How to Decorate: The Best of Martha Stewart Living

In this collection of ideas from Martha's "Living" magazine, nature and serenity is the order of the day. Her colors choices are serene and are plucked right out of nature...with soothing blues, brilliant greens and soft, sandy tones that contrast with earthy browns..her monochomatic color schemes are a welcome rest for the eye. Her articles on color are well written and the photographs are absolutely beautiful. You achieve a restful home with contrast that pops and sparks not only your interest, but that of the guests who enter your home. Her tips have proved invaluable over time. This informative and fun book walks you through the art of texture, contrast, accessory and furniture placement as well as lighting. It is a recipe for designing a soothing home that lifts your spirits while remaining practical. Martha is often accused of being impractical, but as any true Martha fan knows, those impracticalities rarely extend over from her entertainment suggestions into her home design. This book never looses site of the importance of a home being a haven. If primary colors and mish-mashed furniture placement with harsh lighting is your game...pass on this book. If you love a New England, traditional, modern or country flair then this book should be a welcome addition to your decorating collection. Unlike some decorating books, this is a great READ as well as a feast for the eyes.

This is a wonderful book. It is very "Martha", in a nut shell and gives a good overview on how to design all sorts of living spaces. This should be in all book collections as a basic home design resource.

This was Martha's first work, and explores places and settings. The rustic bench in the middle of the trees is a great idea, ditto the outside shower, but only if you live where there will be no peeping Toms. While you may not be able to duplicate her ideas exactly, these should give you inspiration to work with what you have at home, wherever that may be.

Austere, simple design combined with unique color treatments characterize this Martha product. Despite the incredibly elegant chandeliers, this book focuses on the use of many furniture and accessory times that could be acquired and used by non-Hamptonites, i.e., real people. For example,this book shows a highly industrial and modern kitchen with her Fire King dishes, an unexpected combination. Painted furniture, graphically framed photographs, battered painted bookcases, beautiful lamps, old wicker, simple molding framed mirrors, lovely dishes and window treatments all play together in a uniquely modern way. The book's strongest point is its colors, an unusual pallete used throughout the book. I'm not a purely bred fan of Martha's but she and her stylists are very affective in awakening one's decorating sensibilities and drawing one's eye to the less obvious, but beautiful possibilities. Glad I bought it.

I love this this book. Her ideas are easy to follow and wow..the most important thing, they look really.....really great. You gotta have it or you will be very sorry for yourself!!!