Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design: Fearless, Fabulous Decorating

"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.