Elements of Style: Designing a Home & a Life

by Erin Gates

From the rising-star designer and author of the hit blog, Elements of Style, a full-color, fully illustrated book packed with honest advice, inspiration, ideas, and lessons learned about designing a home that reflects your personality and style.

Elements of Style is a uniquely personal and practical decorating guide that shows how designing a home can be an outlet of personal expression and an exercise in self-discovery. Drawing on her ten years of experience in the interior design industry, Erin combines honest design advice and gorgeous professional photographs and illustrations with personal essays about the lessons she has learned while designing her own home and her own life—the first being: none of our homes or lives is perfect. Like a funny best friend, she reveals the disasters she confronted in her own kitchen renovation, her struggles with anorexia, her epic fight with her husband over a Lucite table, and her secrets for starting a successful blog.

Organized by rooms in the house, Elements of Style invites readers into Erin’s own home as well as homes she has designed for clients. Fresh, modern, and colorful, it is brimming glamour and style as well as advice on practical matters from choosing kitchen counter materials to dressing a bed with pillows, picking a sofa, and decorating a nursery without cartoon characters. You’ll also find a charming foreword by Erin’s husband, Andrew, and an extensive Resource and Shopping Guide that provides an indispensable a roadmap for anyone embarking on their first serious home decorating adventure. With Erin’s help, you can finally make your house your home.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Self Help, Architecture, Creative

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2014

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im thinking of design my home more, a long time project. Because who has enough money to do everything you want i one go..? Anywho, I wanted some tips and ideas how to make the home more my thing but it's pretty much just one kind of style in this book and not many other options to look at. But I did learn a few bits in this but not as much as I wanted. Felt like I was mostly looking at the pictures, and I can do that on Pinterest. But I wanted to read a book to get more info and styling tips and I kinda got that. I just wanted more and variety of styles

[G R · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wrote a review of Erin Gates' "Element of Style" on Amazon and gave it a one star rating. Erin and her husband Andrew wrote snide and rude comments to my review. Then they started calling me names and bullying be on Amazon. It became so bad that Amazon had to delete the comments they were saying to me. Erin had done damage to her profession of interior design and her credibility as a writer. I can not believe that Simon & Schuster will tolerate bullying behavior from anyone including their authors.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The REAL title of this book should be "Elements of a Very Specific Kind of Style: Time and Money Consuming Ways to Design a Home and a Posh Life." I stopped reading after the part where the author is telling her husband, "those are OLD pillows, silly man (three months old, in fact) and these are our NEW fabulous pillows!" Um....what? That's not my life and ain't nobody got time for that.

[Derek Enlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I perhaps should have done more research on this book, but wanting to learn more about interior design, I found this book featured in a few lists and ordered a copy. Unfortunately, it failed to meet many of my expectations.

While I did learn some useful principles, I didn't learn as much as I was hoping. I don't think it would be an unfair estimation to say about half of the written content is personal stories, and as the author Erin Gates runs a blog and has a well-established readership, I can imagine others enjoy this type of content, but it is not what I was looking for.

This probably wasn't helped by the difficulty I had in relating to her feelings on matters in many instances—again, I imagine and am certain others will have a different experience. The author is also the sort of person which puts much value in staying on-trend, while I am not. Also, evidenced in lines throughout, I got the feeling that she was writing more with an intended audience of women—and a woman I am not.

I just wish to express that, while it is clear many enjoy this book, others maybe ought be warned. It would seem to me that the audience was assumed to hold certain feelings and conceptions, but as I did not hold these feelings, it alienated me. Not terribly so of course, but enough. Lots of nicely photographed spaces, however. Most weren't spaces I would wish to personally live in, but I did gain inspiration from many of them.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is pretty and has some great visual ideas, but is verbally weak and annoying...Oh! the STRESS of being a clever designer, how HYSTERICAL it makes a gal feel, etc. Could have done without the histrionics, because the designs are quite nice, not too high end, and the author has a very pleasing sense of color.

[Minette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally wanted this book only for its cute black and white striped book spine for the perfect addition to my living room book stack but it was also such a great design read, full of personal stories and great overall decorating advice. Really enjoyed it and thank you to my bestie Sarah for the perfect birthday gift 💝

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley on behalf of the publishers

a very nice book, just not quite my style.

[Sabah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The "author" is so privileged, self-indulged and out of touch with reality its obnoxious.

But hey, at least the book looks nice on a coffee table.

[Jelena Nemet · Rating 4 out of 5]

”It’s all about respecting how you live and not trying to create a space for some person who lives in a magazine.”

