Lovable, Livable Home: How to Add Beauty, Get Organized, and Make Your House Work for You

The Petersiks (Young House Love) continue their family-friendly, do-it-yourself home decorating with this ambitious sourcebook of ideas, advice, and inspiration for “getting more organized, adding beauty, staying within your budget, and squeezing more function, meaning and personality out of your home.” Organized by activity spaces (e.g., eating, sleeping), the book provides suggestions for adding color, texture, pattern, and character into each room of the house. Being creative is made accessible with step-by-step instructions for such projects as decorative wall doodles, painted furniture (a lace-stenciled thrift store table is pretty and practical), and hand-painted hanging plates. The authors recommend families ditch DIY for “DIT (Do It Together)” and provide suggestions for getting the kids involved in decorating their rooms. The book’s overall style is youthful, modern, and budget-sensitive, with comfortable, highly functional rooms that are not overdecorated. The authors hit the mark on relaxed living in theory and execution. More ambitious or experienced do-it-yourselfers will want to look else for inspiration, however. (Sept.)