Book Review: At Home with Laurie Ann: A Decorator's Guide

Teaser Tuesdays, hosted by MizB, asks you to choose two sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.

"Whether you seek an all-out overhaul or a visual shake-up of your home, you'll begin the same place - with your taste, your needs and your dreams.

Spot your style" (p. 15)

At Home with Laurie Ann,  A Decorator's Guide: Turn the Place You Live into a Home you Love by Laurie Ann McMillin Ray, an interior designer from Southern California who shares her knowledge and experience in this how-to book.

I like her emphasis on developing your own style. The author describes basic decorating styles as "Formal", "Romantic," "Tranquil," "Contemporary," and "Eclectic" and tells the reader to "Try different combinations until you get it right." The 224-page book is very rich visually, with many full-page color photographs of the decorated rooms.

 I like her tips for the Guest Room: " Add a vase of your visitor's favorite flowers, preferred magazines, a framed photo of someone they love and a luxurious terry cloth robe hung on a decorative hook - your houseguest will be at home."

The photographs were eye-catching but I would probably choose only one item or piece furniture from each of the pages. I don't think Laurie Ann meant the rooms to be as they appear - they are too richly decorated. I would have preferred seeing simpler rooms in the five styles instead of overly decorated rooms that became a blur of color and pattern. The book has some good tips on how to approach decorating, though. I especially  liked the advice for a quick home make-over: "For an eternally fresh look, rearrange the furniture several times a year."

Publication date: February 2010
Publisher: Laurie Ann Publishing, Inc.
A copy of this book was provided for my objective review.