‘No Place Like Home’ Review + Giveaway
April 19, 2011
The other day, I received a copy of designer Stephen Saint-Onge’s book No Place Like Home. Many of you know, Stephen’s work appeared in a monthly ‘House Calls’ series in Better Homes & Gardens, and I always looked forward to his makeover features. He’s been named one of the top 15 Designers by House Beautiful.
When I first casually flipped through the pages of this book, nothing really jumped out at me so I put it down to ‘read later’. But then I actually started reading it, and I have to say, after finishing it, I gained so much from the sense and sentiments on the pages, especially Stephen’s insight on simple, clutter free family friendly design.
My favorite thing about this book that really surprised me is that it is written in Stephen’s voice, with his influences and thought process clearly apparent on the pages. I love in the ‘Introduction’ how he details his “very Norman Rockwell” small town upbringing, and how so often movies are his creative muse in design.
I love that too.
Inside the 170+ pages, you’ll find tips for styling bookcases, quick ways to bring personality to you home, tips for mixing fabrics and furniture styles, tricks for making rooms feel more spacious, and creating better flow in your home. It’s filled with pages of Stephen’s ‘Creative Thoughts’ on the best ways to make all of your spaces comfortable and inviting, from family rooms to kid spaces, and also make them work for the way modern families gather and live together. He is a father, husband, and homeowner with a fantastic sense of what families really need and want in their homes.
For example, with this formal living room makeover, Stephen walks the reader through the steps of transforming this space from blah to beautiful, from choosing the paint on the walls, to the layering of the area rug and properly scaled furniture, to the addition of the window treatments, and then the final accessories, all combined to bring warmth and style into this sophisticated but not stuffy living room.
You can view the video of this room’s transformation and hear Stephen’s voice as he walks through the step by step in this room’s makeover at BH&G.
Stephen worked his same magic on this cottage style dining space.
In the book are Stephen’s steps to giving this room a facelift where he shows how by adding wainscoting to the walls, painting the hutch, and energizing with a palate of crisp blue and warm yellow, the space is much fresher and more modern.
There’s an entire chapter dedicated to renovation and all the things a homeowner should consider before starting the process. This ‘after’ attic space was one of Stephen’s projects where the empty storage attic was redesigned into a functional home office filled with personality and style, but also to perfectly suit the homeowner’s needs.
He discusses all of the rooms inside the home in great detail, including the kitchen, and how to make it work best for the family, and also capture the feeling of the family members that live there.
My sole criticism of this book is that most of the images are darker and smaller than I prefer, I was even squinting with some of them. Maybe I need a new prescription? I even brightened some of the images you see in this post with my own software. I think with all the magazines and blogs I read, I’ve become accustomed to big bright images of spaces, and in my opinion, this book’s photographs could have been much bigger and brighter, but again, that is my personal preference.
What I do like about the photographs in the book is that they are taken by Stephen himself. They are not overly styled pictures of high end homes, rather they are images of real families living in real homes designed for real living, and that is what Stephen captures very well in this book.
My favorite takeaway from this text is the idea of a scrapbook style ‘Look Book’. I keep tear sheets from magazines in binders, but Stephen takes it further. He recommends keeping a touchable inspiration guide where you can write thoughts and store your favorite images and textures, and then use that as a guide for decorating your home.
You can purchase a copy of Stephen Saint-Onge’s No Place Like Home here and also follow his blog too.
I also have two copies of No Place Like Home to giveaway ! Simply leave a comment mentioning the one space you struggle with the most, and you’ll be entered to win! Giveaway ends Saturday April 23rd at 8 p.m. PST. Two winners chosen at random.
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Tags: book review, stephen saint-onge
This book sounds helpful and fun. The room I struggle the most with is my house. I have a hard time committing to colors, layouts, and especially hanging up pictures.
I struggle with my living room. It does not have any type of an entryway and the front door just opens up to the living space. I also have a ‘family room’ with a mounted tv and a fireplace so the living room rarely gets used and I live alone so having a family room AND a living room really feels like wasted space. The living room also flows into a open kitchen/dining area floor plan so I feel like it needs to have a cohesive feel to it. It also is the open area to the hall towards the bed and bath rooms so furnture placement is a problem.
I struggle with my office believe it or not! Unfortunately it’s in the same room as our dining room (currently) so it’s hard to define each space and make them at least feel like they’re separate
I struggle most with our bonus room… We want to turn it into a functional family room but we are not sure how.
I struggle with my “formal” living room. It has a comfy couch and chairs and it is where we spend time as a family having deep discussions or making family decisions without distraction from the TV (as in the family room). However it is really bare as I have no idea how to style it. And it is the first room you see when you enter our home.
We are struggling with a long narrow living room that includes a fireplace, large flatscreen and dogbeds that we are trying to decorate in a warm, inviting way. Also, we are fortunate to have furnishings and accesories that are of good quality and that mean something to us but often I can’t find a way to display them. It seems like this book might help with all my concerns.
I would like some fresh ideas, new takes on decorating bedrooms, more specifically, Master bedrooms. I think it’s too easy to “do what everyone else does” in a bedroom, especially if you’re limited on space. I’d like to find a better balance between designing a functional, yet uncluttered, restful place. :)
I would love some help with our open floor plan. I love that it’s spacious, but I long for coziness too!
We’re completely renovating our house but the area where we need the most inspiration is the attic. We’re adding an entire master suite.
