I just discovered a fun new book called The House Always Wins by Marni Jameson. Not only is it filled with helpful advice for the do-it-yourself decorator, but it’s laugh-out-loud funny, too. My favorite combination!
Some of the topics the book covers:
- Why your house will never look like a model.
- A sane person’s guide to choosing flooring.
-
Cabinets are like Cabernet: the more you know, the more you spend!
-
Building character one doorknob at a time.
-
Why furniture shopping is so hard, and where to start.
-
Bargain hunting for the best deals.
I especially recommend the book to anyone who is moving, building, or struggling to pull together a cohesive look in their own home.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to review it for you, or share some of the things I’ve learned, but I hardly know where to begin. There’s just so much good stuff in here! So here’s what I decided to do. Ready?
I don’t want to just write a single, “This is great! You’ve got to read it!” review. So I’m going to try something different. Every day this week I’m going to share some helpful decorating ideas and excerpts from The House Always Wins. By the end of the week you’ll have a good idea of how fabulous it really is–and you’ll be a lot smarter about decorating, too.
Look for these posts on Hooked on Houses this week:
Then on Friday I’m going to give the book away to one lucky Hooked on Houses reader. That’s right. Pinch yourself. If your name is drawn, I will pop one in the mail and send it right to your front door. (See the details for entering below.)
Marni Jameson (shown here) has a weekly home design column that’s read by more than 7 million readers. In The House Always Wins, she writes about the trials and tribulations of building and then decorating her new home. What’s so great about the book is that she not only regales us with her personal adventures in decorating, but gives solid advice for handling similar situations ourselves. In other words, we have a chance to learn from her (often hilarious) mistakes!
Jameson is down-to-earth and realistic about what most of us can achieve without the help of a professional designer, stager, or stylist, and I find her honesty about it refreshing.
For one thing, she doesn’t assume that we all have unlimited budgets and resources. She also points out that all of those fabulous magazine photos we drool over are actually airbrushed so that cords, light switches, thermostats, and all other imaginable “imperfections” are magically removed. We’ll never be able to airbrush reality out of our own homes, so we might as well embrace it and learn to do the best with what we’ve got.
To enter the giveaway:
Leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Friday, March 21, 2008, and your name will be automatically entered. Bonus: 1) Tell me why you have to have the book or 2) Tell me why you’re hooked on this website (yeah, flatter me!), and your name will be entered twice. I will announce the winner on Saturday, March 22.
You can visit Marni Jameson’s website for more information. Or you can go straight to Amazon and buy it if you can’t wait another minute to own it yourself.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the great contest!
I don’t know -anything- about this stuff, so this is something I could definately use! 
I want this book!
I need the book because I love funny and funny + house sounds like an excellent combo.
And Hooked on Houses is so excellent because it’s bite-size blog entries that are fun, funny, and informative.
Did I mention I want the book?
I’m almost embarrassed to comment- just so you won’t think it’s solely for the book! But your made me laugh when you asked us to tell you why we are hooked on your website. lol I AM hooked. It’s pretty much one of the first things I check in the morning. After the the obligatory email, of course. ;o)
Hi Julia! Please enter me!
I need this book because we’ll be renting our first house soon and so far my idea of how to decorate means throwing all my papers into a box to clear off the table when company comes over. Sad, I know!! After moving 4 times in 6 years, I’m ready to make my house a home!
And you already know I love Hooked on Houses. I love it because it’s different from all the other blogs I read, which are mainly parenting-type blogs.
Heya! We recently purchased a home that needs extensive “character adjustment”. I discovered your blog while tag surfing on WordPress for decorating inspiration and have have been subscribed to your feed for about two weeks nows. Love it, love it, love it. I check it daily, and included you on my blogroll so my friends can enjoy your site as well!
It can be a bit overwhelming at times and I find that my decorating muse has a tendency to go AWOL on me. I need all the inspiration I can get! 
Why do I need the book? I have 2600 square feet of reasons!
