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Use What You Have Decorating: Transform Your Home in One Hour with 10 Simple Design Principles
Lauri Ward created a revolution in interior design-the most accessible and affordable approach to decorating ever. In Use What You Have(r) Decorating she shows readers how to do it themselves-quickly identifying the ten most common decorating mistakes, offering simple principles to correct them, and giving DIYers a proven system for making their home look better than they ever dreamed it could. Filled with dramatic before-and-after photos, this guide shows anyone how to turn "ho-hum interiors into inspired spaces without undertaking bank- breaking shopping sprees" ( Ladies' Home Journal ).
240 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
November 15, 2021
I read this book in the 1990’s. It opened up my eyes to how to live in a lovely home and how that increases comfort. This is an incredible resource for a person who moves a lot (my husband retired from the military ten years ago). It’s also fantastic when you have a room that you feel stuck with rather than happy with. It’s the basics of setting up and decorating a home. I took it back out every time we moved.
This book isn’t about trendy decorating. It’s what goes where, and why. In my opinion, it’s timeless.
This book isn’t about trendy decorating. It’s what goes where, and why. In my opinion, it’s timeless.
March 10, 2009
I'm going to be rearranging my home soon, and I'm completely clueless. I'm not ashamed to read self-help decorating books if it means I'll wind up with an uncluttered living room that allows me to live in comfort with the elements that I already have.
March 27, 2009
Genius book for the decorating challenged like me, plus you use what you have! Basically teaches the science of rearranging your stuff, and magic happens! Trust me.
November 13, 2011
Although, it didn't transform my home in one hour, the ideas in this book did transform my home. It took more like a week but it was fun work.
November 3, 2016
This is a great general guide for decorating. It makes a great house-warming gift as well.
November 25, 2018
The biggest positive in this book is that her approach is frugal and eco-friendly. She encourages you to redecorate not by throwing everything out and buying a ton of new stuff but by carefully considering what pieces you already have and how they may be arranged or combined to better effect. As evidenced by the section on lighting, where she doesn't mention LED at all and talks about how expensive CFLs are, the book is a little dated. However, overall, I recommend this book to anyone who wants to redecorate on a budget. The author's website has brief video "tips" for those who want a preview of what her recommendations are like.
October 5, 2017
This is a very enjoyable and helpful book about how to arrange your home. Most chapters feature a before and after - using either all or most of the same furniture - that is rather amazing. You can really change the look and comfort of a room just by rearranging the furniture. I've been reading a lot of books lately about how to improve your home. This book has helped me the most.
January 19, 2021
Essential reading on foundational and practical home decor concepts. I thought this was well-written, easy-to-read, and extremely helpful in explaining space, color, and function in a home setting. I also appreciated that the author encourages you to use the furniture and pieces that you already have on hand.
August 4, 2022
It's quite a bit outdated but nonetheless, a really helpful resource to understand some principles (even just a framework) to think about how to organize the layout of rooms. I wish that there were more books like this, as the world of blogs, instagram, and Pinterest is just too overwhelming to make sense of.
April 19, 2021
Great foundation for someone like me who doesn't have that natural feel for decorating. The information on placement of furniture, art, and accessories has already made a difference in how our house looks!
August 20, 2017
I didn't check the date on this book before picking it up from the library 😂 1998 decor is not exactly current but there was still some basic tips and recommendations that were useful
February 2, 2019
Got some decent tips, but it's pretty basic. Plus, I have small house, and it seems all of the problems "corrected" are how to cozy up large spaces, so it's not that helpful for me.
July 12, 2019
Great tips which are easy to apply.
September 27, 2019
Even though this book was written in the 90s I found lots of practical, applicable tips to use today. I've already rearranged my family room.
December 5, 2020
Dated photos but timeless decorating principles.
July 28, 2022
This is a very helpful book that gives many ideas and principles for arranging furniture.
March 25, 2013
Aside from the Holy Bible, no other book has transformed my life(style) so much as this one.
Yes, if you judge a book by its cover (or drab photographs) then you would rate it 2 stars and put it down after reading the inside flap and flipping through the black and white photographs. I am SO GLAD I actually read it and followed through with Ward's keys to creating an atmosphere of peace and contentment!
Here's why:
I used to rearrange my home at least every month if not every week at the worst. This went on for a decade or more. My eyes could tell something was amiss; something about the arrangement of furniture and decorations was silently driving me nuts. Without answers I would seek resolution to this unidentifiable nuisance by moving and removing household objects over and over again. Purge. Buy. Purge. Buy. Purge. Buy. Purge. Repeat.
