Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure

Unlike a lot of other books about design and interior spaces, this one doesn't give you photos and examples of what you can do with the space... it really helps you evaluate what it is you feel/have with your living space and steps to take to make it into the space you feel better living in. It's as insightful into your self as it is where you live.

Its hard to find books that are accessible and inspire you to find your own aesthetic (rather than imitate the authors). In many ways this is a very gentle and non-judgemental book - its not flashy, hasn't got photos, but it gets the job done. My apartment is coming together beautifully. And the associated website www.apartmenttherapy.com is great - and provides ongoing inspiration and support as I find new ways to make my apartment into the home of my dreams. Thanks to Max, I entertain constantly now!

This won't be the only decorating book you ever need -- but it may be the decorating book you need after reading all the others. Conventional decorating books provide plenty of fantasy fodder. This book provides a concrete eight-week plan for turning a dissatisfying apartment into an inviting home. The emphasis is not on this year's styles in drapes, on rearranging the furniture with the sofa at an angle, on how to "style" a table vignette with clever flea market finds, or even on how some kicky mid-century modern accessories will punch up your home. Instead, it's primarily about analyzing how you live in your home and taking orderly steps to make it a more satisfying environment. The emphasis on apartments puts a focus on decluttering, as well as on breaking the pattern of "it's just a place to sleep and shower." If you've read every design psychology book on the library shelves, you won't be bowled over by extensive new material -- but you may be motivated to muck out the back bedroom because Maxwell makes it so simple and satisfying.

There are so many books to choose from when wanting to fix up your home. But this book really gets to the heart of what our spaces are all about - they're about us. I don't think there's much psycho-babble at all; I think this guy knows what he's talking about. It's clear, concise, funny at times, heart-warming. It has true stories of real people he's worked with and worksheets for the rest of us to fill out so we can benefit from his knowledge. I also found his website, apartmenttherapy.com, really helpful - it's a daily digest of ideas, news and forums about the home. I think I'll order a few copies as gifts for friends who are struggling with their homes, like I was.

I've been interested in decorating for a long time, but now find a new approach in several books by design psychologists. House Thinking by Gallagher and Some Place Like Home by Israel are examples of this. Apartment Therapy exhorts readers "to heal their apartment, heal themselves, in gentle prose and feng-shui-like exercises." The advice offered should work equally well for houses as for apartments. The book doesn't suggest expensive remodeling like some books do. It helps you work with what you have and make it fit your personality. There is emphasis on reducing clutter since apartment space is so precious. I'll be looking at my home with new eyes now.