Product Description

"If you can put together an outfit, you're already overqualified to decorate a room," believes Emmy Award-winning Christopher Lowell. Now, the most popular and colorful personality on the Discovery Channel brings his proven Seven Layers of Design system to readers in a lively blend of design theory and hands-on advice for do-it-yourself projects. In this book, as on his program, Lowell brings his humor, wit, and charm to a host of decorating projects and ideas, making them simple, fun, and rewarding.

Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design solves decorating dilemmas by encouraging you to look at a room piece by piece, layer by layer, from the floor up. By following this process, home decorators can avoid costly disappointments and learn inexpensive tricks for changing the personality of a room. With his colorful presentation of the Seven Layers (Paint & Architecture, Installed Flooring, Upholstered Furniture, Accent Fabrics, Non-upholstered Furniture, Accessories, and Plants & Lighting), Lowell lays the groundwork for simple yet stunning home design. He demonstrates how color is the foundation of a room, why decorating a room around a favorite upholstery fabric is a recipe for disaster, how to create fabulous fakes using paint and plywood, why you should never paint a ceiling white, and how to deal with an interior designer.

Each chapter of Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design walks you through room makeovers with dramatic before, during, and after photos, and solves a variety of design problems. In "Even the Kitchen Sink," Lowell works his magic within the constraints of existing walls and appliances, countertops, and cabinets. "Home Office Haven" demonstrates how to create an efficient home office and still welcome houseguests. "Living Large" helps you to reduce clutter by making use of space you never knew you had. "Dining Room Drama" shows how to bring romance into any room of the house. There are also plenty of tips, secrets, and shortcuts to tackling a stylish Deco bathroom mirror, faux-finished kitchen cabinets, a chic chaise lounge made from plywood, and more. Best of all, most of these projects can be completed for under $100.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #191666 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-05
• Released on: 2000-09-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

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's truly paid his creative dues. On his show, Christopher brings his practical experience and creative 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 even inspired a line of decorating products and custom paint. As Christopher would say, "Love that!"

Customer Reviews

Pictures were nice, but pretty over powering.
It seemed like everything in the book was just as over the top as he is. Instead of showing you a really tastefull way of going about decorating something, everything was just bigger, and more colorful, and fluffier. I think that is kind of his style, and I guess I'm just not a fan of it.

I think if you really enjoy him, you will like this book. I guess I don't enjoy him or this book.

Fun and informative
This is a fun book. However, if you already have furniture and can't afford to buy a lot more accessories, this might not be the book for you. He advises doing things in layers, which, in theory, is a great idea. I just don't have the time or money to do all the things he suggests. If you have an empty room and are starting from scratch with no paint or paper on the walls and can fill it with furniture and accessories, then this is great. Also, the big problem that I've noticed with some of these interior decorating books is that they don't offer a lot of different ideas. I have one book that has quite a few color palette ideas in the back and I've found that I use this a lot more, since it gives some definitive "use these colors to look coordinated" advice without being restrictive.

A Great Read!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had very high expectations for this book...and Christopher sure came through!!!!!!!! All the tips were great and Chris looked great as always!!! I love his show and now i love his books!!!!! I can't wait to read his next book. thanks lowell...i love you man!!!!!