Downsizing Your Home With Style: Review & Contest
I was recently sent a couple copies of the new book Downsizing Your Home with Style : Living Well In a Smaller Space by Lauri Ward. Ward is a decorator with 30 years worth of experience and appears to specialize in smaller but still functional spaces.
Downsizing is a great way to live a more eco-sensible lifestyle and Ward also wrote, Use What You Have Decorating — another good green idea.
The good:
- The obvious best point of this book is that most of us could downsize as a way to tread lighter on the earth and even if you’re shunning green living (now, why would you do that) housing costs have gone up and even if you want a large house it may not be in your budget. For eco, budget, and sanity minded reasons downsizing is a logical way to live.
- This book covers ideas for decorating success when downsizing no matter the reason. It offers ideas that work if you’re moving to the city, trading in the large family home, or simply moving because you’d like to simplify your life. I like that the book covers the downsizing process in easy to manage steps.
- Ward discusses everything; from assessing the floor plan of your new home, to the preparation that needs to happen before you move (like measuring and locating light sources), to what to pack and what to leave behind. Once you have your new space she covers how to make the small space workable for you. Issues like making a space multifunctional and how to repurpose your stuff is all included.
- I LOVE how the book is broken down. Ward uses multiple headers and text colors in her book which really makes great tip sections; like bookshelves as room dividers stand out. You would hope that a book from a designer would be designed well and Ward gets a gold star from me for her easy to read, easy to scan, and easy to use content layout.
To give you an idea of what you’ll find in this book here’s how the book is broken down. Although keep in mind that each chapter has multiple sections with various case stories, tips, and more.
- Intro: Living more simply is the best revenge
- The ten most common decorating mistakes you don’t have to make
- Preparing for change
- What to pack and what to part with
- What to do with what you part with
- The truth about storage — you can never have enough
- Repurpose your stuff
- Camouflage and sleight of hand
- Make it multifunctional
- For kitchens and bathrooms only
- New tactics for living smaller
- One year later — time to reassess
There’s also an amazingly extensive resource section in the back that covers where to find the best storage and home items for downsizing.
The bad:
The one problem I have with this book is that when it comes to books about homes and decorating I like insanely cool eye candy. Chalk it up to me writing Offbeat Homes, or my preference for unique and / or retro style digs but this book had very few photos that interested me. The book’s style is more elegant and contemporary than I like.
That said I am sort of a snob about how I like things to look and also most people don’t agree with my decorating style. I’m guessing that about 90% of people will like the photos in this book. Overall I thought the usefulness of the tips far outweighed me not loving the photos so I’d highly recommend it as a useful book to have around if you’d like to learn to live smaller and still functionally.
If you want to see some of the photos in the book check out Harper Collins.
Win this book:
I am so contested out after last month (I had something like six blog contests going on) that this is going to be low-key. Here’s the deal; leave one comment anywhere on this blog between now and um, let’s say the 1st of December and I’ll enter your name into a big bowl and pull one out and if I draw your name I’ll send you this book.
Easy as store bought pie.
Tags: Contest, Downsize, Downsizing-Your-Home-with-Style--:-Living-Well-In-a-Sma, Harper-Collins, lauri-ward, new-book, small-spaces
22 opinions for Downsizing Your Home With Style: Review & Contest
Peggy
Nov 17, 2007 at 6:35 pm
My little sister so needs this book. Her closet rod broke because she had so many clothes on it.
marye
Nov 17, 2007 at 7:30 pm
ah but sometimes you can live simply in a big house.
:)
Jen / domestika
Nov 17, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Of course, we all adore & revel in the eye candy… but frankly, I could really use a few good tips. Not a small house, this old farmhouse of mine, but somehow the squirrelled-away stuff does expand to fill the capacious space… Fair to say, if lucky enough to win it, I could give this book an “Offbeat Home” of its own! ;)
marye
Nov 17, 2007 at 11:03 pm
oh, by the way, i am not entering..I have all the simplicity I can take right now…
and I want to say…
store bought pie? EWWW
Amanda Reeves
Nov 18, 2007 at 12:23 am
Oooo! Pick me pick me! I would really enjoy the book. 2 kids, 3 cats, 4 dogs… sooo much stuff.