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be fair this book came out in 2014, and would have knocked my socks off! Four years later it stands the test of time, but you will have seen a lot of the concepts in various blogs, magazines and other media. Worth reading. Erin Gates is candid, funny and warm. She’s someone you would want to be friends with and have decorate your home, no matter how large or small.

[Neha Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

“While a home provides shelter and a place to gather, it is also the safe place where we can express our feelings and enjoy some of the most important and meaningful events in our lives.”

Like any aspiring writer, my head keeps juggling with more ideas than it can ever handle. This book came in my life around one such phase when I was deciding where to place the new table in my house and ended up reading a book on interior designing for that! I don’t understand just why people were able to come up with the term ‘writer’s block’ so promptly, yet nobody has come up with one for this other syndrome of ours. I think it should be called ‘writer’s mania’ – a condition of perpetual curiosity, usually seen in writers. Other suggestions are welcome in the comment section, though.

Coming back to the review. This book is just everything you need if you don’t know the first thing about interiors. The tone is casual and it almost feels like having a cup of coffee as your new ‘crazy friend Erin’ tells you about herself and her work. Time and again, you are going to come across comments like these, for example.

“My vision of the whole white picket fence with 2.5 kids and a station wagon was instead a town house in the city with 2.5 dogs and a parking spot.”

It is divided into various sections pertaining to different parts of a house with clearly laid-out ideas for those of us who picked this book just to decide where to place their tables ;)

Oh, and did I tell you it has a lot of pretty pictures? Well, it has a lot of pretty pictures that are occasionally bound to make you look around your house and curse. Don’t let that stop you from reading it though because it is honestly that fun a read. Plus there is a very strong possibility that you will finally place that table at your entryway with a mirror behind, a little tray for keys on the top and finally an X-bench for occasional seating. At least I did!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been thinking a lot about home design lately so when I saw this Erin Gates book, I thought it might be exactly what I was looking for. This is a really solid design book with a lot of personal anecdotes from the author and some very good tips and tricks!

The photography in the books is beautiful and looking at the variety of spaces that the author highlights was very inspiring for me! I loved how each section of a home was highlighted by its own section with really good tips and tricks (and photos). One of the things I was surprised by is how Gates included tips for renters which I think is a nice addition to the overall book since so many people are renting these days. I also loved the special features she included such as recipes in the kitchen section and some tips around blogging and starting a blog. I thought those were unexpected but really nice additions which added something special to the overall book.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in design or if you enjoy Erin Gate's blog. There is a lot of great information here!

NOTE: Review copy received from the publisher for an honest review.

[Tayler K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not familiar with the author's blog of the same name, but I imagine this book is just a long-form version. Chic design photos and the occasional adorable concept watercolor are interspersed with tales of the author's husband, dogs, Murphy's Law wedding day, and struggles with an eating disorder. I didn't read every word, but to me the highlight was the section from pages 289-292 about the unearthing of a huge metal box in the backyard of the house that used to belong to an embalmer (no bones found), followed immediately by her journey from an inpatient facility to a prestigious girls' boarding school. Now that sounds more like the novels I read than a house decorating book!

The styles here didn't really fit me though. A few of the sections have a Define Your Style section where different furniture and accessories are given as examples of the modern, eclectic, glamorous, tarditional, and new country styles. I often liked absolutely none of these options (I might be able to handle the traditional bedroom option, and that's really it.) Still fun to flip through though, and I did save a couple of the tips for later.

[Ada-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Erin's fearless candor while discussing very personal topics. I also liked her designer tips on small details that can get overlooked but make a big difference. I enjoyed seeing spaces that I hadn't seen before, but in an effort to fill the glossies, some of them felt kind of dated. Oh, and I love the pretty jacket cover!! I can't wait to find a good spot for it on my bookshelves. :)

[A. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh god, why did I buy this?
Because it has a pretty cover and looks nice.
At least it looks lovely as a decoration piece.
She talks a lot about herself but should be expected because she is a blogger, I just didn't know before I bought the book.. Shame on me.
The style is eh, in my opinion but I bet it's perfect for the average American.
It is funny and enjoyable though :)

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eye candy for the design-obsessed!

[Madi]

This book is fantastic!

[Madisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoyed this book! I love the author's honesty, style and wit. Great ideas!

[agirlnamedshasta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up while looking for organizational books in the non-fiction section of the library. I am a person who "judges a book by its cover" and this one grabbed my attention the second I saw the beautiful black and white stripped spine with gold accents! I think the moment I saw the book cover I wanted to know more about the person who's words were inside. The author does an amazing job with really being down to earth while also knowing her stuff. This is a wonderful book full of practical tips and wisdom on how to make each part of your home truly a reflection of you. Though there were plenty of mentions of "name brands" I never once felt she was pushing them into being an absolute must to be a person with a stylish home, but more that she was showing what could be done and then also telling you which pieces she got from a thrift store or garage sale. To me this and her personal life stories made this book a delight to read.

