Don’t let decorating be a daunting task

Don’t let decorating be a daunting task

Elizabeth Mayhew thinks decorating doesn’t have to be daunting. When friends ask her advice on what to paint a room, she says, they don’t want a design lesson; they want a specific paint color.

That’s why she’s written “Flip! for Decorating: A Page-by-Page, Piece-by-Piece, Room-by-Room Guide to Transforming Your Home.”

Mayhew, a lifestyle expert on NBC’s “Today Show,” simplifies design by concentrating on the casually sophisticated look that’s popular now. For instance, she limits her suggestions on window treatments to shades, blinds and curtain panels, because she likes a simple, tailored approach. She also focuses on just four rooms: the living room, dining room, family room and bedroom.

The book adds a fun flip-book feature that lets you riffle the pages and watch rooms being decorated.

“Flip! for Decorating” is published by Ballantine Books and sells for $24 in softcover.

Housecleaning offer

When you’re battling cancer, a clean house isn’t just a matter of aesthetics. It’s a matter of health.

A clean environment is essential when an immune system is compromised. That’s why the Cleaning for a Reason Foundation offers free monthly housecleaning services for four months to women undergoing treatment for cancer.

To donate or request services, visit www.cleaningforareason.org.

Decorating photos

Forget wordy descriptions.

When looking for decorating ideas, good photos such as the ones in the “Outdoor Entertaining Idea Book” by Natalie Ermann Russell and “Kitchen Idea Book” by Joanne Kellar Bouknight (The Taunton Press; $19.95 each) will do.

With more than 350 images each, the series offers succinct design insight paired with sidebars featuring advice, tips and even recipes.

Photos depict stylish dining rooms, pools, countertops, appliances, fixtures and more.

Create spaces to live outdoors

A well-designed landscape extends your home beyond its four walls.

Landscape and garden designer Julie Moir Messervy shows readers how to create living spaces outdoors in her new book, “Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love.”

Messervy believes most people are more comfortable fixing up rooms than yards, so she seeks to instill confidence by taking a step-by-step approach.

She addresses real-life challenges, and provides a wealth of ideas and photos for inspiration.

“Home Outside” is published by Taunton Press and sells for $30 in hardcover.

Twist on bath towels

Stegosauruses could be roaming your bathroom and pteranodons swooping by your shower.

All you need are the instructions in “Jurassic Towel Origami.”

This charming book shows you how to fashion prehistoric creatures out of bath towels to make bath time an adventure. You can make a variety of dinosaurs and other ancient animals, a caveman and even a miniature Stonehenge.

“Jurassic Towel Origami” is published by Andrews McMeel Publishing and sells for $14.99 in softcover.

Combined dispatches