Beautiful Living: Elevate Every Room with Your Signature Style

by Valerie Darden

Bring high-end design into your living space without the high prices and hassle with this stunningly illustrated guide. With Beautiful Living, your dream home is right at your fingertips. Valerie Darden, owner of Brexton Cole Interiors, will elevate every room in your house. Draw inspiration from her signature modern-meets-traditional style to create the best version of your space. Alongside gorgeous photographs of Valerie’s own home and her client work and with diagrams and charts that make intimidating tasks more approachable, find Valerie’s best tips and tricks,   How to make smaller spaces appear larger How to understand the cost of renovations and where to splurge and save How to function in a multipurpose space Advice on wallpaper, paint, and countertop choices Guidance on selecting the correct rug size and curtain length How to hide kids’ toys in a stylish way Divided into eight sections that cover each space and room in your home, Beautiful Living will inspire you to transform your space into one that is warm, stylish, and reflective of your essence. Take the leap and create your Instagram-worthy dream home.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 29, 2024

Reviews

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group/Rock Point for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I wish I could have read this on my Kindle rather than my computer screen. Because it's a design book, it was hard to read in the Adoble format that NetGalley provided.

I adore home design and decorating books, especially those with large, lush photos that inspire and excite. This is one of those books. While much of the style is more modern than I like, it's tastefully done and still individualistic. It's not a generic modern, like so many current home decor books that are on the market. She also has examples of antiques mixed with modern for a comfortable yet elegant feel.

I love the author's pro tips that she inserts in each chapter.

Thankfully, this author uses color and even wallpaper.

This is a keeper, filled with great references. I love this book. This is by far one of the best design books I've read this year. This is the book I needed when I was starting in my 20s with my first apartment.

[MarryAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be really useful because it is organized in such a manner that the information is easy to understand and follow, but most importantly to remember.

I has many photos and diagrams that help you see what the author explains and I think that it can be used as a guidebook no matter the style you want in your own home, but the book seems to show more colorful and a bit more decorated rooms, which some people may find too crowded.

I think it's a great resource if you want to get your decorating skills to the next level and elevate the look of your house, but keep in mind that some ideas presented here may not fit all types of spaces and budgets.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-book copy in exchange for my honest opinion

[Edwina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it. It is full of great design advice that helps people understand the process of interior decorating. The photos of her decor are lovely. It is not another one of those basic white design books that are a dime a dozen. She also adds in diagrams that help readers learn how to set up rooms and what paint colors to use ect. It is worth a read. It also looks pretty sitting on my coffee table.

[JCS · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book full of ideas for creating a wonderful living space. The style guide and layout plans at the back are vey useful when planning your new design. I found the photos very inspiring, lots of attention to detail and very decadent. Thank you to Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Melissa Borsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the perfect room layouts to picking the best paint colors as well as the proper way to mix patterns, this book is full of information and resources along with beautiful photography. An excellent decorative coffee table book! I thank Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group/Rock Point for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Araya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arc Review:
Overall Rating: 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A good book that is full of ideas for creating a beautiful space in your home, with easy and organized information, great tips and tricks, this is a perfect style guide.

Thank you NetGalley

[Suzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure this is a lovely book but it did not display well on my phone so hard to read and view pictures. What i could see was such pretty rooms! Seems to be a ton of useful decorating tips.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful Living is a gorgeous style guide. Broken down by room, it details tips and tricks for making your home elegant and spacious.

[GONZA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some photos show really nice interiors, to my taste, others do not. Looming over all of them, though, is that feeling of terror vacui (they're too full, too colorful, too much everything) that makes me think that, if I had the money and the space, that's not how I'd fill it, but I'm not a decorator.

Alcune foto mostrano degli interni veramente belli, a gusto mio, altri no. Su tutti peró incombe quella sensazione di terror vacui (sono troppo pieni, troppo colorati, troppo tutto) che mi fa pensare che, se avessi i soldi e lo spazio, non sarebbe cosí che lo riempirei, ma io non faccio l'arredatore.


I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.