Courtney Warren

The Story of Your Home is more of an invitation into a design story, so its approach is definitely conversational with plenty of pop culture references. While there are lovely pictures and useful tips interspersed throughout the book, there isn't anything necessarily new in its content. However, don't let that dissuade you as there are tangible ideas included that can help translate design visions into next steps. To be honest, viewing this book more as a memoir and less of an instructional design guide resulted in a more engaging read. The chapters on celebrating story and the memories that come with them—as a result of special occasions or everyday life—make the whole book worth reading. If readers are looking for a book that can invite you in, just like into a home, Courtney Warren demonstrates that spirit of hospitality and sense of whimsy all at once.
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I signed up to get an early copy of this book to review because every winter I tackle a redecorating project in my home. I was hoping for maybe some guidance or advice. This book was a little heavier on story than decorating advice. I mean, the advice was there but it was a bit more broad and vague than I was hoping for. It was more "you do you" than design tips. But even with that approach, I had a difficult time finding myself in her quizzes and advice. I also found it ironic that the author gave specific advice NOT to put signs or words or quotes everywhere but her photo examples were often filled with them. Speaking of examples, hers were ALWAYS gorgeous. She is really good at what she does. I just wish there were more pictures. In her stories, she talks about many projects for which there were no photos. I might sound like I didn't like this book and I'm sorry if it comes across that way because I did enjoy the decorating part of it. It was fun to read and the examples were great. I just wanted a little more photos and a little less story. The last part of the book turned quite self-helpy: celebrating and decorating for Christmas, raising your kids, throwing a successful dinner party. These involved some decorating but were mostly how tos on social stuff. Not my thing.… (más)

The Story of Your Home helps you to design your interior space to reflect your life and personality. I liked the author's emphasis on finding what works best for you and your life, even if it breaks conventional design "rules." The author uses a lot of examples from her own life, but I found that these examples sometimes became too long and distracted from the design advice. They also served to emphasize that the author and I have approximately zero things in common, and to be honest, I did not find much advice in this book that was applicable to my life or my home. On the plus side, I liked about 90% of the rooms pictured - I would have liked to have seen a few more photos included, as they were the most inspiring part of the book.… (más)