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    • I'm Christina, a full-time web developer with a dog sitting business, home renovations, and a blog on the side.

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You are here: Home / Interior Decorating / How to decorate / You need to read this book

You need to read this book

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How to decorate

Seriously.  If there’s anything about your home’s layout or functionality that isn’t working for you, you need to read this book.  (This is not a sponsored post–I am highly recommending it for free.)

The first floor of our house has had me stumped for a while.  (Because you know I have decorating ADD and can’t just think about the project[s] I’m already working on.)

Our kitchen has a semi-closed off breakfast area and a dining room.  For the two of us, it was just redundant.  Especially since the breakfast table was only about 6 feet away from the dining table.  At any given time, one of them was just acting as a junk collector.  Ick.

I’d been trying to think of ways to use the spaces better for months, but I was still stumped.  So I was very excited while browsing the library shelf to see this book:

Right-sizing Your Home, an excellent book about how to make your current house work for you

Right-Sizing Your Home: How to Make Your House Fit Your Lifestyle by Gale C. Steves (affiliate link)

The book really has nothing to do with the size of your home; it’s about making the home you already have work for you.  Not by remodeling either (while you could definitely do that–and they have advice for that too), a lot of the ideas you’ll get when you read it could be done for free by just changing furniture around.  It’s about re-thinking the way you actually use your house and the way your house is currently arranged.

how-to-make-your-house-work-for-you

The book is well-organized, starting from the beginning of how and why to re-think your whole house, before going into the details of each room, one per chapter.  There are even pages in each chapter with general dimension guides and extra things to think about if you have kids.

right-sizing-your-home-dimension-guide

Thanks to some thoughts provoked by the book, we have a solution to the breakfast area/dining room issue (and a couple other issues too!), but there are still some details we need to work out…and of course, it adds another project to our list.  Good thing we like projects.

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  1. Kerry

    August 14, 2014 at 8:28 am

    This looks great. I’ll need to check it out.

    Reply
  2. [email protected]

    August 15, 2014 at 1:18 am

    It looks very interesting, since I have a difficult time thining the organisation of the living-room.

    Reply
    • Gale Steves

      August 15, 2014 at 6:49 am

      Sadly, my book which was in its second printing has been taken off the market. I have a few copies available if anyone is interested. I promise that it will make a difference in your home.

    • Christina

      August 16, 2014 at 8:20 pm

      Oh, that’s such a shame, Gale. It is really is a wonderful book, thank you for writing it. I was wondering why some stores were charging $50+ for it. There are still some copies on Amazon too. It’s definitely worth paying for.

  3. [email protected]

    August 21, 2014 at 10:59 am

    I just put this on hold at the library! Lately I feel like I’m drowning in clutter, and I feel like I’m “stuck” in a house that isn’t ideal for us. Maybe this will give me a fresh outlook!

    Reply
    • Christina

      August 22, 2014 at 6:24 pm

      Awesome, Tammi! I think it will. Gale even has a section in the front about clearing the clutter. Post about it when you’re finished, I’d love to see what you thought!

  4. Inge

    August 24, 2014 at 1:49 pm

    This book is seriously looking great, it sounds like music to my ears! Because I’m also that kind of person that always has new projects brewing in her head. 😉 And I’m getting bored of my living and dining room, but the thing is that ours is just too small. And renovating isn’t a solution because we’re planning to move soon. 🙂 I’m wondering if I can move around my furniture, I’m guessing I will have to buy a new sofa because otherwise I won’t be able to move much in my living room. 😉 Thanks for sharing this tip Christina! Hugs, Inge x

    Reply

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Finished! (ish) let's just pretend the new mantle Finished! (ish) let's just pretend the new mantle is painted a warm gray. It will be soon. 
It was $94 for the whole thing. 
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#100roomchallenge
So we were making great (though last- minute) prog So we were making great (though last- minute) progress. Then we're putting the picture hanger on the DIY art I made for the room when the 80-pound dog comes in and steps STRAIGHT THROUGH THE ARTWORK. 😵 

Hubs is trying to fix it as usual. But seriously...I don't know if any more obstacles could be thrown at us during this challenge. 😂 

3 hours to go. 
#100roomchallenge
Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challen Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challenge on our dining room (that you guys haven't even seen the "before" of yet). It's a super fun challenge to stay within $100 and makeover a room in a month. We're behind schedule, but there has actually been progress. I'll try to remember to share here, but there's more on the blog! LittleVictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventua Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventually finish most of our restoration/renovation projects. I'll share the updates in the coming months as we get settled in to our new place. 😁
@little.victorian

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Finished! (ish) let's just pretend the new mantle Finished! (ish) let's just pretend the new mantle is painted a warm gray. It will be soon. 
It was $94 for the whole thing. 
Swipe for the before. See everything at littlevictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
So we were making great (though last- minute) prog So we were making great (though last- minute) progress. Then we're putting the picture hanger on the DIY art I made for the room when the 80-pound dog comes in and steps STRAIGHT THROUGH THE ARTWORK. 😵 

Hubs is trying to fix it as usual. But seriously...I don't know if any more obstacles could be thrown at us during this challenge. 😂 

3 hours to go. 
#100roomchallenge
Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challen Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challenge on our dining room (that you guys haven't even seen the "before" of yet). It's a super fun challenge to stay within $100 and makeover a room in a month. We're behind schedule, but there has actually been progress. I'll try to remember to share here, but there's more on the blog! LittleVictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventua Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventually finish most of our restoration/renovation projects. I'll share the updates in the coming months as we get settled in to our new place. 😁
House update! The realtor is still confused about House update! The realtor is still confused about why "it's such a popular house." When she arrived yesterday for a showing, there were 8 cars in the driveway. 😃

We had three offers the first day, one of whom hadn't even seen the house in person yet.
Surprise! The house is going on the market today. Surprise! The house is going on the market today. (Long story that I'll fill you in on when I have more than 2 seconds.)
.
But we're once again with a realtor that calls our house "unique" instead of calling it a Mid Century Modern. 🤦‍♀️
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We can't count how many locals came into this house and mentioned that those windows should be removed and walled up and the beams cut off. And then it would be a "normal" house. 🤯
.
Still can't really identify with people in this area. 🤷‍♀️ SO happy to be going back home to the East coast TOMORROW!
Right? We're getting back into the house restorat Right? 
We're getting back into the house restoration and we'll be working on the powder room in the master bed. 
Guys. It's bad. Swipe to see.
And we're going to try to make it pretty with a super tiny budget of $100 in 4 weeks and we're joining the #100roomchallenge to keep us (me) motivated.
The bedroom design is starting to come together th The bedroom design is starting to come together thanks to Craigslist and Goodwill. 
#OneRoomChallenge
@little.victorian

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