Happy Starts at Home

by Rebecca West

Want a house that really works for you? A space that supports your social, financial, and love life? A place that helps you get--and stay--healthy? A home that makes you smile?Your house isn't a showpiece meant to impress other it's supposed to be your home--a place that serves and supports you. In Happy Starts at Home, design psychology coach and interior designer Rebecca West shows you how to use your home as a tool to meet your goals and live a happier life.  This book will help Put an end to the cycle of buying "stuff" to redo your house without having meaning behind it. Discover what is holding you back in your home and take action to make needed changes. It's time to love your home and use it as a launchpad for your best life!

Genres: Nonfiction, Design, Interior Design, Self Help

212 pages, Paperback

Published January 29, 2016

About the author

Rebecca West spent her early years moving from one home to another following her dad's career in the Army. Along the way she learned how to set up a home quickly and efficiently. In 1995 she made one last move and found her "forever home" in Seattle, Washington, falling completely in love with the evergreen trees, gray waters, and stunning mountains.

After getting a bachelors degree in both Geology and in Community and Environmental Planning at the University of Washington, she spent a period in the Peace Corps, spent several fabulous years teaching ballroom dance, and finally, after a divorce and having to turn "our home" into "her home," launched her interior design company in 2007 to help others move on in life without moving out. She doesn't care if her clients ever buy a new sofa, she just cares that their home is working for them.

Reviews

[Veronika]

Наче поспілкувалася з мудрою бабусею, якої у мене нема. Або із доброю подругою з горою досвіду за плечима. Або ж із толковим психологом. Однозначно буду повертатися до книги, таке це натхнення і затишок. Мотивація до дій — перепльовує усю мотиваційну літературу, що я читала))) Жоден «викинь мотлох із життя» не працював так, як почистила мою шафу (і свідомість) ця книга. Захоплююсь.

[Lily]

Книжка з красивими картинками

Купувала її ще взимку, коли хотілося візуального натхнення до весняного перезавантаження квартири

Що ж ховається під обкладинкою?

~справді гарні фото інтер'єрів

~інформація, яку ви точно знаєте, якщо це не перша ваша книга про дім або ж ви просто довго займаєтеся облаштуванням простору

•про те, що безлад в домі - це стрес, який у фоновому режимі "підвантажує" нашу оперативку і провокує погані звички

•про речі й прилади, які мусять працювати, а не захаращувати оселю - і фішку з хованням на півроку в коробки цих речей, тест на потрібність

•про те, що під кожне заняття має бути облаштований свій простір - творчість це, релакс після роботи чи сама робота. і що дім є відображенням вас, а не стерильним місцем

Марі Кондо про очищення простору і підлаштування його під себе написала так, що тепер важко її не повторювати

~ще тут є історії клієнтів авторки - як вони міняли свій дім. я таке не люблю, бо для мене це "пусті калорії" в книгах, зазвичай нічого не беру з них

~а також багаааато "домашньої" психотерапії, зокрема вправи і тести на визначення проблемних сторін у стосунках з оселею

таке я теж не люблю, бо сама розумію, де фейлю - досвід самокопання не проп'єш 😁 і загалом в ній не бракує речей очевидних, "американських" - в стилі фільму "Секрет", іф ю ноу вот ай мін

~ще книжка дуже "будинкоорієнтована" - чимало порад стосуються перестановок, зміни призначення кімнат, в квартирі часто нереальних

Це не книга про дизайн, якщо відкинути красиві фото. Таки більше про щастя і психологію. Проте, на цю тему хочеться читати все ж щось глибше, до речей на поверхні я вже давно дісталася.

[Em]

This is refreshingly different to most interior design books I have read. Instead of things like "don't put all your furniture up against the walls", "ensure the rug is X% bigger than the table", "here's how a colour wheel works", etc., it asks "what makes you feel uncomfortable in that room?", "what do you use that space for?", "how do you want to feel when you enter your home?", and so on. It's full of exercises and journalling. I didn't do any journalling, but I did the thinking and questioning.

The author said that people can spend $$$ redoing a room only to find themselves still dissatisfied because it doesn't fulfil what they need. This is about identifying your home's current issues and what you want from it, so that you can then get what you want using the services of a designer or suggestions from another book.

[Galyna Kozynets]

«Речі у вашому домі є не тільки наслідком того, хто ви є: вони також впливають на те, ким ви станете»

Дуже скептично ставлюсь до такого роду літератури. Просто мені здається, що вони геть не пристосовані до наших реалій, а написані для ринку США, де є два входи в будинок і окрема кімната для прання.
Але ця книга мені сподобалась. Тут не про механіку розстановки речей і зон. Тот трохи глибше - про саму суть відчуття дому. Абстрагуючись від того, що ми переважно всі живемо в середньостатистичних квартирах, ці поради можна застосувати і нам.

Сподобались вправи (всього в книзі 30 вправ) на дослідження помешкання. Деякі зробила. Особливо прикольно було писати любовного листа квартирі (маю погану звичку постійно казати, що все не так дома).
Зрештою, стосунки з домом - це робота. На яку ця книга надихає на 100%.

[Maria-Anna]

This book turned out to be something very different from what I've expected. There are almost no practical recommendations of what you can do to change your home interior, it mostly gives some general information with some examples of the author's clients which sometimes seem a little bit too positive (sorry, I'm a skeptic. I don't believe that changing a color of the wall can change your life but your reactions, intentions, and interpretations can).
But unexpectedly, it provides really a lot of practical tasks to do in a psychotherapy/coaching style. So instead of getting advice from someone, you try to figure out yourself what you really need to change in your home using given questions. And those questions are not aimed at just the convenience and aesthetics of your home but mostly at the way how it makes you feel, how it inspires you or supports your life goals and dreams which is an unusual approach, in my opinion.

[Ivy Digest]

I've reread this book many times and each chapter is inspiring and eye-opening for all ages.

This isn't just an interior decor idea book. It digs out your values and how you want your home to serve your goals. It's a fresh approach to viewing your home as more than just an abode for protection but as a nurturer of your needs. Treat it like a workbook that asks you to delve deep into your desires for yourself. What is it you want in life that you want to change your space?

It tackles self-esteem, money, friends, love, play, work, spirituality, and how our clutter and what we see in our homes affect our daily lives. It will help you focus on what you want to work on in your life and how you can visualize a space that helps create it into reality. May you start a happier chapter in your lives!

@IvyDigest for more nonfiction book reviews

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[Robin]

I did some of this author's exercises about the intersections of home and life in a magazine, and looking through this book was fun. The pictures and layout are lovely, and there are 31 activities to get you thinking about what you want from life and how your home can support that. And this is the first design book I have seen that has a chapter on "Spirituality: Care for Your Soul Connection" with ideas on how your home can be a blessing and support your values; I have seen one other book with home sanctuary spaces but that was not what interests me. I am pretty happy with my home and how it works for me and can say that during stay-at-home I have not been annoyed or frustrated at all about where and how I live, but ideas for the future are always good.

[Eileen]

Expect to find a bunch of really ignorant, blatantly fatphobic, and factually incorrect statements about dieting scattered throughout this book that has nothing to do with dieting. Knocked a star off for that alone. Otherwise, it's a bunch of fluffy little chapters on different, but related topics relating to remaking your home. It presumes a female readership, which is almost certainly accurate, but the book does make gestures at an inclusive readership while apparently mainly being aimed at divorced or remarried middle aged (heterosexual, probably white) women. The exercises throughout the book vary in usefulness, but I found completing those in the first chapter a particularly insightful activity. Good concept, middling-to-poor execution.

[Eileen]

This book was a very pleasant surprise! I picked this up a couple of years ago because I used this company to help design my house remodel. Just read it now and it was so helpful and inspirational! I don't know exactly what I thought it would be, maybe how to decorate your fireplace mantel or select colors, but it's not this at all. Instead, it's a way to help you think about what you want and need from your home from specific rooms to an overall vibe. This helps set goals so you can make small and big changes toward those goals. I loved this and could definitely see this being useful over and over.

[Abby Jones]

Moving past her relatively pagan views of the universe, this is a dig deep, full of wisdom and advice on how to decorate a home and why. She has lots of questions for you, and the whole family, to ponder and answer that really help you figure out what your home needs. She helps guide your psychological understanding so you can tackle some uncomfortable places or places that are holding you back.

I highly recommend this book if you feel stagnant, want a challenge, or have had a major life upheaval.

[IE]

Enjoyed learning about design psychology - this is not an interior design book that you have experienced before (like the books with pretty pictures and accompanying text), it’s more about the “WHY” behind the decisions we make about our homes. To make the most of this book you would need around a month or longer, and ideally a dedicated journal for reflection and for completing the numerous exercises within. A book I would re-read again in the future.

[Donna]

I really liked the author’s compassionate and nonjudgmental approach to creating a home you love and feel comfortable in. I have read a lot of books on this topic and thought this was one of my favourites. I still gleaned some new and inspiring ideas and felt it has encouraged me to reflect on how I want our home to feel.

[Bree]

Notes:
Nice pictures but none to go with the topic being presented. Instead the author spends paragraphs describing the rooms or techniques I actually wanted to see in a picture. Not a decorating book, rather a sort of self help journal workbook.

[Relyn]

I really do love shelter books.

[Mary]

Lots of questions to ask yourself about what you want from your home and where it is (or is not) meeting those needs.

[Sharon Robertson]

Well presented easy to read inspiring book

[Gwen]

Quick read with mostly a motivational and encouraging vibe vs practical tips or suggestions. Great if you need a quick pep talk.

[Debra Hofland]

Not your typical home design book. Rather the author asks you to stop & think about the people living here, their interests and needs. Also pretty pictures.

[Alison]

Some helpful tips

[Bobbiann Markle]

I found this book very self-help-ish, like it was written by a psychologist. It is about changing your house to help solve problems in your life, and I had been expecting a decorating book.