New Cottage Style: Book Giveaway

Better Homes and Gardens’ book New Cottage Style ($19.95) seems like just the thing to read for Spring, so I’m giving a copy away this week as a part of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival (read about the giveaway here). 

Today also happens to be my 3-month “Blogiversary,” so this is a great way to celebrate all of the fun we’ve had since January. I’ve been amazed by the warm response my site has received from the blogosphere! Clearly, I’m not the only one who’s hooked on houses. Thanks to all of my readers, both new and old. I appreciate every single one of you!

New Cottage Living is perfect if you’re looking for:

• Decorating ideas to achieve a look that’s clean, simple, and light.
• Photos of new and remodeled homes that add style with architectural features.
• Secrets to creating harmony with paint, furniture, fabrics, and accessories.
• Examples for decorating in the country, suburbia, and oceanfront locations.
• Practical ideas to create the comfortable getaway look of your dreams.
• Effective color schemes that achieve a clear, serene palette.

If you’d like to win a copy of New Cottage Style, simply leave a comment on this post between now and Friday, April 25 at midnight (EST), and I’ll draw a name at random on Saturday. Check back then to see if you’re the winner! (Giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.) If you have a blog, be sure to leave your URL so I can visit you in return!

BONUS: click the button at the bottom right-hand corner of this page that says ”ADD TO MY TECHNORATI FAVORITES,” and I’ll add your name to the drawing twice. If you don’t already have a Technorati account, you’ll have to fill out some basic information about yourself to get one. So for non-Technorati’s who don’t want to join, you can mention in the comments why this site is one of your faves and get entered twice that way.

Why Your House Will Never Look Like a Model

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Real homes are to model houses what we normal women are to fashion models.

Supermodel Cindy Crawford famously admitted, “Even I don’t wake up looking like Cindy Crawford.  I have fat days, ugly days, blimp days, days that I just feel terrible about myself. I don’t want to have to be beautiful all the time.”

The same goes for our houses. If there are real people living in them–with dogs, cats, and kids–our homes are going to have fat days, ugly days, and days when we feel pretty terrible about them. That’s just life.

Click “more” below to read why our houses can never stack up:

Building Character One Doorknob at a Time

One of the biggest problems with houses today is that so few of them have any real character. If you read my post about our family-room makeover, or saw the photos from my writing-room makeover, you know we started with a big, blank slate of white boxy rooms when we moved into our house.

Our solution? A lot of crown molding and trim. Adding hardwood floors to rooms that originally had carpet. And replacing the standard cheapo brass light fixtures that the builder left us with chandeliers in unexpected places, like my writing room and our daughter’s room (shown next page, from Land of Nod).

We also had the builder add a few things that weren’t in the original plans, like a round window in the powder room instead of a regular rectangular one, and two square windows on either side of the fireplace. The windows didn’t cost much more, but they made those rooms a little more interesting than they would’ve been without them. We also had them reconfigure the front elevation to add a front porch, which is rare in our neighborhood.

There’s no question that it’s a challenge to give character and interest to a newer home like ours, built in a suburb where every third house has the same floorplan and a similar exterior. There are so many neighborhoods like ours out there that I know I’m not the only one who has this problem!

Click “more” below to hear Marni Jameson’s advice on how to build character:

To Move or Not to Move: That is the Question

 

Sometimes it’s hard to know when it’s time to move on, and when you’re better off staying put. Especially in this real estate market, things are trickier than ever.

One of our neighbors argues that we should all sell now because the market might get worse before it gets better. Another wants to sell but is putting it off until the market recovers some of its mojo so he gets the money out that he put into it.  It’s a gamble either way. No one knows for sure what’s going to happen in the coming year (if you’re the exception, please let me know).

To read author Marni Jameson’s advice about moving, click “more” below:

How to Choose Wallpaper (If You Dare)

 

In the interest of full disclosure, since we’re talking about wallpaper today, I have to admit that I used to sell it. I not only worked for a year at Wallpapers to Go, but I sold more rolls than I can count as a designer’s assistant in the 1990s.

Maybe this explains my aversion to it now. When working for a successful interior designer, I made the mistake of suggesting that one of our clients would prefer paint over wallpaper in her contemporary home, and boy did I get chewed out for it. He explained that it was my job to sell the clients wallpaper for every single room in their homes whether they really wanted it or not. The markup on it was how we made most of our money. Did I want to get paid? Then I’d better lug some wallpaper books over to the client’s house, pronto.

I felt so dirty.

I have also had the experience of having to remove old, dated wallpaper, so that is no doubt contributing to my dislike of it. But I do appreciate it when it’s in professionally styled rooms like the one above (via The Inspired Room). And Marni Jameson, author of The House Always Wins, argues that wallpaper is back with a vengeance, and “it’s not your grandmother’s.” I’m trying hard to believe her, but I admit I’m a skeptic. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to return to the halcyon days of wallpaper and matching borders again.

