Home Decorating For Dummies

Do you long to create picture-perfect rooms but can’t quite seem to achieve them? Do you want better functioning spaces for working, playing, or living? Do you clamor to express your personal style? If you said “yes” to any of these questions, you’ve turned to the right source for real answers from the pros. Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition is for all kinds of people in all kinds of decorating situations, including: First-time buyers or renters. You have a whole new place to decorate. Where do you start? Second- or third-time home buyers. Whether you’ve gone up or down in size, stayed in the same region or moved to a whole new one, you need to know how to make your old furniture work in a new setting, how to add furnishings, and how to make your style seem fresh. Newly blended families. He has furniture, she has furniture, they have furniture. Can it all work together harmoniously? Indeed! And anyone else who loves decorating. Don’t forget: Imagination counts. Each part of Home Decorating For Dummies, deals with a broad area of decorating, and each chapter contains specific and detailed information. You'll discover tips on Basic planning – where to begin when you want to start decorating Creating surface interest – the effects of color, pattern, and texture, and the problems created by too much or too little of them Creating backgrounds – what you need to know about the special decorating requirements of your walls Tackling tough rooms – how to effectively decorate rooms that have special functional requirements Accessorizing with art and other stuff – adding the final flourishes to every space in your place Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition contains all the basics – including how to figure out what you can spend; how to spend it; and the latest and greatest in styles, trends, and technology. What do you do with your space next? The possibilities are endless.

Even if your home’s decor hasn’t changed since 1976, you can refresh, revamp, and revitalize it at the holidays with just a few simple strokes. Unlike regular decorating – where you agonize over paint colors, upholstery choices, and furniture styles – holiday decorating is easy. Holidays provide a set theme; a color palette; and merchandise and motifs that are usually mass-manufactured, so you can purchase and decorate when you’re ready. You may be feeling intimidated about decorating for the holidays, or you may be ready to dive right in. No matter what level of decorator you may be, Holiday Decorating For Dummies shows you tricks that you may not already know. This guide is for you if: You need easy, affordable ideas to fill your house with holiday cheer You have no idea where to start and just need some ideas to get you going. You already have a huge collection of your own holiday stash and need to get organized before acquiring more You love to celebrate very special occasions: an anniversary, a special birthday, a warm welcome home A flair for decorating isn’t necessarily inherited. Armed with clear explanations of how you can achieve beautiful yet practical holiday decorating, planning tips and tricks, crafting basics, care and cleaning tips, storage solutions, and more, you can decorate like a pro. Holiday Decorating For Dummies helps you gain that skill with topics such as: Discovering tabletop decorating basics Budgeting time, money, and space Getting organized Caring for your decorations Knowing where to go for ideas and inspiration Celebrating Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving Decorating for Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Jewish holidays Embellishing the exterior of your home Getting crafty with paper, florals, fabric, beads, and embossing Creating luminaries and etched-glass projects Part decorating guide, part stylist guide, and part craft instruction book, Holiday Decorating For Dummies helps you access the knowledge you need to create beautiful homes and great gatherings that will provide a warm welcome for family and friends.

Want to be your own decorator? Design on a dime with Dummies! Home Decorating For Dummies packs all the information you need to know about décor into one easy-to-read source. Whether you want to decorate one room or make over the whole house, this book has everything you need to design like a pro. This is the only reference you’ll need to transform your home into a space you’ll love. Dummies offers no-nonsense help, so you can plan perfect projects and stay within budget. Updated with the latest on smart homes, short-term rentals, DIY décor, and more. Learn how to optimize your home’s floor plan Discover tricks for mixing patterns, colors, and textures successfully Refresh your home’s style without spending a fortune Decorate rental properties with eye-catching, trendy style Untangle the terms—mid-century modern, farmhouse, minimalism—and pinpoint your design style For those seeking ideas, resources, and budget-wise tips to spark their decorating creativity, Home Decorating For Dummies is a must-have.

