Mary Gilliatt's Short Cuts to Great Decorating

I WAS JUST GOING TO LIST THIS BOOK I opened the book up and exclaimed outloud!!! It has the most unique ideas I have ever seen. There is no way I am letting go of this prize! It seems to have the most unique ideas for little corners, small spaces and easy unusual touches I can do without using a hammer! The ideas are pretty, easy and functional!!

I haven't gotten past the midway point in this book, that's how rich and useful the first half is. When it comes to decor books, I tend to look at all the pictures first, then backtrack to read ... That approach works well with this book too and I suggest you try it too. Boy, the photo captions reveal MUCH more than meets the eye! Bigtime!!! What I saw the first go-round was tons of exquisite color photos of living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, entryways, the works... On the second go-round, the rooms' beauty secrets were revealed in the tell-all photo captions. Great no-pretense book that will captivate some readers. The rooms are lovely and splendid yet down to Earth. Minor note: It's written in British English ...British slang has been absent so far (thank heavens) ... It was probably edited out (double thank heavens) ... The cover image is blah but the rest of the book is dynamite.

The subtitle tells the secret. Simple Solutions To Classic Problems. 160 pages of super information, useful ideas and common sense instruction. Unlike so many how to books, this one shows all size rooms and a vast variety of problems. Having lived in large homes and now a bungalow which is small I loved the ideas that were of a Zen mode. Space savers, Architectural interest, Storage solutions, Light transformers, Flawed flooring, Wall wizardry, Fabric coverups, Furniture disgises, Kitchen make-overs, Bathroom cosmetics, Instant Cheer are some of the chapters. There are ideas for rooms that men would love, women would love, couples would love. Her slipcover section is nice and I am so in love with the sheer drapes on page 98. And I am such a fan of slip covers as a means to both having fresh looking furniture, but also because it is a way to have a new look with the seasons. In spring and summer we now have light coloured slip covers and come fall and winter when we are indoors more and need a sense of warmth we use plaids and darker colour fabrics. And I am actually using her ideas be it making doorways either less cluttered or curving. And it is true that a can of paint can make any room look better.