Product Description

Christopher Lowell has done it again! In response to thousands of letters requesting a book on small-room decorating, the Emmy Award-winning star of the Discovery Channel's most popular decorating show applies his innovative thinking to the challenge of turning cramped quarters into a comfortable, stylish home. He takes the Seven Layers of Design system introduced in his first book one step further by applying it to small spaces and inspiring readers to create extraordinary rooms out of the ordinary.

With his trademark energy and innovation, Lowell guides us through two modular homes, one designed in a traditional style, the other in a more modern decor, but both intended to offer the reader a myriad of design options and ideas. The traditional home features a Nantucket-style master bath, a sunroom with faux stone walls, a French-influenced guest bedroom, and a separate dining room. The modern home contains a kitchen finished in sophisticated stainless-steel paint, a living room-guest bedroom partitioned with sliding bookcases, and a Zen master bedroom with a space-saving platform bed.

Room by room, Lowell tackles such problems as how to make the most of tiny master bedrooms, how to create several rooms from one, what to do with narrow hallways, how to conserve space by creating multipurpose rooms, and how to renovate a guest bathroom for under $100. Before and after pictures show how anyone can perform miracles just by "thinking outside the box." Once again, Christopher Lowell inspires readers to dream big, no matter how small their space.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #175629 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-09
• Released on: 2003-09-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From the Inside Flap
Christopher Lowell has done it again! In response to thousands of letters requesting a book on small-room decorating, the Emmy Award-winning star of the Discovery Channel's most popular decorating show applies his innovative thinking to the challenge of turning cramped quarters into a comfortable, stylish home. He takes the Seven Layers of Design system introduced in his first book one step further by applying it to small spaces and inspiring readers to create extraordinary rooms out of the ordinary.

With his trademark energy and innovation, Lowell guides us through two modular homes, one designed in a traditional style, the other in a more modern decor, but both intended to offer the reader a myriad of design options and ideas. The traditional home features a Nantucket-style master bath, a sunroom with faux stone walls, a French-influenced guest bedroom, and a separate dining room. The modern home contains a kitchen finished in sophisticated stainless-steel paint, a living room-guest bedroom partitioned with sliding bookcases, and a Zen master bedroom with a space-saving platform bed.

Room by room, Lowell tackles such problems as how to make the most of tiny master bedrooms, how to create several rooms from one, what to do with narrow hallways, how to conserve space by creating multipurpose rooms, and how to renovate a guest bathroom for under $100. Before and after pictures show how anyone can perform miracles just by "thinking outside the box." Once again, Christopher Lowell inspires readers to dream big, no matter how small their space.

About the Author
Christopher Lowell is the host of The Christopher Lowell Show (formerly Interior Motives), the most popular daytime show on the Discovery Channel. His eclectic background as an actor, artist, classical pianist, creative director, and teacher of interior design has given him both the skills and the authority of someone who has truly paid his creative dues. On his show, Christopher brings his practical experience and talent to people looking for problem-solving ideas. He delights in teaching them to decorate their homes with fabulous projects and improvements that are achievable, affordable, and fun. Loyal viewers tune in twice a day and still can’t get enough of Christopher; their response has inspired a line of decorating products and custom paint. As Christopher would say, “Love that!”

Customer Reviews

Some good ideas but not worth the investment even at a discount
Fortunately I bought this for $5. I will take it back today for a refund!

Here are the good points:
--he uses his trademark 7 layers of design. There is a chart at the back, on a couple of pages explaining this concept. Good concept, nice short description. Now I don't have to bother with his other books.

--he discusses decluttering oh so briefly (but then spectacularly doesn't follow his own advice)

-- and he explains the poverty attitude where people hang onto stuff out of fear of the future instead of making use of what they like and letting go of the excess stuff.

--he breifly explains the Japanese method of using layers of foreground, middle and background to create depth in small spaces. Not how to do it though. Just that you use layers, that you can see bits thru, like a city skyline (his analogy, and a good one) where the skyscapers are all differing heights and you see vignettes of the city thru the gaps creating a sense of depth.

