Made for Living: Eclectic Interiors for All Sorts of Styles
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-21 11:56:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Amber Lewis
- ISBN：1984823914
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The trendsetting designer known for her effortless style shares the secrets of the art of layering: arranging all your disparate things so that they work together。
Whether you're decorating your first home or refreshing your space， Amber Lewis teaches you how to layer the things you own for a cohesive， beautifully designed home。 Delivering tips on refreshing a room with new paint （including finding the perfect white）， mixing textiles and pillows， and blending neutrals， Amber's beautiful， California cool will help you transform your home into one that's elegant and timeless--a look you'll want to keep for the long run。
Whether you're decorating your first home or refreshing your space， Amber Lewis teaches you how to layer the things you own for a cohesive， beautifully designed home。 Delivering tips on refreshing a room with new paint （including finding the perfect white）， mixing textiles and pillows， and blending neutrals， Amber's beautiful， California cool will help you transform your home into one that's elegant and timeless--a look you'll want to keep for the long run。
Reviews
Me
，
I took this book out of my library 100% due to the title。 The title is misleading。 Everything seemed one style。 Solid white walls， wood floors， and lots of uncomfortable looking furniture。 None of the homes looked anywhere near made for living。 There was no sign of life in any of the photos （except for a dog， one room with what looked like artwork of an actual human， and one room that had a bowl of fruit）。 The photos of the houses the author decorated were done in such a fashion that could not g I took this book out of my library 100% due to the title。 The title is misleading。 Everything seemed one style。 Solid white walls， wood floors， and lots of uncomfortable looking furniture。 None of the homes looked anywhere near made for living。 There was no sign of life in any of the photos （except for a dog， one room with what looked like artwork of an actual human， and one room that had a bowl of fruit）。 The photos of the houses the author decorated were done in such a fashion that could not get the larger feel of the space。 As I went through the book different furniture pieces would clue me in this was another angle of a room already shown in an earlier photograph。 The break out of the contents is no help to organize the houses in one's mind。The author does seem to be a very caring decorator for her clients。 The detail with which she finds just the right white paint shade was rather specific。 I would not purchase this book as it did not have anything I felt I could use to decorate my own home。 。。。more
Brook
，
Reading this book to help make some design choices for our reno， and though it’s helpful and informative and I love Lewis’s aesthetic， the chapter on all the ways you can go wrong choosing a white paint kept me up at night and continues to haunt me。 The three stars is more due to her writing style， though—strangely cutesy or chummy for such an otherwise formal book。
Katherine
，
This was good for lots of photos of that "effortless expensive California casual" style， but I didn't find the text all that helpful because it seemed to just keep referencing design choices made intuitively， through playing with lots of options from an extensive vintage collection， or doing custom work with expensive materials。 A little too aspirational-looking still， without the energy I'd associate with "normal" people really living and using a space （many of these projects seemed to be house This was good for lots of photos of that "effortless expensive California casual" style， but I didn't find the text all that helpful because it seemed to just keep referencing design choices made intuitively， through playing with lots of options from an extensive vintage collection， or doing custom work with expensive materials。 A little too aspirational-looking still， without the energy I'd associate with "normal" people really living and using a space （many of these projects seemed to be houses in the vicinity of 5000sqft）。 。。。more
Alessandra
，
There's a lot to love about where interiors are headed this decade; the photographs in these pages are proof。 Though I should qualify that and say， it is proof if you primarily believe rooms should be made to look good on a page， or 2x2" instagram screen， and not actually made for living。 Whoops。 The first thing that I noticed on a quick flip through is that there are zero signs of life--except for one lonely dog on pg。 246。 I understand that it is normative to erase people out of their homes in There's a lot to love about where interiors are headed this decade; the photographs in these pages are proof。 Though I should qualify that and say， it is proof if you primarily believe rooms should be made to look good on a page， or 2x2" instagram screen， and not actually made for living。 Whoops。 The first thing that I noticed on a quick flip through is that there are zero signs of life--except for one lonely dog on pg。 246。 I understand that it is normative to erase people out of their homes in design books， because you want to see the furniture and pillows， dammit！ But I was hoping at least to see this Amber Lewis of social media fame in the introduction， preferably ensconced by lots of pillows。 But no。 On pg。 8 there is one photo with a blonde in it， and I think it is Lewis， but not sure because her back is to the camera as she styles one of her "signature" shelves。 If you want to see her real face you have to go to the bio at the end of the book。 For someone who is so focused on establishing her brand （A constant sentence-starter in MFL is "people are ALWAYS asking me。。。"） I would expect her face to be slathered over this thing， Joanna Gaines style。 Come on， Amber！ Show up！Instead this author prefers to show her personality in her writing voice， which is very colloquial and weirdly off-putting at times。 （"For Realz the Nicest People on the Planet。"） Conversational is fine for an IG caption， but for print？ I don't know if I should be too hard on the writing。 