Book of the week

I can't believe it has been a week already! since my last post. Chris had a conference at work and didn't return home until 10 every night. My parents were here for 2 days working on Chris's honey-do list. My mom ironed 30 dress shirts! Bless her heart. Unfortunately, that was only a little more than half. At least she got me motivated. I will take a picture of my dad's projects and post this week. (I am hosting book club so my house has to be clean and I will take a picture then :)

I have halted the brainstorming because I decided that I need to educate myself before I dive in and waste a lot of money on something that isn't going to feel right and I will have to replace.

I have 15 design books checked out from the library right now.

Book recommendation of the week-
FLIP! for Decorating by Elizabeth Mayhew

Elizabeth is the lifestyle expert for NBC's Today show and special projects editor for House Beautiful magazine. So, I guess she's qualified :)
http://www.elizabethmayhew.com/Good tips:

*Paint walls the same hue as your sofa or largest piece of furniture and watch the furniture recede into space.
*Paint the ceiling in a tone or two lighter than the walls0 but not necessarily white- it will appear higher
*buy a solid color sofa. You'll never have to be married to one style.

Great things in this book:
*No-fail paint color favorites
*an entire section on windows. How to pick what type of treatment you need and out of what fabric, sizes, where you should hang it, how far you should let it fall, how wide, etc. Also, tips for different design problems/privacy issues, how to "upgrade" off the rack curtains,
*Sections on living room, dining room, bedroom, family room
*how to buy a sofa, which sofa is right for you
*how to arrange your furniture, **WHERE TO START** she suggests a few options as your starting point and then how you should proceed from there

Okay, that is only the first 1/6 of the book... I would probably write down EVERYTHING in this book so to save us both some time- just go check it out!

p.s. These are the curtains she designed for her living room. I want them!!!
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