Better Homes and Gardens: New Decorating Book

by Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and New Decorating Book

Genres: Nonfiction, Design, Interior Design, Reference

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1981

About the author

Better Homes and Gardens is the fourth best selling magazine in the United States. Better Homes and Gardens focuses on interests regarding homes, cooking, gardening, crafts, healthy living, decorating, and entertaining. The magazine is published 12 times per year by the Meredith Corporation. It was founded in 1922 by Edwin Meredith, who had previously been the United States Secretary of Agriculture under Woodrow Wilson.

Better Homes and Gardens is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.

Reviews

[Venkataraman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, another wonderful and systematic approach for decoration of the house. I just read "Martha stewart's Decorating Details" book and saw this book in library and was curious to read more on the decorating topics.
This books is a different game altogether, which makes a person who is novice in house decoration to an guy with basic approach for decoration of the house and appreciating the decoration in the places, he visits. The book is filled with lots of tips in the beginning section for every room of the house, which I find very useful.

Examples are given below:
Living Room : have a focal area(TV, Fireplace or a big art work) & direct the traffic towards the focal point
Dining Room: How the dining table has to be chosen based on the dining room (Square for Square room & Rectangular for Rectangular room ) & more tips

There are sections of different color palettes: Primary color(Red, Blue, Yellow), Secondary colors, Tertiary colors, Neutral colors. How they should be mixed for giving a wonderful look to the rooms decor.

I particularly enjoyed the sections about placing the furnitures in the different rooms. How they should be floating in the room, making way for traffic.

Overall, highly recommend this book to anybody, who is interested in keeping the home interior decorated. This book I recommend more than Martha's book, as it is very wide coverage of topics and also, nitty-gritty details.

[Shaema Samia Imam · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice colourful book. I had the 9th edition. There were not many human models in it but all the ones present were white! Some basic common sense home decorating principles, nothing particularly insightful. And all North American features, no pieces from non- European non-north American background, not even anything native/indigenous :-(.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another banger from BHG, this time from 1981. This book has: Design inspiration in a variety of styles and appropriateness to the modern day; tons of color photos; creative solutions for weird room issues; a strange lack of TVs?; practical info and how-tos; many unhinged DIYs (glue sandpaper sheets to the wall as an alternative wall treatment!). I love it.

[Alexandria Blaelock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not new, or on-trend anymore, but still a good resource for thinking about decorating your home (as opposed to one of its rooms). Lots of lovely colour photos for inspiration.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this from the library thinking it would have new ideas. No, and it is not my style at all. Most of the book is stuff you can get off the internet and not have to spend $25.00 to get.

[Lee Ann]

No ideas

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas for color combinations and some limited furniture arranging. Fun to look at and browse, but not super helpful.

[Kenzy Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book.. Love this indeed. 🤝

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not something I would sit & read much, but I did get the idea for our front room's built-in bookshelves & window seat while flipping through this book. So, the book was definitely useful for me, & (thanks mostly to my nice & handy in-laws)I love the way that turned out in our house.

[Kylene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this from the library to hopefully get some new ideas for our home. While the pictures are beautiful, it just isn't my style. I did get a few tips, but I'm sure there are better books out there for me.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book! I started off with an interest in interior design, without much knowledge of where to start or the basic rules and this book provides the base to build on and tips and tricks. Easy to read and lots of pictures for examples. Would definitely use it as a reference also. Loved it!

[Mary Bundy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once upon a time, I aspired to be an Interior Designer and even enrolled in an Arts College out of San Fransisco. I only included the books I did study over and over!

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent photos of what can be. You can use the examples as inspiration for your own decorating.

[Michael Heath-Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interestingly dated book on interior design in the early 1980s.

[Niki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad. I appreciated the different design tips and decorating hints, but I thought all the featured rooms were really ugly. Kind of ironic.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such pretty pictures and cool ideas; I might buy this one.

[Sheila Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved looking at the pictures trying to figure out what looked good in my home.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had some good practical tips (dimensions, how to buy furniture, window treatments, etc.), but the sample interior designs weren't my cup of tea. I'll take the info, and apply it my own way.

[Nolwenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas that I could use but I found that the decorating style didn’t age well. It looks like decoration from the 1980’s although the book is from 2011.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive, great photos. Very safe.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Definitely my style which I call vintage bohemian (should that be capitalized?).

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

From my days as an aspiring interior designer.

Note: used to own