hAuthors offer decorating tips

hAuthors offer decorating tips

“Home Design Ideas: How to Plan and Decorate a Beautiful Home” (Ryland Peters & Small; $35; hardcover) offers ideas for every kind of home and room in your home.

Written by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, Joanna Simmons and Rebecca Tanqueray, the book examines each room and covers topics such as: galley kitchens, housing technology, bedroom lighting, bathroom layouts, study areas and storage spaces.

Illustrated with more than 700 photos, the book offers case studies with instructions on how to re-create each look.

New designer book samples paint colors

Choosing a paint color can be a daunting test of taste. Will Moorish Red survive the neighbors’ scrutiny? Will Fresh Dew still look fresh a year from now?

House Beautiful’s book “Colors for Your Home: 300 Designer Favorites” can’t guarantee a yes to either question, but it can offer the assurance that all the colors it features have been recommended by top interior designers.

So even if your sister-in-law doesn’t approve of your choice of Breakfast Room Green, at least you can take comfort in knowing Charlotte Moss does.

“Colors for Your Home” is simply a compilation of color samples, each accompanied by an explanation from the designer of why he or she likes it or a suggestion of how to use it.

Photos show many of the colors used in room settings.

There’s also a color index that assigns colors to rooms where they might work well.

The book is published by Hearst Books and sells for $14.95.

Renewed fragrance

Love that just-out-of-the-dryer smell? A new type of Bounce dryer sheet keeps renewing that fragrance all day long.

Bounce Awakenings sheets deposit microscopic capsules in the fabric, which continue to release scent as you move.

The product comes in two scents, Renewing Rain and Paradise Thrill.

Suggested retail price is $6.49 for a 100-count package.

Stainless steel advice from top designers

Top interior designers agree that stainless steel is gorgeous as a focal point or a fine enhancement as an accent in the kitchen, but should never be used in both capacities.

“A little goes a long way when you’re designing with stainless steel,” says Michael Schwartz of 2S Designs in Grayslake, Ill.

“You wouldn’t want stainless counters or small appliances in the same design with large pro-line stainless pieces, unless you were going for an over-the-top industrial design.”

Green furniture

Not all green design has to be pricey.

Consider shopping at places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army.

For a modern take on old accessories, pick up items that are in good shape at these stores and either paint or reupholster them.

Reusing furniture that already exists is the best and kindest choice for the environment.

Paper projects

You’ll have a new appreciation for paper after reading “The Paper Home: Side Tables, Clocks, Bowls, and Other Home Projects Made From Paper” (Potter Craft; $21.95; paperback) by Labeena Ishaque.

Starting with an overview of the history of paper, the book details its versatility and uses in the home, including its use as wall embellishment.

What once was used primarily as writing material is used to make trays, bowls, chess sets, wall features, photo frames and clocks, among other decorative items.

Combined dispatches