Glimpse the latest book from designer James Swan
101 Things I Hate About Your House
By James Swan
with Carol Beggy
Illustrations by Stanley A. Meyer
What if you could buy one book for the cost of a chrome bathrobe hook in a popular mall store’s catalog and that book could add thousands of dollars to the value of the your home and enhance your quality of life? Homeowners, aspiring homeowners, renters, and those looking to recoup some of the value lost in the recent market downturn, would consider such a book a gold mine. 101 Things I Hate About Your House from nationally renowned interior designer James Swan is that book.
As Beverly Hills-based practitioner of the principles for gracious living, Swan is the perfect style Sherpa to guide readers on their journey of transformation as they improve their daily surroundings and develop a more gracious way of life. Whether the place you call home is a 1,000-square-foot bungalow in Arlington, Massachusetts, or $1,200 month rental in a five-story walkup in a Chicago brownstone, or a sprawling Contemporary-style in Los Angeles, everyone has dreams of what they want their home and life to be. Swan’s 101 Things is an instructional manual for those who want to make the most of what they have. It is a crisp and humorous book that takes readers on a room-by-room, subject-by-subject, thirteen chapter tour of “everyman’s house.” Along the way, the book points out “101 Things” that require attention and while the laughter echoes, Swan delivers solid, practical solutions. Readers are primed for action as they set out to improve their surroundings and, more importantly, their lives.
By eschewing the traditional glossy, high-end, four-color tomes depicting unattainable interiors, 101 Things shines the light of humor on practical opportunities and presents doable, cost effective solutions for readers to make their homes and lives more beautiful. Swan’s smart, concise and practical advice can be turned into reality regardless of income, size, style or location of the reader’s home.
Swan says that “Regardless of the state of your estate, be it massive or minuscule, or your Style IQ, these principles of good living will deliver a framework for a gracious home and by extension more gracious living… And unlike subjective opinions about “style” and “taste” these principles can be focused in a way that allows you to celebrate the home you have and the life you lead. Another way to look at this is that you can have fun with your home. I hereby give you permission to do so.”
Posted 2/24/09
