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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
This was good for lots of photos of that "effortless expensive California casual" style, but I didn't find the text all that helpful because it seemed to just keep referencing design choices made intuitively, through playing with lots of options from an extensive vintage collection, or doing custom work with expensive materials. A little too aspirational-looking still, without the energy I'd associate with "normal" people really living and using a space (many of these projects seemed to be houses in the vicinity of 5000sqft).
This interior design book is such a mixed bag. It’s filled with gorgeous photos of gorgeous rooms. Amber Lewis obviously has talent. But I got a little bored of just seeing neutral room from a gigantic house after neutral room in a gigantic house. Admittedly the rooms and photos were more more interesting towards the ending but I almost didn’t pick it back up to read that ending.
The advice in the book is also a mix. Lewis admits that she is an interior design school dropout and it shows- no, not her designs which I already said were gorgeous, but in her lack of ability to teach design principles. There were some good sections such as how to choose white paint, styling shelves, going shopping for vintage and working with rugs. But all of the following was in the book too: dig through a million kinds of tile until you find what works; drown yourself in mood boards then ask yourself if it all vibes; furniture placement is like a giant Tetris game with trial and error until you get there and you’ll just know it; lay the fabrics on top of each other and see if they clash.
Duh.
While I’m guessing that the author’s flippant and overly dramatic voice in the book resonates with her Instagram followers (which does include me but I only started following a couple of weeks ago when I saw someone else recommend this book and I feel like I haven’t seen/interacted with her account much), it didn’t “vibe” for me, to use the author’s words.
So if you are just looking for some inspiration and some pretty photos to drool over then this is the book for you and I heartily recommend it for that. But if you are looking for some serious learning for your own DIY project, look somewhere else.
I will admit that I was thoroughly interested in the section on incorporating vintage items and do feel inspired to make that the next thing I add into my own home. Especially since one of the rooms featured the exact wicker chest that my parents owned while I was growing up that I now wish I had and OH MY GOSH what if it is actually the same exact one? Ha!
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
informative
Nothing like reading interior design books when you don't have a house, or even an apartment, to decorate / paint / style, right? But even so, I've read quite a few this year, and this one stands out. It's full of super practical, approachable advice for how to style rooms (from the paint color -- yes, there's a whole chapter just on whites -- to the pillows). The photos of the homes that she has styled are gorgeous and even with so many white-walled rooms, they all seem to have their own unique feel, a sort of warmth to them that's unique to each house. It's all that unattainable, too-rich-for-me style that is found in basically all of these books, but I suppose that's part of the fun of flipping through them, right? Still, there are tips and tricks in this that can be applied to any space: buy vintage, add pillows, update the hardware, put in an area rug! Along with Amber's super-relatable writing style, this book is worth more than just a quick flip through.