Home Made Simple: Fresh Ideas to Make Your Own

by Home Made Simple

Home Made Simple is the essential home reference for simplifying, beautifying, organizing, and inspiring your life. In these pages you’ll find tips, projects, and recipes that will help you create the home you’ll love to live in. Streamline your routine. Dazzle your guests. Indulge your culinary spirit. Celebrate your outside spaces. And adorn your home in ways that are uniquely yours. Home Made Simple is about making life enjoyable while keeping it simple.


Look inside and discover:


* Organized Life
* Easy-to-achieve home-management ideas, including how to make the most of your space
* Celebrate Living
* Great new ways to entertain in your home, including heartwarming gift ideas
* Clever Kitchen
* Simple recipe favorites and helpful tips for kitchen storage and cleaning
* Outside Pleasures
* Unique outdoor projects for the family, plus advice for the garden, porch, and patio
* Easy Décor
* Stylish and realistic decorating ideas, plus dozens of DIY home improvements

Genres: Nonfiction, Cookbooks

336 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2010

Reviews

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom got me this book a year or two ago for my birthday and I can’t tell you how many times I have referenced to it for something. There are recipes, how to chapters on meal planning, streamlining your house, how to pick house plants and grow an herb garden outside, there is a how to on making your own front door mat, how to set a table for a party, so much information!!! I like looking through the decorating tip section also.

Bottom line: This makes a great coffee table book that you will actually use time and again!

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was organized oddly. It had a strange flow to me. Some good tips. I pinned a couple recipes. Glad I borrowed it from the library and didn’t purchase it.

[Abigail Lockard · Rating 3 out of 5]

33322

[scc101 · Rating 2 out of 5]

WHAT I LIKED:
There seem to be some interesting recipes here that I'd like to try, especially the pizza and vegetarian recipes.
-chai tea squares, p. 99
-chai mousse, p. 100
-cucumber pizza, p. 101
-tzatziki sauce, p. 102
-hummus, p. 142
-fresh watermelon salad, p. 144
-nutty edamame salad, p. 147
-sunshine ginger carrot soup, p. 148
-watermelon cucumber soup, p. 150
-pizza dough, p. 164 (portioned for one person! yay!)
-mediterranean pizza, p. 165
-vegetarian bistro pizza, p. 167
-baked brie pizza, p. 168
-sweetheart pizza dough, p. 171
-fruit and cream pizza tart, p. 172
-layered vegetable casserole, p. 187
-quick and delicious mousse, p. 193

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Maybe I'm not the target audience of this book, and that is the reason behind this criticism. There was a line about planning a dinner party six weeks in advance. Six weeks! Maybe that's why I don't have dinner parties because I don't have time to plan an event with such detail six weeks in advance.

Also, when planning who to invite to the dinner party, there is only mention of inviting couples. I'm hoping the authors didn't purposely leave out single people, but it seems pretty clear that the assumption that invitees will be part of a couple. Why not just use the word "guests" instead?

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, full of ideas, hints, tips, recipes, and helful information. Actually, some the recipes sound quite good and look pretty easy to follow. I made copies so that I can try them out after I've returned the book to the library.

[ReadingWench · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a little bit about everything. Recipes, organizing, gardening, cleaning, decorating, and celebrating. This would be a great book for a new bride.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great ideas, but I was hoping for some more details on some of them.

[Martha]

read again in Sep 2014

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a beautifully photographed and printed book full of good ideas.

[Marianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much an advertisement as an idea book.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't really what I was looking for, but there was some useful information and ideas. Nothing really innovative or creative.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was alright. I was hoping for more ideas though.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

easy read and easy ideas for entertaining and dinners with family. The first page though, a bit scary it starts out with a cleaning routine and guess what it is cleaning first? blinds, ugh--seriously, not a draw!
favorite is the hosting progressive tapas party, sounds good and easy