The madness had to stop. At heart I'm was--and still am--a minimalist. A frugal wannabe. A simple heart. At that time however, my mind was working overdrive in this consumerism-obsessed society to put a kibosh on the culprit to my insanity. Then one day, my frustration dissipated and everything changed when I read this book.
I have implemented almost all of Wards's advice and miraculously my home has stayed very much the same for nearly a whole year now. I feel so much happier, calmer, and content about it all. (Praise God for orderliness. Afterall, He created it!) So, there is hope; there is a reason decorators magazines look so stinking good. They're implementing these keys Ward expounds in great detail upon. Not perfectly perhaps, but to the untrained eye, they are using many of them well.
If ever another friend of mine marry or move, I will be gifting them this guide to quiet cozy contentment (assuming they "need" some advice like I did). No more wasted years rearranging the house.
Yes, if you judge a book by its cover (or drab photographs) then you would rate it 2 stars and put it down after reading the inside flap and flipping through the black and white photographs. I am SO GLAD I actually read it and followed through with Ward's keys to creating an atmosphere of peace and contentment!
Here's why:
I used to rearrange my home at least every month if not every week at the worst. This went on for a decade or more. My eyes could tell something was amiss; something about the arrangement of furniture and decorations was silently driving me nuts. Without answers I would seek resolution to this unidentifiable nuisance by moving and removing household objects over and over again. Purge. Buy. Purge. Buy. Purge. Buy. Purge. Repeat.
The madness had to stop. At heart I'm was--and still am--a minimalist. A frugal wannabe. A simple heart. At that time however, my mind was working overdrive in this consumerism-obsessed society to put a kibosh on the culprit to my insanity. Then one day, my frustration dissipated and everything changed when I read this book.
I have implemented almost all of Wards's advice and miraculously my home has stayed very much the same for nearly a whole year now. I feel so much happier, calmer, and content about it all. (Praise God for orderliness. Afterall, He created it!) So, there is hope; there is a reason decorators magazines look so stinking good. They're implementing these keys Ward expounds in great detail upon. Not perfectly perhaps, but to the untrained eye, they are using many of them well.
If ever another friend of mine marry or move, I will be gifting them this guide to quiet cozy contentment (assuming they "need" some advice like I did). No more wasted years rearranging the house.
September 18, 2012
This book was okay. I like the principle that you can give a space a new look without spending any money. But I know the author and her husband, and they are very aggressive people. I am a "use what you have" decorator but I employ more of the strategies I learned and know from my regular decorating training. Her methods are really just everyday methods you can find online, i.e. the HGTV.com site and various Facebook pages. AvaLiving.com is also a fantastic way to get these tips from actual designers for free, and there are a million color photos from which to get ideas.
So, all in all, because Lauri's camp is so unfriendly, because her book is outdated, because her methods are easily found for free online, and because she is so obsessive, unrealistic and aggressive about guarding "HER" terminology and "HER" methods in an era when information is readily and quickly passed along via the World Wide Web, I give the book 2 stars. A reasonable person, during the Information Age, has no expectation of absolute and eternal privacy/secrecy or insurance against people communicating her methods or using her phraseology, and trademarking commonly used English phrases and chasing down people who use those phrases without your permission, e.g. an online e-zine writer (whose name I can't recall but whose article was a good read) who unknowingly used the phrase 'Use What You Have Decorating' in an article, would seem to be a tiring and perpetual task. I wish Lauri luck with that - the Internet is going to be around for centuries. (If Paris Hilton decides to trademark her catch phrase "That's hot!" will we have to invent a new word to describe the summer weather?)
So, all in all, because Lauri's camp is so unfriendly, because her book is outdated, because her methods are easily found for free online, and because she is so obsessive, unrealistic and aggressive about guarding "HER" terminology and "HER" methods in an era when information is readily and quickly passed along via the World Wide Web, I give the book 2 stars. A reasonable person, during the Information Age, has no expectation of absolute and eternal privacy/secrecy or insurance against people communicating her methods or using her phraseology, and trademarking commonly used English phrases and chasing down people who use those phrases without your permission, e.g. an online e-zine writer (whose name I can't recall but whose article was a good read) who unknowingly used the phrase 'Use What You Have Decorating' in an article, would seem to be a tiring and perpetual task. I wish Lauri luck with that - the Internet is going to be around for centuries. (If Paris Hilton decides to trademark her catch phrase "That's hot!" will we have to invent a new word to describe the summer weather?)
June 2, 2010
I love decorating books! I especially appreciate an author who encourages the reader to decorate the house with the owner's personality in the forefront. Too many decorating books showcase rooms that don't looked lived in, that are filled with expensive antiques or expensive European furniture or have no personality at all.