The person I really want to be hard on is the editor。 Editor， where WERE you when this passage came into being？ "My serious obsession with textiles includes pillows。 I truly think they can make or break a room。 One wrong pillow and it all goes downhill。 I am kind of sort of kidding， but mostly one hundred percent serious" （214）。 She's not just sort of kidding， she's KIND OF sorta kidding。 But also 100% serious， mostly。 Come on Amber！ If you are serious， go all the way！ There is no mostly 100%。 Pick a percent and stop bouncing between the neutral walls。 Ok， Alessandra。 Calm down， no one actually reads coffee table books anyway， you say。 Alright then， I will stop picking on the poor California lady and her editor。 But could they have at least gotten the photo editing right then？ Yes， the photos are beautiful。 BUT， in the section on picking a shade of white， which is mostly 100% helpful， I feel like it would have been all the way 100% helpful if all the photos weren't edited to such a high exposure。 Amber is kindly trying to explain how "Milk Glass" by Dunn-Edwards can read green in certain lights， but I can't see what she is talking about because "Milk Glass" is edited to look like "Chantilly Lace" to look like "Foggy Day。" The intent was nuance， but the effect is uniformity。 But this is because BRIGHT WHITE is what looks good in a book。 I'm sure if I visited these people's homes， I would detect the care and particularity that went into selecting their whites， their rugs， their pillows。 But from here， It looks all the same。 Beautiful same， for 289 pages。 Also， what happened to books on bookshelves？ How many taper candlesticks does a person need？Ok， here is some praise。 One: I absolutely love every chair in this book。 Her eye for leather， wood， and joinery is stunning。 Really topnotch。 I would buy a book， just of her chairs。 I would want to know the history and make though！ Two: I love her taste in wood。 The light wood trend is truly refreshing， and I appreciate her selection of wide plank oak floors， and toffee colored wood in furniture。 Three: the flower arrangements were a surprising source of delight for me。 I would love labels on which cutting flowers and plants are on the pages。 They really help to make the space too。 。。。more
Lyndsey
，
Lovely pictures。 I love her style。 Was hoping to learn a bit more from it so our home could incorporate the eclectic element of her style that I love so much。 Regardless， it is a lovely addition to my coffee table。
Jennifer
，
Nothing like reading interior design books when you don't have a house， or even an apartment， to decorate / paint / style， right？ But even so， I've read quite a few this year， and this one stands out。 It's full of super practical， approachable advice for how to style rooms （from the paint color -- yes， there's a whole chapter just on whites -- to the pillows）。 The photos of the homes that she has styled are gorgeous and even with so many white-walled rooms， they all seem to have their own unique Nothing like reading interior design books when you don't have a house， or even an apartment， to decorate / paint / style， right？ But even so， I've read quite a few this year， and this one stands out。 It's full of super practical， approachable advice for how to style rooms （from the paint color -- yes， there's a whole chapter just on whites -- to the pillows）。 The photos of the homes that she has styled are gorgeous and even with so many white-walled rooms， they all seem to have their own unique feel， a sort of warmth to them that's unique to each house。 It's all that unattainable， too-rich-for-me style that is found in basically all of these books， but I suppose that's part of the fun of flipping through them， right？ Still， there are tips and tricks in this that can be applied to any space: buy vintage， add pillows， update the hardware， put in an area rug！ Along with Amber's super-relatable writing style， this book is worth more than just a quick flip through。 。。。more
Jesseca Sali
，
This book is beautiful and I love Amber Lewis' style。 The writer content is lacking in my opinion。 I didn't find it very educational， but it makes for good visual inspiration。 This book is beautiful and I love Amber Lewis' style。 The writer content is lacking in my opinion。 I didn't find it very educational， but it makes for good visual inspiration。 。。。more
Shereen Y
，
The book is full of beautiful photos。 I don't follow Amber Lewis on social media so I found it inspiring for ideas on how to put together a neutral palette without being boring。 However， this book is not an instructional or helpful to non-designers as it claims to be。 Furthermore， she is a terrible writer and her self-congratulatory tone is very cringeworthy。 Nonetheless， I don't regret buying the book。 I will look at the pretty photos but definitely won't read it again。 The book is full of beautiful photos。 I don't follow Amber Lewis on social media so I found it inspiring for ideas on how to put together a neutral palette without being boring。 However， this book is not an instructional or helpful to non-designers as it claims to be。 Furthermore， she is a terrible writer and her self-congratulatory tone is very cringeworthy。 Nonetheless， I don't regret buying the book。 I will look at the pretty photos but definitely won't read it again。 。。。more
Dodi
，
The most useful book of this type I have read。 The author lists specific paint colors and why they work （or don't work） in certain spaces。 There is solid advice for styling and selecting materials and mixing patterns。 The most useful book of this type I have read。 The author lists specific paint colors and why they work （or don't work） in certain spaces。 There is solid advice for styling and selecting materials and mixing patterns。 。。。more
Maggie
，
Well this was glorious and made me want to redecorate and purchase about 1，214 new pieces for our home。 Must。 own。 Buying all new throw pillows！ And looking at the shape， tone and texture of everything in our house and reworking if need be。 LOVED reading this。
Staci Taylor
，
gorgeous pictures to illustrate the easy going but pretty california aesthetic！ if you are looking for home inspo， this is a good one！
Barbara
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