Haven: Finding the Keys to Your Personal Decorating Style

by Chris Casson Madden

How do you make a home a haven? Whether your ideal is a romantic bedroom accented by softly luxurious accessories, an adventurous living room filled with vibrant throws and colorful pillows, or a serene dining room layered with pure white linens and cream-colored table settings, the space should be a clear and vivid reflection of you--incorporating your treasures, your passions, and the many aspects of your personality.

National design expert Chris Madden understands that comfortable, beautiful rooms start from within, taking into account the feeling you want a room to elicit, how you envision using your space, and the fact that spending time in your home must be a sensual and fulfilling experience for all its occupants, a haven that embraces the five senses.

Using the insights gained from two decades of design experience, Chris Madden has designed a simple, creative road map for decorating cozy, welcoming spaces that nurture and restore. Chris helps us to discover and explore our own design personality--whether Adventurous, Romantic, or Serene--and presents these three distinctive styles in a variety of settings.

Each style is broken down into its most basic elements, including texture and color, so anyone can create the stylish
looks. A list of essentials for each, including a guide to the perfect accessories, fabrics, and surface treatments, plus furniture suggestions, helpful color palettes, and ways to indulge the five senses form a detailed guide for creating the ultimate oasis.

For the romantic at heart, imagine gingham-checked sheets, a cotton summer slipcover on an easy chair, thick fringe on a curtain, or a cut crystal bowl. Adventurous decorators will learn how to display their eclectic collections and create excitement with lush velvets and silks mixed with animal prints and vibrant colors. For those who seek a sense of calm in their homes, a serene space in creamy neutrals, filled with clean-lined furniture and flooded with natural light, creates a rejuvenating haven. Photographs of dozens of extraordinary rooms will inspire any decorator, whether his or her tastes favor simplicity or detailed exuberance.

Chris Madden’s practical, stylish, and comfortable designs have motivated millions to create spaces that are both beautiful and deeply personal. With Finding the Keys to Your Personal Decorating Style , she encourages everyone to decorate rooms that reflect the people who create and enjoy them.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 4, 2004

About the author

Ann Christine Madden was an American interior designer, television host, author, and businesswoman. As founder and chief executive officer of Chris Madden Inc, she built a multimillion-dollar home furnishings company through partnerships with Mohawk Industries, Bassett Furniture, and JCPenney.

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used the personality survey during a Xmas gathering years ago with my family as a bonding activity when we spent the holiday in a B&B in the countryside. Fun!

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading decorating books for a year and a half and this is the second one I've found very useful. Chris Madden is one of those decorators who have been on TV and written books. She appeared on Oprah Winfrey several times and Oprah told her that the most difficult thing for women was figuring out their decorating style. Women want to be able to decorate themselves and decorators make it too complicated. Madden took the challenge and simplified decorating to three basic styles and this really makes sense to me. The three styles are: romantic, adventurous or serene. (These are my definitions, not hers): Romantic reminds one of things they cherished in the past, details and color they particularly love. Adventurous is an eclectic collection of things cherished because of travels. They like unique handcrafted items that remind them of people and places. Serenity is what it sounds like. It is quiet and well put together but nothing jumps out. There is more than this but this is my take on it.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. It gave me a good foundation to understand my own personal decorating style -- that's exactly what I needed since we just purchased a house and I will be decorating every room! I am inspired to create a look that is personally pleasing and to trust myself in creating rooms that function for our family. Great photos, great advise, well written. I liked it!

[Corinnagoodwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book made in since to me she has divided the book into 3 groups but each group has color and style from the other groups...what?