Regardless–let’s suspend our disbelief for a moment and hear what she has to say. Maybe she’ll convince us to give it another try.

To learn how to choose wallpaper that (hopefully) won’t lower your home’s resale value, click “more” below:

How to Pick Paint Colors

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I’ll admit it. I have a history of picking the wrong paint colors. There was the Craftsman White, which looked completely neutral on the chip but turned a pale yellow in our foyer. The Irish Spurge, which turned our upstairs hallway into a dark, depressing cave. And let’s not forget Compatible Cream, which was a decidedly incompatible yellow-gold in my living room.

One of my most memorable paint mistakes was choosing Green Apple for my mudroom. Just as I finished painting it and stood back to admire my work, my son came in and said, “Cool! It’s the same color as Shrek!” Believe it or not, ”ogre” had not been the look I was going for. (It is now a mellow Tawny Green.)

Time after time, I have fallen in love with “the perfect color” on a paint chip, only to be stunned by the results on the wall. And even when I try those test quarts, I’ll like it enough on one wall to go back and buy a gallon, only to realize I really hate it when it’s everywhere.

As a result of all this trial and error, I have a “paint graveyard” in my basement where all of the unused gallons go. Neighbors will actually stop by to pick up paint for their weekend projects. I tell you all of this because I need Marni Jameson’s advice on how to pick wall colors more than anyone. If it stumps you, too, read on.

Click “more” below to read an excerpt from The House Always Wins:

Book Giveaway: The House Always Wins

I just discovered a fun new book called The House Always Wins by Marni Jameson. Not only is it filled with helpful advice for the do-it-yourself decorator, but it’s laugh-out-loud funny, too. My favorite combination!

Some of the topics the book covers:

• Why your house will never look like a model.
• A sane person’s guide to choosing flooring.
• Cabinets are like Cabernet: the more you know, the more you spend!
• Building character one doorknob at a time.
• Why furniture shopping is so hard, and where to start.
• Bargain hunting for the best deals.

I especially recommend the book to anyone who is moving, building, or struggling to pull together a cohesive look in their own home.  

I’ve been trying to figure out how to review it for you, or share some of the things I’ve learned, but I hardly know where to begin. There’s just so much good stuff in here! So here’s what I decided to do. Ready?

Click “more” below for details about the book giveaway:

Sarah Susanka Responds to My Interview With Daniel McGinn

Well, everybody, it’s been another exciting day here at Hooked on Houses.

I just heard from Sarah Susanka, author of the bestselling Not So Big House books, saying that she read my interview with Dan McGinn and has a few things she’d like to contribute to our discussion.

In yesterday’s interview with the author of House Lust, I mentioned that I am a fan of Susanka’s work and enjoyed the chapter in his book that included her. I have appreciated her “not-so-big house” philosophy for a long time, and I took cues from her books when building mine several years ago (for example, I had the builder re-design the two-story family room that everyone else in our subdivision has so that we could have a playroom upstairs instead of that empty vaulted space and ginormous window wall).

Mine’s Bigger Than Yours (How Square Footage Became the New Scorecard),” McGinn visits some Starter Castles in Potomac, Maryland, interviewing their owners to see what, exactly, they do with all that space. (One woman, when asked how many bedrooms and baths her sprawling house has, is stumped for a minute, and has to stop to count.)

He writes, “As these homes proliferated, a whole industry has risen up to draw attention to their alleged shortcomings. At the head of this movement stands Sarah Susanka.”

In her 1998 book, The Not So Big House, Susanka challenged the notion that bigger is better: “More rooms, bigger spaces and vaulted ceilings do not necessarily give us what we need in a home. It’s time for a different kind of house. A house that is more than square footage . . . A house with a floor plan inspired by our informal lifestyle instead of the way our grandparents lived.”

McGinn took Susanka with him to look at a model home in a new development to get her thoughts (let’s just say she wasn’t impressed by what she saw, such as the brick facades with vinyl sides). In my interview with him, I asked whether he saw any end in sight for the Hummer Houses. Would the end of the housing boom finally bring an end to the “bigger is better” mentality and make people rediscover the value in smaller homes that are better built?

He responded that although he likes a lot of Susanka’s theories, he’s not sure if some of her “basic messages–that cathedral ceilings often don’t make sense, that we’d be better off without formal dining rooms–have evolved to the point where they really resonate with the masses yet.” (Read the entire interview here.)

I found Sarah Susanka’s thoughts on the subject not only interesting, but inspiring. I think you will, too.

Sarah Susanka: “As the author of the Not So Big House series, I have a bit more to contribute to this question. People usually don’t recognize that there are several rooms in their homes that rarely get used until it’s pointed out to them–that’s what my books do. Suddenly a light bulb goes on as readers realize they’ve never actually sat in the formal living room, for example. Dining rooms often, though not always, meet a similar fate.