Jennifer
Nov 18, 2007 at 12:26 am
Peggy ~ we have the same sister.
Marye ~ I know homemade pie! Egad. But it is easy.
Jen ~ Are you an unschooler? Your tag name is really similar to someone at an unschooling forum I used to frequent. Also, this book will help all sized homes to downsize stuff. Good luck :)
Jen / domestika
Nov 18, 2007 at 5:39 am
Not an unschooler, myself, Jennifer - tho’ weak-at-knees with admiration for the courage of unschoolers! - so it must have been some other book-greedy Jen in the forums! ;)
Lauri Ward, author
Nov 18, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Thanks for reviewing my book, Jennifer. You are right, Use What You Have Decorating is all about transforming any room in an hour or two, just by correcting the 10 Common Decorating Mistakes and without having to spend money or add to the landfill.
Downsizing Your Home With Style also lists the 10 mistakes and is geared towards using space optimally and making a home feel comfortable and look pretty. No matter its style or structure and whatever your personal preference - cozy country, mid-century, etc. - any home can feel more tranquil immediately.
Jennifer
Nov 18, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Hmmm, Jen, maybe I know you from somewhere else? I guess it’s not that important :)
Lauri ~ Thanks for stopping by. I agree, using what you have already is favorable both cost wise and earth wise and the same with downsizing — that’s why I thought your book fit in here. I’m sure it will make one reader very happy to receive it too. Also, although my style tastes run oddball there were many tips I’d still use so you’re correct about different styles being ok so far as use of this book goes.
Cindi Hoppes
Nov 19, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Hi, Please enter me in the drawing for this book. I have started trying to change my lifestyle, along with my sister and niece. We would all enjoy the book. Thanks, Cindi
Breeni Books
Nov 19, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Oooh, I love anything that tells me how to avoid spending money. Please count me in!
Hedi
Nov 20, 2007 at 5:40 pm
This book would be so great!
Laura @ Laura Williams' Musings
Nov 21, 2007 at 12:11 am
Count me in.
blogged ya: http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2007/11/tuesday-edition-of-contests-galore_20.html
Jennifer
Nov 21, 2007 at 6:33 am
Thanks Laura! And everyone else — I’ll throw everyone’s names into the pot.
Pam
Nov 29, 2007 at 10:28 am
Count me in! We’re considering building a smaller home than the one we currently own and our friends think we’re nuts…
pickel
Nov 29, 2007 at 10:55 am
Oh boy do I need this. We have a 1917 bungalow with 3 of us…and a child on the way (sometime?). We have done everything to make it work but for some reason there are still places it doesn’t.
And, we certainly could do without spending the money!
Bill
Nov 29, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Ugh, my wife and I have stuff still in boxes from our move and with the baby arriving (hopefully any day!) we’ve had to transform an office into a nursery. I’m so sick of clutter and want to downsize anything I can. I think a simplified, downsized environment is more relaxing.
Sounds like a great read.
Gayla McCord
Nov 29, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Wow this would come in SO handy for my family of 6 packed into 1200 sq.ft. w/ basement.
Sometimes I feel like we’re so on top of each other, then I realize it’s because we are LOL
debra
Nov 29, 2007 at 9:24 pm
We live in a farm house that was built in the 1830’s. Closets? What are they! And the basement? A cellar with huge sandstone block walls and a crawl space that is dirt. The dreaded basement–where no man hath gone before! We’ve learned how to use less space and how to be efficient with what space we have.
The book sound interesting.
emily
Nov 30, 2007 at 9:05 pm
I have tried to get this one on ebay–love lauri ward–but keep getting outbid! Would love a copy!
Carol
Dec 2, 2007 at 4:46 pm
I’ve been looking for a book like this!
Kate
Dec 3, 2007 at 2:20 am
We live in apartment. We need this book to help us keep things simple.
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