There were a few things that kept this from being a 4-star book:
*black and white photos. I want to see color and will pay more for those glossy pics.
*there wasn't anything original about the decorating. Most of her ideas are tried and true but not really fresh and exciting.
What I did like:
*how to organize a bookshelf. My bookshelves are a hot mess but I refuse to organize by color or size. Her suggestion of aligning the books so the spines are flush with the front edge of the bookcase gave my shelves a much needed tidiness factor.
*furniture arrangement. Anyone who has read a book on decorating knows that the furniture should be user friendly. Furniture doesn't need to be under house arrest (i.e. pushed up against every wall) and guests don't want to scream at each other to be heard. Ward has an entire chapter on furniture placement, including some oddly shaped rooms.
*hanging art work. A five inch framed picture, even if it's a Picasso, does not belong hanging all by its lonesome over a full-sized couch. Ward teaches the reader how to hang art for the greatest impact.
There were a few things that kept this from being a 4-star book:
*black and white photos. I want to see color and will pay more for those glossy pics.
*there wasn't anything original about the decorating. Most of her ideas are tried and true but not really fresh and exciting.
What I did like:
*how to organize a bookshelf. My bookshelves are a hot mess but I refuse to organize by color or size. Her suggestion of aligning the books so the spines are flush with the front edge of the bookcase gave my shelves a much needed tidiness factor.
*furniture arrangement. Anyone who has read a book on decorating knows that the furniture should be user friendly. Furniture doesn't need to be under house arrest (i.e. pushed up against every wall) and guests don't want to scream at each other to be heard. Ward has an entire chapter on furniture placement, including some oddly shaped rooms.
*hanging art work. A five inch framed picture, even if it's a Picasso, does not belong hanging all by its lonesome over a full-sized couch. Ward teaches the reader how to hang art for the greatest impact.
January 20, 2013
I have no interior decorating sense, so I needed a basic-steps book like this. It does have some problems: the black-and-white photos feel drab even in the "after" shots (but I know production costs are a factor in printing color), and the author has girlier, fluffier tastes than I do. She favors slipcovers on the chairs, and brass fixtures (yuck), and a dozen throw pillows on every couch and bed. Where are you supposed to put those when you actually want to sit on the sofa or lie on the bed, I ask you? Plus, it's not a book with many practical solutions for those of us with small children, who would strew those pillows everywhere and wreak havoc on those attractive little "collections" on coffee tables or side tables. And as to using what you have--well, we have to admit that sometimes what we have is downright ugly or doesn't match everything else, and all you can do is replace it.
However, the author offers some great insights into furniture arrangement and overall organization, which really are easy to implement and do make a difference. Simplifying the wall's artwork and rotating it seasonally was a cool idea, and she helps show you how. I need all the help I can get, really.
However, the author offers some great insights into furniture arrangement and overall organization, which really are easy to implement and do make a difference. Simplifying the wall's artwork and rotating it seasonally was a cool idea, and she helps show you how. I need all the help I can get, really.
January 20, 2012
I read both this book, and a later one, "Home Therapy," so I may be conflating the two somewhat. The general ideas are the same, though.
It's very useful to learn about common decorating mistakes--I think the general principles are good. However, I have some criticisms about the specifics. The book tends to focus on redoing one or two rooms in a house at a time, by moving furniture and art around. The rooms end up looking much better, but I think there's a tendency to just move the problems into other rooms. Also, there's a general issue with emphasizing looks over function. For instance, several times she moves children's toys and games out of the living room and into the child's room. But those things were probably in the living room for a good reason--mom wanted or needed to watch the kid while she did something else, and the child needed things to play with. I'll bet a week after the decorator left, those toys were back where they were. In another apartment, she rearranged the furniture so it looked nice, but was situated so the sofa and chairs no longer faced the TV. Do you think it stayed that way? You get the idea. But the general principles in the book are useful, so I gave it a pretty good rating overall.
It's very useful to learn about common decorating mistakes--I think the general principles are good. However, I have some criticisms about the specifics. The book tends to focus on redoing one or two rooms in a house at a time, by moving furniture and art around. The rooms end up looking much better, but I think there's a tendency to just move the problems into other rooms. Also, there's a general issue with emphasizing looks over function. For instance, several times she moves children's toys and games out of the living room and into the child's room. But those things were probably in the living room for a good reason--mom wanted or needed to watch the kid while she did something else, and the child needed things to play with. I'll bet a week after the decorator left, those toys were back where they were. In another apartment, she rearranged the furniture so it looked nice, but was situated so the sofa and chairs no longer faced the TV. Do you think it stayed that way? You get the idea. But the general principles in the book are useful, so I gave it a pretty good rating overall.