--he uses colour in a rich way. With less clutter in the photos, the blends of deep rich colour would be stunning instead of overwhelming. Reminds me of shopping at Pier One.
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NOW as to WHY NOT TO BOTHER:

----The amount of clutter is overwhelming. The man layers on top of layers with no sense of open space to let a person breathe. None of the objects show to advantage when they are as jammed and cluttered as a dime store clearance rack.

-----The man wastes a LOT of space in the book with cutsey pictures of himself with a yellowish box in all sorts of poses. Less than attractive and a real slam to the poor buyer who might actually have been hoping for more pictures or more explanations in those same spaces. Another reviewer counted 43!!!! of these self portraits. Obviously he thinks he did it all himself since the staff weren't worthy to include in any of the pictures showing the projects halfway. That would be ok if the rest of the book was worthwhile.

-----The text is confused and jumpy. He bounces around like he is on some kind of speed drug or something.

-----He invents language. It took me half way thru the book before I figured out what HE meant by the term "merchandising". Hint--it isn't about selling stuff which is the normal definition.

-----He uses dated hardware on the cabinets in the kitchens, even when he changes them out. That bright brass went out in the late eighties, and brushed nickel was a nineties look. This decade is going thru oil rubbed bronze and the newest hint of any type of gilding is a weatherd gold look. Anything but bright shiny brassy "gold".

-----He CONFUSES OPEN DISPLAY SPACE with true STORAGE WHICH IS CLOSED (to hide stuff that is less than visually appealing).

eg *** Nowhere is that worse than the master bedroom with the huge pillars. He is so delighted with his "storage" shelves in the massive headboard unit, that he decides the room won't need a dresser of any kind. A few towels, a basket or two and some books are what he stores in this master bedroom.

Most normal people might want some hidden storage for underwear and the like but not him. I presume that the cramped closet space will be sacrificed for more drawer type storage as a result.

And WHY???

so he can display a few more mismatched towels and create a straight walkway thru the bedroom to another area of the house.

Somebody tell him bedrooms are not hallways, and somebody tell that mobile home company to mke the door to the sun room off the kitchen area.

Problem solved, without creating a runway thru a private space.

THE CONFUSION between storage space and display space IS COMMON to a lot of designers but this one goes over the top. He keeps claiming that he has added tons of storage to these trailers but in fact there is very little storage added, that wasn't already there in kitchen cupboards and closets.

WHAT HE CALLS STORAGE IS REALLY DISPLAY SPACE and he does do a nice job styling the shelves full of useless but pretty stuff. Too much of it, but that seems to be his trademark design.

IF YOU TRY THIS AT HOME please remember storage space is CLOSED space, while display space is open to view and is only intended for a few spare items of great beauty. Display items are focal points, and too many simply means visual clutter.

---In every possible corner he crams fake plants, visual clutter, junk and trivia. He discusses the necessity of being able to move thru a space but then ignores such practicalities as vacuuming room. In order to clean these heavily dust collecting spaces, you need to get in there to dust, and to vacuum.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that running a vacuum thru these spaces is an obstacle course that would take days of effort.

MY CONCLUSION?
People don't live like that normally unless they have a Molly Maid who can help them clean every week and a storage unit out back where they can park the real necessities of life, that you don't want out on display such as underwear, or spare rolls of toilet paper or that truly ugly but effective shampoo bottle.

This man should do store displays for Pier One and similar home decor stores. He has the rich colour sense that is so attractive in these places, but he should leave the design of small spaces to people who truly understand them.

A good place to start is the magazine Style at Home which will give you all the richness and colour and design, without the clutter or dated combinations. I suggest a subscription to that magazine instead of the cost of this book. Their annual small space issue in in the spring, but the rest of the year they include tips for smaller spaces with each issue.

LOVE THIS BOOK!
If you have small spaces (and who doesn't!) this is the book for you. I devoured every page. Christopher's designs are impeccable, classy and you WILL be able to douplicate them yourself.

Misleading!! Not really for tiny spaces.
I don't watch cable tv and Christopher Lowell isn't familiar to me, but I was eager to read this book as I have a number of small rooms. I was extremely disappointed to find that all the rooms in the book were comparatively huge. I was hoping for decorating tips for rooms 12 x12 and smaller. Oh, well. Some of my friends who have bigger rooms have been happy to borrow it.