You deserve a home that meets your specific needs and desires! If you find yourself dreaming of the perfect patio, the ideal kitchen, and inviting rooms where you love to spend time, it might just be time to start building! With Building Your Custom Home For Dummies, you won’t have to feel intimidated as you plan, finance, and oversee construction on your new oasis. You’ll learn what it takes to build a custom home, including which pros to call and when. This updated edition also covers the latest in real estate and home construction trends, including smart homes, green building, and banking options. It's more important than ever to live in a home that’s truly how you want it, truly your own. Now is the perfect time to get started—if you’re still in the dreaming stage, this book will help you identify your style and articulate your vision. If you’re further along in the process, you’ll benefit from checklists and pointers on reviewing architects’ plans, evaluating contractor bids, flipping the home you build, and more. The latest guidance on building a beautiful home on any budget New ideas for high-tech homes with low carbon footprints Step-by-step instructions for securing financing, hiring architects, and finding reliable contractors Advice on how to invest your home-building budget wisely and plan for the future Building Your Custom Home For Dummies takes you from finding the perfect homesite through laying the foundation to framing and finishing—in the friendly Dummies style you can trust.

Do You Want To Know How To Decorate On A Budget? Are you looking for the best ways to design your home? Do you want to decorate your home but don't want to spend a lot of money? Do you want to maximize your space visually, and inexpensively? When you buy Interior Design: A True Beginner's Guide To Decorating On A Budget, your home will look amazing! You will discover everything you need to know about interior design. These professional techniques will transform your home. You'll be proud to show off your new home and style whenever friends and family stop by. This book breaks down into easy-to-understand modules. It starts from the very beginning of interior design, so you can get great results - even as a beginner!

Keep construction on track with helpful checklists Turn your dream of a custom home into reality! Thinking about building your own home? This easy-to-follow guide shows you how to plan and build a beautiful home on any budget. From acquiring land to finding the best architect to overseeing the construction, you get lots of savvy tips on managing your new investment wisely -- and staying sane during the process! Discover how to: * Find the best homesite * Navigate the plan approval process * Obtain financing * Hire the right contractor * Cut design and construction costs * Avoid common mistakes

Painting your home yourself can be faster, more affordable and even easier than hiring professionals—but only if you get it right the first time. Painting Do-It-Yourself For Dummies, helps you do just that with easy-to-follow, step-by-step procedures for giving your, floors, walls, and ceilings the extreme makeover of your dreams. More than 500 photos and illustrations show you exactly how to perform each step of each procedure the right way and avoid drips, smudges, and ugly surfaces. You'll find out how to choose the best paint for the job, figure out how much paint you'll need, and use rollers, brushes, and other painting tools with skill and precision. Before you know it, you'll have the confidence and ability to tackle any household painting project with ease. You'll discover how to: Select the proper tools and materials for each painting job Choose colors that will work for you—now and for years to come Prepare your room and the surface for painting Make necessary wall and ceiling repairs before painting Brush up on painting basics Create faux finishes with shapes and patterns Use glazes to dazzling effect Bring out the beauty of wood trim, windows and doors Finesse furniture, frames, and other household items Complete with a handy list of dos and don'ts for perfecting your painting skills, Painting Do-It-Yourself for Dummies, gives you the guidance, tips, and information you need to get a professional-level outcome every time.

Feel like you’re trying to dig out from under a mountain of debt without a shovel? Tired of working your tail off just to break even? Is the high cost of living taking all the joy out of life? Unless you’re one of the top two percent of wealthiest Americans, all of the above should sound painfully familiar. While they’re trying to decide between the ski lodge in Telluride and the Tuscan villa, for the rest of us, it’s an endless litany of corporate lay-offs, stagnant wages, crushing credit card debt, skyrocketing medical costs, exorbitant utility bills, the high cost of higher education.... And they call this “the good life.” Is there a better way to live? Can you get what you need and what you want without killing yourself to get it? “Absolutely,” says frugal-living guru Deborah Taylor-Hough, and in Frugal Living For Dummies, she shows you how. In this warmhearted guide to living the good life on less, Deborah shows you how to live within your means and enjoy doing it. Among other things, she shows you how to: Eat like a king on a peasant’s budget Take the sting out of gift-giving Dress well on a shoestring Save big bucks on family expenses Slash household expenses Save on medical expenses Involve the whole family in saving money Save more for the things you want From basement to attic, cradle to grave, Frugal Living For Dummies covers all areas of life with common sense advice and guidance on: Working with your partner to achieve financial goals Going to the grocery without being taken to the cleaners Quick and thrifty cooking techniques Providing kids the basics on a tight budget Putting kids through school without going broke Looking good and feeling good on a tight budget Frugal holiday fun year round Saving money around the house and driveway Finding quality in pre-owned merchandise Packed with tried-and-true techniques for cutting costs and stopping the insanity, Frugal Living For Dummies is the ultimate financial survival guide for the rest of us.