been saturated with images. Most decorating books make you want to go out and buy more stuff. Not this one. It makes you look around your house with a new set of eyes.
While most of the book is about furniture arrangement, there is also information on lighting, colors, walls, window treatments, etc. The author does not promote any particular style, and the examples she use range from shabby chic to suburban-traditional.
After reading this book, I re-arranged my furniture, moved the art on my walls, and reframed some photographs, and my house looks 100% better.

Instead what we get are 10 basic design guidelines. And I do mean basic. I honestly have to wonder about all of these people who have fireplaces and don't use them as the focal point of the room. While it seems like what she says is just common sense, I suppose there is some good in having it written down. It just seems like it isn't really enough information to fill an entire book and then charge $16 for it.

I didn't find the lack of color as annoying as some other reviewers but that's because Ward's design consists primarily of physical arrangement; the use of color wouldn't have helped make things much clearer but definitely would have added to the cost of the book. Towards the end of the book she gives some lip service to the use of color and in that part of the book color photographs would have been useful.

It is also somewhat surprising that a book published in 1998 (my edition was published in October 1999) doesn't have a single URL to any of the sources she provides at the end of the book.

It is a great book for basic design principals. It helped me right away to set up seating arrangements, balance the objects in a room, hang pictures at a uniform height, and generally "declutter" the house somewhat. I didn't feel like I had to go out and buy something new. I simply used what we had already. Sometimes when you read decorating books, you are assailed with all kinds of projects that the normal, average person could not possibly complete. For example, finding 10 yards of inexpensive mint, quality upholstry fabric (in the right color) at a clearance or yard sale; finding the right kind of used sofa that would just look great in your home; and, finally, sewing a slipcover for it with said fabric without a pattern! Who has time time or skills for this? Some may, but I don't. That is why I love this book -- it uses what you have, with very few exceptions. There are many practical tips for streamlining and fostering a "clean" feeling in the house, such as using only white paper towels and other paper goods; and, keeping collections together and not all over the place. Emphasis is placed on overall look of the room, flow of traffic, and setting up seating so that it can be used effectively by people.

However, I would agree with one of the previous reviewers. If you have a lot of stuff, well...the book doesn't give you very many options. In addition, if you have "problem" areas, like too many windows and not enough wall space, or oddly shaped rooms (not just sqare or rectangle), or one room that is too large, or a lot of open space, etc., the book does not address those issues specifically. The book is heavily focused on the front room/seating areas/family room areas of the house. There is very little about bedrooms or other types of rooms, like offices, etc.

The author is somewhat dogmatic about what she sees as "bad design" (empasis mine). For example, she doesn't like doilies, refrigerator magnets, or hanging pictures on walls that are less than 18" across. Sorry, if you have kids, you have those magnets!! And, well...my mom expects me to display her handmade doilies!

And, yet...I keep going back to it again and again for the basic, simple principles that are helping me to refine our home decor. Did I mention that I could probably use an interior decorator? Ok, so with that said, maybe this author could come up with a supplemental "problem room" book, or one that addresses some of the issues outlined above.

I recommend this book to all who are challenged like myself!

How useful is this book? After reading her advice on bathrooms and spending less $50 on new acccessories our guest bath was transformed dramatically for the better. If you want advice on how to decorate from scratch there are many books better than this one. But if you want a practical guide to get the most out of what you already have then you will definitely want to try this book out.

Her examples mostly show rooms that are done in styles that I don't like at all and that don't look anything like mine, but that doesn't matter. The principles were still well illustrated and easy to apply.

I disagree with her on some points, just because my taste is different from hers, but it was easy to ignore her on those things or translate it to what I do like.

I would say if you already know a lot about interior decorating, this is probably not the book for you, unless you want something that deals with making the place feel comfortable, flow and balance, not styles (some of the authors clients apparently had used interior decoraters and were still not happy with how their rooms felt, the traffic flow, etc).

"Use What You Have Decorating" is different.

This book shows you the 10 most common mistakes in decorating, and how to fix them. These include: lack of focal point, furniture placement that inhibit conversations, too much art or knick-knacks, uneven sight lines (roller coster effect), poor lighting. Detailed explanations include before and after pictures, floor layouts, as well as a list of what pieces were removed or added (usually very little).

