Don't let the messy cover of this book fool you. It's a good, comprehensive guide to creating a room.
Each chapter in How to Decorate: An Inspiring and Practical Handbook by Shannon Fricke (Potter Style/Random House) helps you understand how and why certain decisions should be made. And until you're clear on those, decorating may be an exercise in frustration and futility.
The most helpful bit of info that encourages me lies in one single sentence: "As is always the case with interior decorating, success lies in how you whittle down the options."
How to choose from among a plethora of sofas, cushions, draperies, rugs and so on seems to be a universal challenge.
Perhaps everyone's biggest hurdle, however, is paint colour, one that all too often either stalls a project or prevents a successful outcome. Learning to use colour with confidence, Fricke says, is worth it: "Infusing your interior scheme with colour will bring the place to life, giving it energy, verve and personality in a way no other aspect of decorating can."
The colour info is sprightly written, with clear explanations and antidotes: Red is "the agitator of the spectrum ... full of energy and switched on 24/7." Yet, "take some of the heat out of red and you have a lovely, nurturing colour that offers energy without tipping you over the edge."
There's similarly dense information relating to upholstery and lighting. Much to be learned here.
Find spaces you are comfortable in. Think about why they work, then visit others that don't. Once you've established what elements in a space make you feel comfortable, you'll have a deeper understanding of what works in yours.
Then, buy the big stuff first, and fill in later with accessories, which Fricke says is the fun part, plus: "They turn your very well-decorated house into a very well-decorated home." Accessorizing should be done slowly, over decades even, to present your true self to the world, not a snapshot of an afternoon's shopping spree.
The only thing that can be covered off in an afternoon is a good read of this book. While its cover may not represent its true worth, the title and subtitle could not be more accurate.
-- Postmedia Network Inc. 2014
