Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book Giveaway!

When I was contacted recently about reviewing the Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book, I could hardly say yes fast enough. Since we bought our house in 2008, I've come to love Better Homes & Gardens magazine--I think their decorating suggestions often feel really do-able, whereas sometimes in other publications, I find myself thinking "Yeah, that looks pretty nice there, but could never translate into MY home."

The book arrived on our doorstep yesterday afternoon, and you can bet your booty I spent a block of time checking it out right then and there!

 

The book is split up into three sections. The first, "Room Views" is just like it sounds--lots of beautiful full-color photos of specific types of rooms in a variety of different styles. Each type of room (i.e. entry way, kitchen, living room) begins with "10 Design Basics" specific to that room. I love how they are real and practical suggestions, such as "direct traffic around and behind TV viewers" for the family room. I mean, how many times have we all seen decorating books and magazines that seem to pretend that no one has a TV in their home at all? Most of us do, so it's refreshing to see suggestions with how to handle it in our decor. I don't want to give it all away, but I do want to give a couple of glances at some of the great ideas this book contains. I especially love this feature, which shows the same vanity styled three different ways: 

The second section, "House Tours" showcases entire homes in a variety of styles--Modern Cottage, Open Plan, Classic Bungalow, Savvy Remodel, Today's Farmhouse, Small Space, Fresh Traditional, Personal Mix, Artistic Cottage, and Scandinavian Modern. Again, there are lots of beautiful full color photos that really allow you to understand how the family carried their style through their entire home. This section is my favorite, and I really wish that we had this book before we moved into our home, because I think it would have helped us identify a style that we both love more quickly. Sometimes men are more visual, and need to see a reference photo when we tell them that we'd like our house to be "comfy cottage with pops of color", and this section would be very helpful with that.

The third section, "Workroom" offers tons (and I mean TONS) of practical advice. From sample floor plans, to all types of gallery wall suggestions, this section really allows us to take what we see on the pages and implement it in our own homes.

The "Workroom" also includes lighting diagrams, diagrams of different sofa and chair styles, a grid of different types of flooring and their advantages/disadvantages, and suggested closet configurations. And that's just the beginning. There's seriously a wealth of information in this book, and I feel like it's the type of book that I could look at every week for a year, and find something new that I love each and every time.

And guess what? I'm blessed to be able to give away a copy of this incredible 300+ page book to one of you!

Did I mention that the book comes with a card you can tear out and drop in the mail for a year subscription to Better Homes & Gardens?! Seriously you guys, I am so excited about this, especially since I originally "met" many of you on the Decorating & Renovating board on The Nest. Shout out to my D&R nesties! Anyway, I hope you're as excited about this giveaway as I am! Here's what you need to do to be entered: 

1. Leave a comment on this post. Just for fun, tell me what the next decorating/renovation project you'd take on if money were no object. No, you aren't required to "follow" me to enter, though if you'd like to, I wouldn't object ;) Just please make sure that you have an email address linked to your account or that I have some way to contact you if you are the winner!

For additional entries (and please leave a separate comment for each additional entry): 

2. Like the Better Homes & Gardens Facebook page.

3. Follow @WileyCraft on Twitter. Wiley is the publishing company that publishes the Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book, but they also have lots of other decorating and craft books on the market, as well as an awesome website (click on the image below to go there) that offers tutorials from many of their different books. Following WileyCraft on Twitter is a great way to keep up to date on all they have to offer!

Have a great Thursday everyone!

The small print: The giveaway will close on Tuesday, September 27th at 5pm PST. A winner will be chosen through Random.org, and notified shortly thereafter. I was provided with a copy of Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book for review (and one to giveaway), but was not otherwise compensated for this post. All comments are my own, as always.