Book Smarts - Decorate: 1000 Professional Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home

Decorate:  1000 Professional Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home

by Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick

(via amazon.ca)

This book is AMAZING and FANTASTIC and (insert any other descriptive word here that means AWESOME.)  It is my new favourite design book by far.  It is broken down into four sections:

1- Space Matters:  This section outlines the importance of planning your space and taking the time to do so, creating floor plans, working with the architectural details, flooring, windows, and size of your space, how to increase space, and certain colour tricks.

(via Decorate from amazon.ca)

2- Setting Your Style:  This section outlines MANY different styles (8 in total) with example photos and how to achieve those looks.  It's great for helping to narrow down what you like (or don't like...I'm definitely not a bohemian or rustic-flea-market-find kind of person!) and classifying your "style."

Relaxed Luxury Style

(via Decorate from amazon.ca)

3- Room by Room:  Section three goes through every room in a home (including craft rooms, and offices designed for working at home) and gives tips on what makes a good layout and includes floor plan examples and hundreds of photos for inspiration.

Bedroom

(via Decorate from amazon.ca)

Bedroom with Floor Plan

(via Decorate from amazon.ca)

4- Attention to Detail:  Great advice on creating those finishing touches in a room, from mirrors, to lighting, pillows, flowers, and table settings.

Lighting

(via Decroate, on Google from Mint)

The very end of the book features a directory for finding products, but the very large majority were American or European companies that we don't have access to, so that was not quite as helpful.  It did list a bunch of decorating blogs you can find online though which I thought was neat!

This book is so much more than just looking at pretty pictures, you can actually READ it.  It gives helpful ideas and advice that any person could do, on any budget, for any room.  It shows elaborate homes, and compact homes, and homes in between.  The images used are all "liveable homes", not just staged rooms for a book (although I'm sure they are staged as well, they just don't seem like it!)  There is such a wide variety of ideas and rooms that there is definitely something for everyone within it.  I wish I owned this book rather than having just borrowed it from the library!