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The Apartment Book: Smart Decorating for Spaces Large and Small
With a little imagination, creativity, and help from House Beautiful , anyone can turn an apartment—whether dorm room or duplex—into a lovely home that’s brimming with personality. Featuring almost 300 photos, a dozen floor plans, countless tips, and numerous sidebars, this chunky and spiffily designed handbook covers a wide variety of a charming studio, a one-bedroom filled with mid-century modern furniture, a small apartment that doubles as a workspace, an all-white pied à terre, and a spacious flat that resembles a grand manor. There are easy-to-implement designs for every room, suggestions for accentuating the positive (moldings) while downplaying the negative (exposed pipes), and expert advice on dealing with a tiny kitchen, decorating high-style at low-cost, displaying collections, storage, and entertaining.
272 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 2, 2011
I feel like I've seen some of these pictures before, like they're being recycled from book to book, and website to website. As another reviewer noted, this is not decorating on the cheap. There are lots of built-ins, and most of the apartments featured have very good bones, which makes designing and furnishing much easier and atones, to a degree, for poor taste.
January 10, 2012
I honestly didn't like 60%of decors, but it had few tips that I really, really liked.
October 17, 2017
Things I Learned: I'm afraid none of it really took.
Comments: I'm really perplexed by this book's representation of interior decorating styles. The places didn't look like real apartments, where actual people lived. Also, the design styles, even though they varied from vintage and antique to mid-century modern and beyond, looked remarkably similar, as if they'd all been designed by the same person or team. A lot of the styles represented seemed to echo an 80's sensibility - there were vivid Memphis-style mixes of color and pattern, Mario Buatta touches of majolica and chintz, collections of blue and white ware, and lean contemporary furnishings. So it seemed to me to be a little stuck in the past. That said, however, there were some really wonderful and creative solutions to problems represented in some of the apartments. There was a very cute (as in old and cozy-tiny) Parisian apartment that featured ingenious solutions to the small space challenge. There was a loft apartment with brick walls with solutions that either softened the roughness of the brick look or exploited it. There was another loft that had a brick floor, with furnishings and decor that made the ambiance of the apartment less forbidding (still, I wouldn't want to fall in such a place!).
The author showed how light was let into dark and cramped spaces. She also gives a list of questions in the introduction to help the reader decide important issues before beginning a potentially expensive and time-consuming change to their dwelling.
The book also features helpful tips about color, storage solutions, textiles and white-on-white decorating schemes. Overall, I found it informative and will probably use it as a resource.
Comments: I'm really perplexed by this book's representation of interior decorating styles. The places didn't look like real apartments, where actual people lived. Also, the design styles, even though they varied from vintage and antique to mid-century modern and beyond, looked remarkably similar, as if they'd all been designed by the same person or team. A lot of the styles represented seemed to echo an 80's sensibility - there were vivid Memphis-style mixes of color and pattern, Mario Buatta touches of majolica and chintz, collections of blue and white ware, and lean contemporary furnishings. So it seemed to me to be a little stuck in the past. That said, however, there were some really wonderful and creative solutions to problems represented in some of the apartments. There was a very cute (as in old and cozy-tiny) Parisian apartment that featured ingenious solutions to the small space challenge. There was a loft apartment with brick walls with solutions that either softened the roughness of the brick look or exploited it. There was another loft that had a brick floor, with furnishings and decor that made the ambiance of the apartment less forbidding (still, I wouldn't want to fall in such a place!).
The author showed how light was let into dark and cramped spaces. She also gives a list of questions in the introduction to help the reader decide important issues before beginning a potentially expensive and time-consuming change to their dwelling.
The book also features helpful tips about color, storage solutions, textiles and white-on-white decorating schemes. Overall, I found it informative and will probably use it as a resource.
July 15, 2024
I’m looking for ideas to redecorate my apartment and this book was a good start. It’s a very easy read. I got some ideas of how to lay out a space and how to add my own style to my apartment. The book is divided by types of spaces so I can jump around in the book, depending on my interest. I enjoyed the book!
July 26, 2025
i keep turning the pages. it was made in 2007, it might as well be done in 1957. it is dated. and as i turn the pages, maybe there are too many pictures. yea, there are too many pictures because there is too little information.
September 14, 2012
Perhaps I am reading the wrong apartment books. So many design books for small spaces assume you own them- and therefore have license to install Moroccan tiles on your sink's backsplash, stain the wooden beams in your ceiling, or even paint. Well, I don't own, so none of these design tips for "apartment living" apply to me, or anyone else that I know.
Beyond this fact, the other issue I have with these kinds of books is that yeah, we all love Bertoia chairs and Herman Miller enamel seating. Maybe I could afford one of those chairs, but not half a dozen. I really hope someone comes out with a smart, thrifty version of all these design books someday, because I think 99% of people with this kind of budget could produce equally lively interiors without the fuss of making a book about it.
Beyond this fact, the other issue I have with these kinds of books is that yeah, we all love Bertoia chairs and Herman Miller enamel seating. Maybe I could afford one of those chairs, but not half a dozen. I really hope someone comes out with a smart, thrifty version of all these design books someday, because I think 99% of people with this kind of budget could produce equally lively interiors without the fuss of making a book about it.
November 7, 2010
A book of good photography that gave me a couple of ideas. I liked a lot of the built-ins, but they were not realistic for those of us on a budget.
It did feature a lot of different styles which was probably good for me because I tend to only look at a few styles normally.
The obsession with mirrors was evident and the captions and tips weren't that great. I think my favorite tip was on page 181 where they have a satin-covered armchair flanked between tub and pedestal sink that is "plenty cozy and doubles as a good interim spot for towels, clothing, etc." That one had me laughing out loud at the impracticality of design sometimes.
It did feature a lot of different styles which was probably good for me because I tend to only look at a few styles normally.
The obsession with mirrors was evident and the captions and tips weren't that great. I think my favorite tip was on page 181 where they have a satin-covered armchair flanked between tub and pedestal sink that is "plenty cozy and doubles as a good interim spot for towels, clothing, etc." That one had me laughing out loud at the impracticality of design sometimes.
February 11, 2010
It has given me so many ideas and easy tips to redecorate my apartment. It has tons of pictures and fun demonstrations of how renovations worked out. It will take you 30 minutes to peruse through if you are interested yet gives hours of material to draw from if you want to study it.
December 31, 2014
The first decorating book I've seen which shows solutions for those of us afflicted by mandatory beige (walls and carpet)
June 15, 2012
This book is nearly 100% apartment decorating for richies, but I still enjoyed looking at the ideas.
April 17, 2014
There are no average apartments in this book!
May 24, 2016
Great book if a bit dated. Hoping for an update. Contemporary and classic designs featured. Very cozy small spaces. Specially liked the before and after pages.
December 2, 2016
Great ideas for small spaces
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews