One-Day Room Makeovers: How to Get the Designer Look for Less with Three Easy Steps

by Martin Amado

The Secrets to Styling the Home of Your Dreams Are As Easy As 1–2–3

One-Day Room Makeovers is the ultimate guide to creating a gorgeous home that reflects your best, most beautiful self. Design expert and “makeover maestro” Martin Amado reveals the 3-step method he uses to create dramatic room makeovers for his clients in only one day. From walls to furniture to accessories, learn how to decorate rooms of any style in layers like a professional designer. Overflowing with stunning color photographs and illustrations, savvy design advice and DIY décor projects, this book makes it easy to give your home the designer look for less!

Genres: Nonfiction, Interior Design

192 pages, Paperback

Published July 17, 2018

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure why I read these decorating books as I always end up disappointed in some way. Either the projects are too hard for a true novice like me, the style doesn’t match mine, or the decorating schemes aren’t realistic in some other way. For instance, how many of us have a perfectly proportioned room with all the doors and windows in just the right places? There’s always some awkward feature or layout that has to be accommodated for, yet all the finished rooms shown don’t seem to have any of the difficulties that most of us have in real life. But I keep hoping that someone will present realistic solutions for those decorating quandaries and so I keep on browsing home decorating books.

My library's website has a more complete description of this book and from it I thought this would be exactly what I was looking for. While this book had some useful tips, it didn't turn out to be quite what I hoped it would be. I wanted simple decorating ideas like rearranging furniture or grouping wall decor; easy things that could bring a fresh look without a lot of expense or effort. More of a how-to-use what you already have than a true redesign with new pieces.

This seemed text heavy; I would have preferred more and larger pictures and less text. To me, that’s the point of these books, to show before and after pictures. I honestly only skimmed over the text in sections that looked relevant to me, most of the text I skipped over in favor of the pictures. I only glanced at the projects, but they didn’t seem too hard. Definitely more than a day’s work though, especially if you’re considering start to finish of the project itself and making over a whole room besides.

The useful tips that I mentioned actually seemed like common sense much of the time. Things like having end tables or nightstands that work with the height of the nearby furniture. If you’ve got a high-armed sofa, end tables that are 6 inches below the arms will make your furniture grouping look awkward and be hard to utilize. But I also know how easy it is to find some piece of furniture you really like and not stop to consider how it will fit in with the other pieces in the room. So it was nice to be reminded to consider the whole picture and how each addition or subtraction to a room will affect the whole.

I always consider these types of books more of a browsing book than a true read, and for me it was just that, but there is information to read and learn from. While it wasn't what I was seeking, it's still a worthwhile book. It wasn't a match for me today, but I may pick it up again in the future and think it's absolutely fantastic. I enjoyed paging through it and it’s worth at least a browse, if not a full read, because you never know when and where inspiration will strike.

[Marcy Graybill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe a one day makeover if I have a crew working with me. He goes room by room telling us how if we paint and buy new furniture we can makeover our rooms. Well, duh!
I wanted some simple (and yes inexpensive) ideas how to refresh my house. I'm not stupid, I've looked at/read a lot of interior design books. Nothing in his book was new information and none of it was really doable in a day for the average person.

[Vicky R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book super helpful in decorating my home with style. The author definitely outlines what I can do to elevate my space with what I have now and what to plan on getting later. He goes over each room, the common mistakes people make and discuss what to do first and last. Unfortunately for me, I discovered that I accessorize first which was my first mistake. I would go to discount stores like Homegoods, get enamored and buy the pretty tabletop decor, only to come home disappointed that it didn’t really “fit” my space. Lots of wasted time there. Now, I have a better idea that I should start with walls first and so on. Author also goes over the idea of budget for each room, so I’m slowing down and investing in each room each month rather than get overwhelmed. Thanks for writing this!

[Mary Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

For fans of this television personality. Decent basic book for beginners. Check out from the library.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decorating advice a beginner can used. Loved the photos and am tempted to buy it so I can refer to them often,

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure I'd call them "one-day"

[Deb (Bee) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful designs and ways to put together your own designer look.

[Beth Sherwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helped me solve a decorating dilemma in my living room.