[Willow Rankin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Am not going to lie I skim read this book, it had some really useful ideas and I loved the photography used throughout (very Pintrest). However, my major gripe with this book was the lack of suggestions for multi-use or dual-use rooms.

Clearly this book is designed for people who live in very large suburban homes, based in America, and not so much for other types of homes.

Whilst there are references to people who rent, the vast majority of the styling tips are for large rooms, with lots of light.

I live in a small home in the UK, with several dual use rooms (for example since the advent of Covid I now have two office spaces, within other rooms). I cannot dedicate an entire room to an office, its just not practical.

This book is not really aimed for people like me and so therefore loses stars.

I could of definitely done with a chapter on smaller spaces and dual use.

[Rhonda Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book lived up to its’ title and taught me the boxes to check if I want to make my house look pretty on purpose. I have a good eye but if I hit the mark it’s by accident really. I loved her stories and laughed and cried. I really respect a person who publishes a childhood photo like that of themselves. No negative reviews allowed after that! Immunity! I thought the negative reviews on this book were weird actually. If I were looking for the Great American Novel I would look elsewhere obviously. I had just finished reading the Domino book so it was awesome to find it in one of the photos. I highly recommend Deborah Needleman.

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't believe in tons and tons (and tons) of pillows or candles as an essential part of any room, but the pictures in this book were seductive, and I definitely learned a few things about decor. For example, bathrooms should be awesome--you want a steam shower AND cowhide walls AND a skylight? Dude, go for it. Also, now I know that the rug in my living room is too small for the space, that the most important part of any kitchen is its layout (I mean, duh, but it's nice to hear that layout trumps fancy countertops), and that every home needs a functional entryway.

[Kalisha Grimsman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is charming and a bit of a character– she is a blogger and her entries read that way. I personally would have enjoyed more anecdotes that felt relevant to home life, some chapters seemed to hit on that better than others. Her style is a lot more loud and eclectic than mine, so it wasn't my favorite style-wise, but that's just a personal preference. I still got some good tips. A lot of her design work is for more urban-centered clients so it showed off many more small spaces than say, Joanna Gaines' work, so that was a nice variety.

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I picked this book up for its design element, I couldn't put it down because of the highly-engaging personal essays that began each chapter. It doesn't matter that Erin Gates' style doesn't quite match up with my own; I gleaned design wisdom from her, of course, but it was her writing that really touched my heart and left me feeling as if I had just had lunch with a close friend. I was not expecting this from a design book!

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit light on actual advice on how to "Design a Home", more a look inside the life of an interior designer. However, there _is_ some really interesting pieces of advice in this book. I counted at least 12 times where I left a note for myself to keep this in mind when building out my next home. The authors somewhat meandering writing style can be confused with charm, and I found it endearing when it wasn't interfering with the message of the book.

[Nolwenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found some ideas (can be counted on one hand) that I could use but otherwise, not my style and I am not interested in seeing the same furniture item from different angles and placed differently in the room. It all looks too stuffy and dark (not moody-nice dark, just drab) for my taste and I skipped most of the text because it just annoyed me. Maybe I would have liked the book better, had I read it right when it was published, but I doubt it. At least the spine is nice and I can recycle the cover for a junk journal :-)

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars; Design

I always love a book that gives me better clarity into the elements used to create a beautiful space. This book was full of good information with plenty of examples showing how those elements can look in real life. It’s well organized and explained things in a way that feels enjoyable to read. If you’re interested in learning about design, this book will get you off to a good start.

[Lauren Csaki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not familiar with her blog, so I was coming at the book as someone interested in design in general, and I didn’t find the book very helpful, unfortunately. A lot of the text is actually the author telling wild and crazy stories that are marginally or tangentially related to design. Maybe that’s a feature for some? But it wasn’t what I was expecting or looking for. There were some beautiful pictures to glean inspiration from.

[IE · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text in this book was so refreshingly different than other design books! I was not expecting it to be so funny and personal, I loved it. The interiors featured were not really my style but they were interesting to look at. I couldn't put the book down once I started reading, it's written not just about interiors, but also life as a 30-something.

[Kazue Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice designs. Houses in greater Boston area have space limitations. The author is based on Boston and she does a beautiful job working around the limitations! This book was also very fun to read. The author is very honest and shares a lot about her life. Really liked it! I would recommend this book especially for those living in cities.