This is not a style book, nor does it pretend to be. The black and white photography portrays average and down to earth homes, decorated in a variety of styles, mostly traditional (and yes, boring), but they still work, and that's why I like the book. Read this book to determine the best layout for your room, but look elsewhere for eye candy.

I recommend this book, if not for styling, but for the information it gives. A good starting point in decorating your home.

I have a few quibbles: why does Ward assume that only men are interested in good hi-fi equipment while women would be happy with anything that doesn't interfere with their decorating scheme?? I beg to differ... Her style is generally rather "feminine" - she'll encourage you to use lots of pillows and throws - which isn't for everyone.

The only major gap in this book is how to use colour to improve the look of your space. She's of the "white and/or beige is best for all rooms" school. Boring, boring, boring. Myself, I'm fixing to paint my dining room red.

I have re-arranged my living room a couple of times, reduced the clutter and hung my pictures at better heights.

A friend borrowed it and fixed her (very small) living room. It had been cramped and uncomfortable, now it's very nice. Her daughter used it when re-vamping her room (now lime green and black - she's a teenager) It looks great.

I finally got it back (I'm a little possesive about it) and then it was borrowed again. I've heard nothing but good things about the help it provides in basic room arrangement.

I agree that if you want colour and Home Beautiful then this is not the book for you. It doesn't pretend to be.

It took me an evening to sit down and look at the pictures and read what they did in each room to make the difference. Then it took me another evening to look at my living room and begin to make changes. And wow! Did I see a difference with just a little bit of moving furniture, moving things out of the room and rehanging my pictures.

It was simple to do and it with the book explaining how and why to set up a room, hang pictures, make an impact and more.

Well worth the money if you don't have the money for a decorator but want some easy to impliment advice.

Enjoy.

This book transcends that problem by giving easy-to-follow advice about furniture placement. It's kind of like secular Feng Shui. The focus is on making a home that is comfortable,functions well, and looks balanced. Ward sums it all up in a list of principles that can be applied to ANY home, on any budget, all in a very short time frame. The before and after photos are very helpful, even in black and white. Ward is also a great teacher. She seems to really want her readers to start developing their own sense of proportion and flow. She doesn't just tell you what's wrong with each room, she adds clues to the 'before' photos to help you really examine the room and notice the crucial features that are throwing things off balance.

Aside from the general principles, she does include a few notions that might irk some readers (no art in the bedroom, place the pillows on your couch with the points up). But these are few and easy to ignore, and readers shouldn't let it detract from the main thrust of the book.

I checked this book out of the library, along with lots of the oversized, glossy, single-name decorator books, but I can tell even now that this is the only one I'm going to want to buy it eventually.

Some readers might find the fact that most of the photographs in this book are in black-and-white to be a drawback. This was my first impression, and what kept me from taking a good look at this book for a while. My attention was drawn to books full of gorgeous color photographs. But I believe now that the lack of color in the photographs is a plus. It prevents the reader from making snap judgments about each room ("I don't like red") and makes him/her focus on what the author intends us to - the balance of the furniture and objects. My advice is to look past this book's plain jane format and learn what it has to teach us.

Her style is a little bland and minimalist - I have a strong Victorian love of objects. I found the black and white pictures preferable to color - color pictures would have distracted from the point - the arrangement of objects and furniture in the room. For purposes of demonstration - I am GLAD she didn't address window treatments or wall treatments. That would be like a before and after of a dieter - the "before" picture - no makeup, hair a mess, etc. - the "after" - true, skinnier, but the makeup and hair made all the difference.

Her examples of existing one function rooms (living room, bedroom) were a bit limiting. I currently have a "great room" which is den, kitchen, dining, etc. She mentioned that in the text, but no case study with pictures before and after.

I'm stuggling to assimilate her concepts of finding the focus in a room, making conversation areas, and working with traffic flow in a multi function great room. I'll get there. But, all that said - I am so glad I bought this book, and I can see it has already made me a bit more observant re: picture and art placement, etc.

I'd strongly recommend this book.

We recently moved into a new home and I have immediately begun to put what I have learned into practice. For the first time, I can actually see a beautiful room coming together and hope to be able to decorate the entire house soon using the design elements I learned in this book. Decorating should be much quicker, easier and satisfying now that I understand the simple secrets I've learned from this book.