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At Home With Laurie Ann: A Decorator's Guide: Turn the Place You Live Into a Home You Love Reviewed By Cyndee Kromminga of Bookpleasures.com
- By Cyndee Kromminga
- Published February 17, 2010
- Homes & Gardens
Cyndee Kromminga
Reviewer Cyndee Kromminga: Cyndee is a wife and mother of three sons living in the Midwest. She is a freelance writer for both the Web and print publications and is an avid reader of everything. Cyndee owns a craft and design business and enjoys living the simple life.
View all articles by Cyndee KrommingaAuthor: Laurie Ann McMillin Ray
Publisher:Laurie Ann Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-9840748-0-8
Click Here To Purchase At Home with Laurie Ann
When I received my review copy of At Home With Laurie Ann: A Decorator's Guide: Turn the Place You Live Into a Home You Love by Laurie Ann McMillin Ray, I was immediately intrigued. The top of the press release said "A Budget-Friendly Dream Home." That was enough for me to abandon my projects in process. I immediately snuggled up in a favorite tattered chair to enjoy some pleasure reading.
The introduction drew me in with Laurie Ann's background and her belief that everyone deserves to make a house a home. I felt like the author was talking to "me," not just "the reader." Her concept of finding a style is specific, without being pretentious. She gives ideas on finding your own personal style without telling you what your style should be. The approach is simple--decorate with things you like, make your style reflect in your home. By the end of the first few pages, I was ready to learn and Laurie Ann was ready to teach me.
At Home With Laurie Ann did not disappoint me. Finally, here is a book that teaches the everyday homeowner how to decorate their homes. It is not filled with dos and don'ts, or rules that will guarantee failure. Instead, Laurie Ann empowers me, the homeowner, with information and ideas, while she's cheering me on. There are lessons to be learned, mulled over and put into action on every page. You will have "ah ha" moments and your head will be bobbing with understanding.
Laurie Ann keeps in mind the homeowner who lives on the beach, in the mountains or even an apartment in the city, by teaching how not to fear color, patterns and textures. She has included a whole chapter of translated options, assuring successful choices.
Once you have savored Laurie Ann's lessons, she puts a ribbon around it all by including an entire section on holidays, events and seasonal decorating--indoors and out.
Laurie Ann McMillin Ray has been involved in the Southern California interior design community since the 1980s when she began decorating model homes for her father, well-known builder Corky McMillin. Ever since, she has developed a solid reputation as both an interior designer and the owner of several decorating stores. She is a self-taught, innovative go-getter who is known for her eclectic style