After 45 years of marriage, my living room is a catalog of furniture styles, from antique family hand-me-downs, to Queen Anne dining furniture, to a Windsor sofa, to comfy, chunky reading chairs, to transitional tables–and the list goes on. I would love some help sorting out what should stay and what should go, and then finding a unifying element to tie it all together.
I struggle most with our kitchen, which is a tiny and awkward space. I wish we could knock out a couple of walls, but our finances won’t allow that. So I continue to struggle. :)
Would really love to win this…have been a fan of Stephen’s for some time:-) Thanks for the give-away!
I struggle with my office. I need to get some organizational pieces!
I struggle the most with the master bedroom. Every room in my house has had some sprucing up, but for the last three years, the most I’ve done in the master bedroom is change the bed spread.
I struggle the most with my upstairs. It is a young teen hangout and gets a lot of abuse. I also like to redecorate other spaces frequently so I love all the inspiration I can get!
I struggle with our main living area. It is really all one big room our kitchen, dining area, and living room. It is hard to make it “go together” but make each it’s separate interesting space. I feel like it’s too blah right now because I am afraid of it not “going” with the other spaces.
I struggle with my office. I find it difficult to balance having a working office that is also a beautiful space.
The sewing room/office which leads directly into the children’s playroom. This space drives me to distraction. In time the playroom will be the media room it was intended to be (no windows need I say more) but that is years away from now. My sewing/craft stuff is moving into a spare bedroom next week but that leaves a large room with a mess of an office used as a highway to the playroom. My lack of design skills are glaring upstairs!!!
I’m struggling with our bedroom. I want a calm sanctuary to retire to at the end of the day, but I just can’t seem to make a start.
The main floor of the house is a ‘mostly’ open floor plan of living room, dining room and kitchen. It’s where any entertaining would take place, if I could tie it together and actually have company over. I love color, and am looking for colors that will tie the space together.
I struggle with our master bedroom. I never can quite give it the finishing touch. I can get the basics, but not the finish.
I struggle with a living room that is a long, rectangular thoroughfare between a wide hallway and the kitchen. It’s a narrow room, but has both a sliding glass door AND a fireplace on the same wall, right next to each other. Am looking for a functional way to place furniture or an idea to repurpose this room into something more useful. LOVE Stephen St. Onge and love CG!
I struggle with my living room/entry (there is no formal entry), and have since we moved into our home over three years ago. After reading this entry, I’m sitting here looking at these leather chairs in my living room that I hate and that are just too big for the space they’re in. But they were picked out by my husband (insert sigh here) and I just don’t know what to do with them …
I struggle most with the garage.. it’s always a mess and my car remains out in the rain :(
I struggle with my living room too. It has three doorways to other rooms, a coat closet, a fireplace and a large window with a radiator in front of it. It’s large but I can’t figure out how to make it anything but a long skinny hallway!
My living room. It has three doorways to other rooms, a coat closet, a fireplace and a large window with a radiator in front of it. It’s large but I can’t figure out how to make it anything but a long skinny hallway!
I would LOVE this book !!!!! Maybe it would help me with the upstairs guest room…..it needs help !!!
As a new homeowner with limited funds, I’m having a hard time decorating my home. Everything is soo expensive nowadays that you have to resort to thrift stores and trying your hand at doing it yourself. If something fails, you just try again.
my guest room is a big struggle because we have very little furniture for it and it is a awkward space.
What a fabulous giveaway!!! I would love to win this giveaway. I’m struggling a lot with my whole house. We built our home fourteen years ago and my style isn’t the same as when we built it. I’m ready to do some updating and redecorating. The room I’m really struggling with is my daughter’s bedroom. We are getting rid of everything except the furniture and starting from scratch.
Our family room is the hardest room for me…. it is a converted garage, and mostly hand me down/c-list finds and toys! HELP!
I struggle with the living room. It’s a downtown loft apartment and the space is open and large and it makes a color scheme difficult for me as well as the over 20′ ceilings!
Thanks for this giveaway. I’m struggling with my bedroom.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to create a look for my living room that’s both cozy and fresh — the shots of the blue and yellow dining room are quite an inspiration. This is quite a wonderful giveaway — thanks for the chance to win!
What a wonderful giveaway, I am currently working so hard to revamp our home after becoming empty nester’s. We are making progress, but at times I do become empty-headed with more ideas or even making sure it all goes with my real personality I am trying to envoke to other’s who come into my home. I sure hope I win, I could use the help……
I always loved his column in bhg!
I struggle with the WHOLE HOUSE!! :) but the room i struggle with the most… our family room. i’ve tried several different things… nothing seems to help! thanks for a great giveaway! :)
I lived a house or two away from Stephen and grew up along with him. He was a talented artist, even as a small child, and I’m glad to see his book finally coming to fruition! I just got a copy of it as well, and love all the tips he gives. Great ideas!
I lived a house or two away from Stephen and grew up along with him. He was a talented artist, even as a small child, and I’m glad to see his book finally coming to fruition! I just got a copy of his book as well, and love all the tips he gives. Great ideas!
The room I struggle with most is my living room. Very long rectangle with windows on each end.
Would love Stephen’s book – maybe will inspire me to tackle this room once and for all.
Thanks for writing this review. I’ve been a fan of Stephen’s since I saw his columns in BHG magazine, and was wondering what his new book was like. Fingers crossed!
The room I struggle most with is my kitchen — how to add personality but still keep it functional.