“But Dan is right–until this realization is brought to their awareness, homeowners tend to want what everyone else seems to want . . . more space, taller ceilings, etc. They want it because that’s what they are taught to want. It’s what our culture promotes as the American Dream. I’m simply asking “What is YOUR dream?” If that coincides with the American Dream then go for it.

“But there are a lot of people for whom that bigger house just isn’t what they aspire to. They just don’t know what the alternatives are. I suggest to people, if you don’t use a room, don’t build it. You are not alone. Use the money instead for something that has meaning and value to YOU.

“Increasingly people are doing just that, and are living in houses that fit them much better as a result. In the past ten years, since The Not So Big House first came out, I have seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of people who are interested in better design and a more comfortable house that’s designed for the way they really live. Although there is still a large percentage of the population that equates bigger with better, there are increasing numbers that want better but not bigger. They’re looking for a sense of moreness that’s not related to size.

“So what I describe is not so much about building smaller as it is about better designed for today’s lifestyles. That’s the key, and I believe there is a distinct shift in attitude as people recognize there are alternatives to bigness alone.

“What I advocate is using the dollars you have available to secure a quality of design that will make your heart sing everyday. That’s what will swing the compass. It won’t happen overnight, but from my perspective at the center of this debate there’s no question that there’s more awareness of the tangible value and increased quality of life that results from tailoring a house to fit you like a glove rather than a sack.

“Time will tell, but I’m convinced that the future will be filled with houses that have a lot more to do with quality than with quantity. I hope I’m right!”

Thanks to Sarah Susanka for sharing those thoughts. I’m so inspired now. I almost feel like I’ve been to church (the Church of Good Design)!

If You’re Hooked on Architecture:

• Read more about the Not So Big House books
• Frank Lloyd Wright’s William P. Boswell House
• Matti Suuronen’s Mod Venturo House (Orange Bikini Not Included)
• Richard Neutra’s Modernist Kaufmann House Sells for $19 Million at Auction
  
• Stickley Furniture: a Primer
• Vera Wang’s Oceanfront Villa in Palm Beach, Designed by Addison Mizner
• Reese Witherspoon’s Country Home in Ojai, Designed by Wallace Neff

If You’re New Here: Hooked on Houses features decorating inspiration, celebrity house tours, fabulous before and afters, real estate news, fantasy open houses and more fun stuff. It is always 100% ad free. Comments from my readers are the only payment I receive, so I hope you’ll leave one! To see what we’re talking about today, click here.

A Conversation About House Lust with Daniel McGinn

I recently had a chance to talk to Daniel McGinn, author of the hugely entertaining new book House Lust. Listen in on our conversation to hear what he has to say about the future of McMansions (like the one pictured above in Potomac View, Maryland, that he writes about), the phenomenon of “new-house” lust that causes buyers to spurn “used real estate,” and how the housing boom may have permanently altered the way we think about our homes, even after it’s gone bust.

Do You Have House Lust? If You Do, I’ll Give You This Book!

I have to tell you that I love this new book, House Lust: America’s Obsession with Our Homes, by Daniel McGinn ($24.95, hardcover). And if you’re hooked on houses like I am, then I think you’ll love it, too.

Want a free copy?

I’ve decided to send a copy of the book to one lucky winner as a way of saying thanks to all of you who have been visiting my blog and helping it get off to such a great start. Anyone who posts a comment will be automatically entered to win (must have a US mailing address). My daughter Lily will choose the winner at random when the blog gets its 2,000th visitor. The more you visit “Hooked on Houses,” the faster the numbers will climb, and the sooner we’ll declare a winner!

NOTE: WE BYPASSED 2,000 ALREADY! But since we’ve still got so many visitors stopping by to register for the giveaway, I’ll leave it open for more entries until Sunday, Feb. 3, at midnight, and draw a winner on Monday.

Bonus Points: If your comment includes either 1) a reason why you’d like to have this book or 2) a reason why you like this blog, your name will be entered twice.  

Welcome to everyone who is stopping by as part of the “Bloggy Giveaway Carnival” this week. Click on the HOME button (top of this page) to see the main Hooked on Houses page. Click on ABOUT to read about the purpose of this blog and the writer behind it. If you love houses, then I hope you’ll Bookmark this site and come back soon! Thanks! -Julia

UPDATE!! 

I was just contacted by Daniel McGinn, the author of House Lust, who read all of your enthusiastic comments about it on this blog and wants to donate an autographed copy to the giveaway. He has also agreed to let me interview him as soon as he has a chance to answer some of my questions. He is traveling and doing publicity for the book now, but check back for our Q&A. He has a lot of interesting things to say, so you won’t want to miss it.