November 30, 2014
This is exactly what I needed: a straightforward guide to basic principles for someone who isn't already an interior design guru. I also liked that it was about arranging the things you already like/have in their most aesthetic AND functional way, instead of "buy all this new stuff!"
So, if you're trying to figure out how to hang your pictures on the wall so they look good, or how to arrange your couch so you can talk with guests and get through a room, or maybe just why something feels off and cluttered in a space, this is a *great* book. It's about the principles, not copying a magazine.
I also read her Downsizing Your Home with Style: Living Well in a Smaller Space. That one had some good tips for small spaces, but I thought this one covered these basics a lot better (which I needed more!). I should have read this one first for a foundation, then the second one for extra help/tips. Lots of pictures, quick, easy read with checklists for a fast review. Very nice.
So, if you're trying to figure out how to hang your pictures on the wall so they look good, or how to arrange your couch so you can talk with guests and get through a room, or maybe just why something feels off and cluttered in a space, this is a *great* book. It's about the principles, not copying a magazine.
I also read her Downsizing Your Home with Style: Living Well in a Smaller Space. That one had some good tips for small spaces, but I thought this one covered these basics a lot better (which I needed more!). I should have read this one first for a foundation, then the second one for extra help/tips. Lots of pictures, quick, easy read with checklists for a fast review. Very nice.
June 10, 2009
I am decorating impaired (as anyone visiting my home will notice). So this book was much to my liking this woman has rules for decorating. I can follow rules I can't "do what works for the space" --how vague is that. Also her theory is you already have most of the things you need to decorate with, but might be using them the wrong way. This appeals to my thrifty side. There are some tips and ideas I couldn't really grasp, but all the same I felt it helpful to my understanding of the fundamentals of decorating a home. Hopefully I will apply them and perhaps no one will notice my decorating impairment.
December 3, 2015
I've had this one a while and it is a life-saver! Absolutely love it! Interior decorating for those on a budget! Simple principles of color and arrangement really do let you use what you have to put the finishing touches on your house. Whenever the house needs a 'fresh' look, I pull this baby out and go to town! Much cheaper than shopping therapy. Friends actually comment to the effect 'you've done something different and it looks so much better.' And it does :-)
If you're an Interior Decorator, it's probably too basic for you, but if you're the average homeowner, it's a blessing!
If you're an Interior Decorator, it's probably too basic for you, but if you're the average homeowner, it's a blessing!
March 24, 2019
The message of this book is basically: "rearrange your stuff according to these principles, and it will look and feel much better!" And so it does. These ideas are generally quick, easy, and don't require spending any money, though suggestions are made that would cost money, should you decide to spend any. This is overall a quick read, but also an effective workbook to return to again and again.
January 15, 2015
I am amazed by how the author can drastically improve the looks and function of a room without spending any money. This was written in 1998, so doesn't address integrating computers into the home, but most of the strategies so far are really timeless. I'm impressed!
Conclusion: This book will make you reconsider your home. You might see how to change things just a little bit to smooth out the appearance and increase the comfort.
Conclusion: This book will make you reconsider your home. You might see how to change things just a little bit to smooth out the appearance and increase the comfort.
November 12, 2011
This is an excellent book for anyone considering decorating their home. The author shows one how to look at the stuff in one`s house differently and how it can be used to decorate various rooms throughout without having to spend a lot of money. She also gives tips on things such as furniture placement and some rules of thumb for decor. The copy I have is an older version. There is an updated version available.
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September 23, 2016Not so great. Got a few ideas, but since it's 18 years old, it wasn't maximally helpful. The problem I was trying to solve (how to set up our living room for both comfortable conversation and comfortable TV viewing, given that wall #1 has a fireplace and a window, wall #2 has a large open doorway with the TV permanently mounted on the left edge of that doorway, wall #3 is fairly solid with only a standard doorway at the right end, and wall #4 has two windows) was not addressed at all.
May 4, 2021
When I first read this and applied some of the pointers, it made a big difference and was fun. But that was over 10 years ago. But if you have the same furniture and aren't going to be getting new anytime soon, it might be worth checking out for some things you might not have considered and make things look new and feel different.
February 12, 2008
I appreciate the before and after pictures as well as the principles that are easy to apply. It helped me think outside the box with my own furniture (I re-arrange on a regular basis) and has given me the ability to recognize why an arrangement doesn't really feel right.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews