Elements of Family Style: Elegant Spaces for Everyday Life
- Downloads：2476
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-02 10:52:38
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Erin Gates
- ISBN：1501137301
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
New York Times
bestselling author and popular lifestyle blogger Erin Gates shares everything you need to know about designing a beautifully stylish—yet practical and functional—family home through candid advice， inspirational ideas， and lessons learned。
Loved by her readers for her chic interior designs and frank and funny revelations about life behind the scenes of her picture-perfect blog， bestselling author and designer Erin Gates presents a new book about how to live stylishly amidst the chaos of daily family life。 Throughout her career designing homes for families of all kinds all over the country， Erin has always maintained that living with children and pets does not mean that you have to forego nice things。 This uniquely personal and practical guide will explain how to create a home that makes you proud and reflects your own style while also being durable， safe， and comfortable for children。 It focuses on the spaces families share， those that are dedicated to the kids， and the oft-forgotten retreats for parents。
Erin combines honest design advice and gorgeous inspirational photographs with engaging and intimate personal essays about life lessons learned the hard way while struggling with infertility and becoming a mother， managing a business， overseeing her own home renovation， and finding time for her marriage。 She’ll share how to store toys so that shared spaces don’t look like a kindergarten， the expensive-looking fabrics that will stand up to a marauding toddler with sticky hands， nursery looks that go beyond blue and pink， and furniture that does not have to be stored during the baby-proofing years。 She also showcases the work of other designers she loves who surround parents， children， and their pets with comfort and beauty。 Like a best friend who has a knack for style and a taste for fun， Erin opens her front door and invites you into her life and all of its beautiful imperfection。
Loved by her readers for her chic interior designs and frank and funny revelations about life behind the scenes of her picture-perfect blog， bestselling author and designer Erin Gates presents a new book about how to live stylishly amidst the chaos of daily family life。 Throughout her career designing homes for families of all kinds all over the country， Erin has always maintained that living with children and pets does not mean that you have to forego nice things。 This uniquely personal and practical guide will explain how to create a home that makes you proud and reflects your own style while also being durable， safe， and comfortable for children。 It focuses on the spaces families share， those that are dedicated to the kids， and the oft-forgotten retreats for parents。
Erin combines honest design advice and gorgeous inspirational photographs with engaging and intimate personal essays about life lessons learned the hard way while struggling with infertility and becoming a mother， managing a business， overseeing her own home renovation， and finding time for her marriage。 She’ll share how to store toys so that shared spaces don’t look like a kindergarten， the expensive-looking fabrics that will stand up to a marauding toddler with sticky hands， nursery looks that go beyond blue and pink， and furniture that does not have to be stored during the baby-proofing years。 She also showcases the work of other designers she loves who surround parents， children， and their pets with comfort and beauty。 Like a best friend who has a knack for style and a taste for fun， Erin opens her front door and invites you into her life and all of its beautiful imperfection。
Reviews
Melanie Pozuc
，
Erin does a great job walking through family friendly materials and how to help a space age with your family。 I wish some of her explanations were more thorough。 I also would like more about the journey of choosing materials in the space she photographed。 Many photos were from other designers。 She gives just the right amount of personal anecdotes。 A great bonus is ten tips from other designers sprinkled throughout。
Kayla
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I didn’t like her writing and was extremely unimpressed with her designs （something I would see at my sister’s or a girlfriend’s- very basic and flat， and will very quickly be out-of-date）。
superawesomekt
，
Nothing to say here。
Kim Veach
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Beautiful photos， lots of design ideas from different design styles， writing that was enjoyable to read。
Kristi
，
Beautiful book and some tips on decorating but nothing new。 This style of decorating is very bland to me and I was looking for a bit more when I picked up this book。
False
，
Interior decorating， specifically for families with young children。 Of zero use to me。 She preaches wipeable surfaces and sturdy fabrics。 You could also teach even your youngest child how to handle things with care （don't put your feet with shoes on the white sofa， etc。） Her taste， despite the room， has a certain sameness to it。 Interior decorating， specifically for families with young children。 Of zero use to me。 She preaches wipeable surfaces and sturdy fabrics。 You could also teach even your youngest child how to handle things with care （don't put your feet with shoes on the white sofa， etc。） Her taste， despite the room， has a certain sameness to it。 。。。more
Rachel B
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Gates' style could be described as modern traditional。 She uses a lot of white and light neutrals; when more dramatic color is used， it's often through wallpaper。 While I can see why others would like her aesthetic， it's just not my taste。 Gates' style could be described as modern traditional。 She uses a lot of white and light neutrals; when more dramatic color is used， it's often through wallpaper。 While I can see why others would like her aesthetic， it's just not my taste。 。。。more
Bridget Champlin
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It was ok。 Gave some ideas for my house。 Wasn't all my style。 3。5 It was ok。 Gave some ideas for my house。 Wasn't all my style。 3。5 。。。more
Bkrieth
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Looking for lake house ideas！ :）
Maggie Nichols
，
Another great read from Erin Gates。 If you were a fan of her first book， or are an avid reader of her blog， I would highly recommend。
Elizabeth Gonzalez
，
I was attracted to the book spine， but that’s the best part of this book。
Victoria
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Beautiful photos of pulled together rooms， nice conversational writing。 It’s an easy 2-3 hour time investment to pour through the photos and text。 However， for me， everything seemed the same， not an enormous variety of style。 My favorite page: Durable Fabrics Cheat Sheet。 My decorating takeaway: I need more plants and/or interesting flower arrangements
Taylor SwiftyMcQueen
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Meh
Marie
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The spine of this book caught my eye while I was browsing new books in a local library; it's one of the most attractive spines I've ever seen。 I borrowed it from the library planning to flip through it looking at the pictures without reading it， but once I was I home I read the first few pages and decided to read the whole book。The conversational style of the writing was easy and enjoyable to read。 The book is filled with high quality photographs of diverse room designs。 Reading this book （and l The spine of this book caught my eye while I was browsing new books in a local library; it's one of the most attractive spines I've ever seen。 I borrowed it from the library planning to flip through it looking at the pictures without reading it， but once I was I home I read the first few pages and decided to read the whole book。The conversational style of the writing was easy and enjoyable to read。 The book is filled with high quality photographs of diverse room designs。 Reading this book （and looking at the photos in it） helped me think about how I want to use my spaces and what I'd like them to look like。 。。。more
K Bayko
，
My new favorite decorating book！ Classy， sophisticated， and yet completely down to earth。 Author Erin Gates does a splendid job of explaining the tricks of the trade， and the photos are such eye candy！ This book encourages you in your decorating path rather than making you feel insecure。 Highly recommend。
Ben
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This book is great for the technical aspects of design。 What fabrics resist stains and the wear of children？ How do different types of rugs hold up？ Fantastic。 But the rest of it？ It's just a gray blob。 I have never been more bored。 Every room is the same room。 There are only one or two exceptions。 Definitely not visually stimulating or appealing。 This book is great for the technical aspects of design。 What fabrics resist stains and the wear of children？ How do different types of rugs hold up？ Fantastic。 But the rest of it？ It's just a gray blob。 I have never been more bored。 Every room is the same room。 There are only one or two exceptions。 Definitely not visually stimulating or appealing。 。。。more
Kristin
，
Love the aesthetic of the rooms featured in this book。 It's definitely a style I would like to emulate。 I'm hoping to remember to check this book out again from the library if/when we redecorate rooms in the future。 Just beautiful。 Perfect mix of classic and modern。 Love the aesthetic of the rooms featured in this book。 It's definitely a style I would like to emulate。 I'm hoping to remember to check this book out again from the library if/when we redecorate rooms in the future。 Just beautiful。 Perfect mix of classic and modern。 。。。more
Elliot
，
This is one of the best design books that I have read in a long time。 Not only does it dispense very good design advice， that I will definitely be following in the future， but she also provides a realistic picture of parenthood， marriage， and mental health as we grow up and have kids！ So thankful for her honesty in regard to her story and her struggles， as well as all of her design photos！
Trish
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Has a lot of different rooms styled and has good resources。
Julie
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Great pictures and tips！
Kelsey
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3。5 stars。 Her style fits more with mine than the other two interior design books I was reading。 Abode and Homebody had lots and lots of white。 This one had some color at least！
Debbie
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Wow， hats off to Erin！ I wasn't in love with her first book， but I enjoyed this one so much more。 Maybe it's because it's so much more down to earth （first one too stuffy）， or maybe because she's grown so much as a designer。 It's clear that her range has broadened and it is also nice to see rooms by other designers that she admires being showcased。 Erin has become a parent， taken a giant chill-pill and has a less serious approach to design overall， which translates to a delightful， beautiful boo Wow， hats off to Erin！ I wasn't in love with her first book， but I enjoyed this one so much more。 Maybe it's because it's so much more down to earth （first one too stuffy）， or maybe because she's grown so much as a designer。 It's clear that her range has broadened and it is also nice to see rooms by other designers that she admires being showcased。 Erin has become a parent， taken a giant chill-pill and has a less serious approach to design overall， which translates to a delightful， beautiful book。 。。。more
Miranda
，
The actual writing was nice （though if she said she spilt red wine one more time 。。。） but the photos were blah and didn’t match up to what she was saying。 Some photos were even blurry！ I enjoyed her writing enough to bump it up to a three but the actual spaces were meh。
Halli
，
I need to start off by saying I read this book cover to cover。 I admire Erin Gates and all of the things she has accomplished， is accomplishing， and will accomplish in the future。 However， I have to say， though this book is currently sitting in front of me and takes a lot to put together; I am looking forward to the content that Erin produces as her career progresses。 The redeeming bits: I appreciated Erin writing about the fight for Henry; I know this is an ongoing battle for her and one she is I need to start off by saying I read this book cover to cover。 I admire Erin Gates and all of the things she has accomplished， is accomplishing， and will accomplish in the future。 However， I have to say， though this book is currently sitting in front of me and takes a lot to put together; I am looking forward to the content that Erin produces as her career progresses。 The redeeming bits: I appreciated Erin writing about the fight for Henry; I know this is an ongoing battle for her and one she is not willing to lose。 I enjoyed the little blurb from Andrew; random but a nice touch。 The pages and photos I most enjoyed were those by other designers; not by Erin and as the book goes on it's apparent what are her spaces （flat， one-dimensional） and what are other's spaces。 I found some of the language a bit crass and felt that in speaking of bodily functions when designing with children in mind one could be more delicate。 Yes I understand she's calling a spade a spade but can not a spade be discussed in a more tasteful manner？ The photography drove me nuts as the majority of the photos contained 3 things: her first book （yes， it has a distinctive spine; let's use it more sparingly next time eh？）， fresh cut flowers/greenery （what about more ideas for distinct accessories for longevity as this book is focused on family design？）， and the rearranging of the same accessories for different photos of the same space （maybe I wanted to get a better look at a different side of that piece？）。 This book is for the individual who needs a book about the basics。 。。。more
City Girl
，
The best part of this book is that it said that the Tv room should be separate from the family room and from the entertaining room so that actual conservation can take place。 However， since not all places have that， I would like to have known how to hide the TV when not in use。
Susan Kendrick
，