Thursday, September 22, 2011

Better Homes & Gardens New Decorating Book Giveaway!

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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: 

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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.

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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): 

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.

49 comments:

  1. If money was no object, I would completely redo my upstairs bathrooms. :c)

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  2. If money were no object... oh man, there are SO MANY IDEAS... Ok, if money were no object, I'd put a double story porch on the back of my house. The bottom would be screened.

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  3. Since we're renting, I have to do "small" things... so the first project I want to tackle next is painting our entire upstairs (including all bedrooms)... yikes! If we owned the house, I'd be painting the kitchen cabinets, gutting the bathrooms, and finishing the portion of our basement that is unfinished.

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  4. I also follow them on twitter :)

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  5. If money were no object, I'd redo my kitchen. It hasn't been updated other than paint and some new tile since it was built in 1950!

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  6. YAY Awesome!!

    1- umm if money was no object I would go ahead with our addition ASAP. I don't need a TON of money... $100,000 would do & get us all we need plus some :)

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  7. If money were no object I would add a fence to the backyard as well as a small deck and patio.

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  8. I signed up for twitter to follow WileyCraft. I've been avoiding the twitter, but I guess I'm a tweeter now?

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  9. If money were no object, we would turn our 1 1/2 story home into a 2 story.

    Since that won't be happening any time soon (if ever - we may move before then), we will definitely be redoing our basement next fall.

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  10. My first thought was I really want to paint Ryann's bookshelf and make a chalkboard for a kitchen. But since money is no object, can I do a complete overhaul of our exterior? Landscaping and all? That would be nice. Okay thanks :).

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  11. Heeeeck yes! If money were no object, I would completely redo my back bedroom (which isn't bad as it is, but could use something FUN and less neutral).

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  12. I just followed @WileyCraft on Twitter ('m @lovelovelovesar)

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  13. AND, I liked Better H&G on FB (and, not like it matters, I'm a subscriber which means I'm awesome). I'm definitely going to have to buy this book if I don't win.

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  14. I just recently started receiving BH&G and don't know where in the world it's coming from! If I had an extra $3k, I would tear out our current laundry "closet" and build in shelving with an exposed laundry unit. Too bad it involves re-tiling, refinishing walls, and refinishing the ceiling! Not to mention the expense of a washer/dryer!

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  15. I would love to have this book! I was inspired by your kitchen cabinet re-do!

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  16. If money were no object, we would definitely redo our kitchen. It could really use an update.

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  17. We would definitely redo our basement if money were no onject. We really want to make it into a gameroom for our kids. daisypgh @ hotmail

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  18. If money were no object our kitchen would be getting a MAJOR renovation!

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  19. Well...first I need a new house. This one wouldn't cut it. THEN... :) I would want to redo one entire room as a craft/sewing room. For sure. :) So many cute ideas all over the place that I've seen lately, and I'd LOVE this book.

    I also "liked" them on Facebook.

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  20. I would finish the basement to include a playroom and a guest room! (never gonna happen - we rent - but it would be nice!)

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  21. If money were no object, I would redo our guest room. It's just awful right now.

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  22. if money were no object i would redo our living room. after 11 years of marriage and 3 children i don't think it's too much to ask to lose the bachelor futon set that acts as our furniture!!! ry

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  23. This is such an AWESOME giveaway. Thanks for the chance. MIL gets the magazine and passes it along to me, but I could really use my own subscription in real time. =)

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  24. If money where no object I'd start with the flooring my kitchen and bathrooms!

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  25. I have great plans for my kitchen...now that the hubs has a "real" job we may be able to get that accomplished this spring summer! If money were no object, though, I'm sure the renovation would be even more dramatic than what I see in my head.

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  26. I have always "liked" BH&G on facebook...although, I really love them!

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  27. If money were no object, I would L-O-V-E to redo our very builder-basic kitchen...maybe someday ;)

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  28. I lve thinking about decorating! My next project would be redoing our open pantry. It's an open but built in bookcase, which is a huge challengenwith an 18 month old daughter!

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  29. I would replace our icky carpeting with hardwood floors. Or I would redo our kitchen.

    christina{dot}alexander{at}gmail{dot}com

    Thanks for sharing with us!

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  30. You know us. . .OUR ENTIRE HOUSE! It's collage of many projects. My next project is to paint the kitchen though. I love giveaways. Love you!

    Me

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  31. Well I do not own a house :(
    and I have deactivated my FB account...I followed the thingy on TW though....
    But I think this is awesome! I'd die for that book...
    And if money wasn't an issue I'd do something for my new *to be* living room. I am moving to a new apartment next month. YAY!

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  32. I am awful with home decorating so I think this book would be perfect for me! Perfect timing for the giveaway, too!

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  33. If money was no object, I'd hire someone to do my dirty work around here. I have rooms that need painting, a new kitchen floor, prints that need to be framed and hung, new light fixtures...the list is seemingly endless. Ugh.

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  34. If money were no object, we'd be building our dream home right now. Does that count as a a project? :) I think the next project will be tackling the office, it's the only room in the house that I'm not satisfied with at the moment. It just doesn't have the "personality" that I would like.

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  35. If i had a house and didnt live with my parents i would love to redecorate it the way i like. Im moving out within the next month or so, so this book would help greatly!

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  36. I have an unfinished basement that I would finish!!!

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  37. We desperately need to renovate our master bathroom. It is TOTALLY next on our list- as soon as we can afford it.

    back2basicsblog@gmail.com

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  38. bathrooms. They need updating like now.

    k8ty_bj at hotmail.com

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  39. Hmm...that's a tough one. I think if money were no object I'd either redo our living room or finally finish our bedroom.

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