Home Cheap Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to Great Decorating

Rating:
Summary: Budget Living Subscribers: This is a pass
Review: "Home Cheap Home" is published by Budget Living Magazine (which is one of my new, favorite magazines.) I have purchased three issues of Budget Living, and found many of the decorating ideas already published in the magazine, published again in "Home Cheap Home". This is an annoying redundancy I have noticed a lot in books published by magazines -- note to publishers: We do notice!!! That said, "Home Cheap Home" is a pleasant enough, realistic approach to decorating on a "budget". I do think many books and magazines need a reality check on what the average consumer's idea of "cheap" and "budget" are, since recovering a thrift store sofa for $1,200 would leave many of us gasping for air and eating nothing but Snack Ramen for the next three months. "Home Cheap Home" is REALISTIC budgetwise for those of us who are forced to think of Pottery Barn AS the expensive stuff. The book relies heavily on flea market and thrift store looks and finds, and if this isn't your bag, this isn't the book for you. I did enjoy some of the decorating/craft projects, especially the book-folding thing -- very funky! There were not a lot of new source ideas, Budgeteers already know to shop Target, Ikea, eBay, the fleas, and rumage sales. (If you have shopped for secondhand junk lately, you will have noticed a lot of the prices are less than budget friendly, and the day of the fabulous $10.00 Goodwill sofa has gone the way of drive-in movie theaters.) Still, "Home Cheap Home" offers up a fun approach (if not exactly fresh) to decorating within ones means. Like the magazine "Budget Living", one of the most delightful things about "Home Cheap Home" is that it never takes itself to seriously. And,when your end tables are cardboard boxes covered with sheets, this is a welcome attitude.

Rating:
Summary: Save your Money
Review: An extreme disappointment from a great magazine. I truly expected more from them.

Rating:
Summary: There isn't anything new here
Review: As a fan of Budget Living, I was super disappointed when I got this. I looked through it and expected new ideas but what I saw were things that have already run in the magazine. I feel cheated and angry. I gave the book to my hairdresser.

Rating:
Summary: Proves That Cheap can also be Stylish and Chic!
Review: I love the new wave of books and magazines coming out that focus more on personal style and budget, than on decorators' styles (and budgets!). This book is fun and cool, and doesn't make you feel embarrassed for shopping at Target, Ikea, or Crate & Barrel for furnishings. I read Lauri Ward's "Use What You Have Decorating" and now I have the design basics down pretty well; and this book is kind of a follow-up to that: buying items within my budget. However, I also feel inspired to break some of the Ward rules after seeing the way others use their personal style in decorating.

The best thing about this book is the way different styles are mixed up, yet still come together and look cohesive. I was a bit lost when it came to decorating since I like a little of everything: Vintage, Retro, Modern, Urban, Industrial, Casual, Whimsical, Bohemian, etc...but I'm also drawn to neutral colors. Now that's a decorating dilemma!

I also like the way the book encourages readers to use their imagination and get creative with their talents. I don't have seamstress or carpentry skills, and not much of a DIY'er, but I was inspired enough to buy some poster boards and make a few collages (and even hang them up!). There are only a few projects featured in Home Cheap Home, and they look like they are pretty easy to do. I like the "Etched Words on a Drinking Glass" project and plan to give it a try. I think they should have featured more easy projects like that.

To sum it up: For those looking for an eclectic approach to decorating, this is a good one to check out. However, I gave it a rating of 4 because I think they should have added more than just compilations from their magazines (as others have already said).


Rating:
Summary: If you want a stylish house for less $$, read this book!
Review: I read every issue of Budget Living, and I loved this book. Their message -- you don't need a lot of money to create a stylish look -- is so true. They created some amazing looks ... and gave me some wonderful ideas for decorating my new apartment.

Rating:
Summary: Just a rehash of what's been in the magazine
Review: I'm a huge fan of the magazine Budget Living, so I was thrilled to hear about this book. And it did not disappoint -- the book is GORGEOUS, really high-quality production and design, and the ideas are fabulously fun. There is a bit of overlap from the magazine, but the book goes into greater depth than the magazine is able to ... and it offers a lot of great new ideas, too. Spread the gospel of Budget Living!!

Rating:
Summary: If you read Budget Living magazine, don't buy this book
Review: If you read Budget Living magazine, don't buy this book. All the editors did was scrape together rooms and projects they've already published. This is old stuff, and I'm not happy I bought this book.

Rating:
Summary: home chic home, not cheap
Review: The title, something that will grab attention, is misleading. This is not Home cheap home, but should be Home chic home. That would not be misleading. Examples:
p. 15 "... splurges included a $1200 Murano glass chandelier and a cast-iron fireplace." Huh? How is that cheap? The room is made up of cast-offs which is what people buying this book probably are all too familiar with already. Where's the "cheap" inspiration? Gather cast-offs and then spend $1200 on a chandelier.

p. 61 "... with little more than $3,000 ..." If the purchasers had $3,000 for a kitchen re-do they wouldn't be buying a book with the word "cheap" in it. Countertops: $2,000 marble.

p. 66 "... properly restored model [vintage stove] like hers can run anwhere from $4,500 to $5,500." Lesson learned here: get lucky and inherit one like this person did.

p. 69 "... at $560 each [Italian designer dining chairs] they may seem out of character for the frugal French-woman ..." Maybe we can find one of these at our local General Dollar store, where el cheapos are known to frequent.

p. 71 "... A grand total of $1,800 divided by six chairs and a table equals about $200 or so per chair..." $200 per chair? Where's the cheap part? Read on about the fish sculpture that cost almost as much as their dining room set.

p. 73 "... So they called on designer Darren Ransdell ... who transformed their space [tiny kitchen] for less than $3,000. Where's the cheap? Where's the inspiration other than to get out the yellow pages?

And so on. Hold onto your $19.95 for a vintage sock monkey and start a collection as seen on p. 97.



Rating:
Summary: Just a rehash of what's been in the magazine
Review: This is a ripoff. I see what's budget about it. It was cheap for the magazine to create because it's just a rehash of what they've published before. This is a major disasppointment. Don't buy it.