Oh I SOOOOOOOOOOO HAVE to have this book…for many reasons, really… #1 We’re building a custom home and we’re saving money by not getting a contractor. Looks like this book would help me inthe budget area. I need furniture, too…I am so interested in the book helping me in this area. Oh and I am addicted to anything having to do with decorating. Now, as far as why I love your site? Need I say more? I’m so addicted to ANYTHING and everything home decor related. I’m so glad I can just come here and click away! WHo needs Google when you’ve got Hooked on Houses? I never need to google anything when I come here!
Cannot wait for this week’s topics. They are soooo what I’m looking for.
I need help picking paint colors for the new casa. Oh and I want my house to look like a model, but I know it’s impossible to ‘live’ in a model home…that topic looks very interesting. 
~melody~
I need this book for the help in choosing paint colors alone! Then I have this problem of not knowing how to do “tchotchkes”…heck, I don’t even know how to SPELL them.
Those little special touches of decor…in my house they just end up looking like clutter.
This book sounds great! I have a paint graveyard too but because of a rental house. You wouldn’t believe the colors here. Chocolate milk great room (not so great), purple laundry room, Carolina Blue kitchen, blood red dining room, etc.
Love your blog! Especially the House as Big as Utah!
Keep writing!
I want to win the book because I have to make some hard decisions to replce the flooring in my 20 year old “new to me” home. I also need the book to help me find the best bargains on the flooring!
I love your website and am hooked on it because you have so much useful ideas for homeowners, that may not have a creative bone in their body ( count me in).
Thanks for the giveaway!
oh, please, please draw me!! I just found your site this morning and bookmarked it within seconds! I am in the process of moving BUT we have to change a few things. DH and I are learning a LOT about compromise. We have a limited budget so want to be careful to spend money on long lasting changes that will not rapidly become hated because they don’t do what we hoped. I love what I’ve seen so far on your site.
The book looks like such a great resource guide that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Just what we need — desperately!!
ok, is that enough kissing up to get my name in twice?? Seriously, I really need the book, and non-seriously… hmmm, not able to be non-serious at the moment. bummer
Um, I really need this book because, I’m telling you, MY HOUSE is WINNING and it’s winning big time. It’s forty-eight years old and the addage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” applies to my forty-year-old dog I lovingly call (and disillusion myself into believeing is) a cottage. I need to read about model houses and laugh at them.
And, I’m totally hooked on your blog–you always find the best houses and I know I’ve already mentioned how I like seeing the oodles of pictures.
We are those “wait til the market turns around” couples (ok – not so much me…but….). I am hooked on your site for the decorating ideas and just the glimpse into other styles of homes, decorating preferences, trends, etc. I am also hooked on anything house related on TLC or HGTV. Since my husband HATES those shows…this is easier to get away with while he’s watching something “we both like.” whatever. ha. Until we actually get to look at homes to buy, this site fulfills that desire. thanks!
I am with Aubrey. My house has been winning since day one, and I would LOVE to take control of it. We are embarking on a (forced) kitchen remodel, and I just want to crawl under the covers and stay there.
Please enter me in the drawing. Why do I love this blog? Um, hello! Houses. Lots of houses. Houses I love and houses I hate. Houses that belong to famous people and houses that don’t. Houses. That’s why I love the blog. Oh, and it’s well written, too.
Why do I need the book? Because I have a house (that often wins in the contest of wills). I need the book to make it a fairer fight.
You guys are keeping me so entertained with these comments. I think I have the best readers in the blogosphere!
I know it’s kinda nervy of me to ask why you like this site, but it really helps me figure out what people are coming here for so I can continue providing it. Thanks! -Julia
Oh! Pick me! Pick me!
The book excerpts so far have been incredibly enlightening and practical — very nice not to have advice on $100,000 kitchen renovations — and I need to read more.
As to why I love the site, it’s one of the first I go to every day. I like that you let us glimpse some inspiration while being grounded. I’m home right now right now with an infant, spending a lot of time staring at our walls and deciding that we need to make lots of changes. The inspiration and trend spotting has been very enlightening.
What a great giveaway! This is my first time commenting, as I’m actually a new reader. I just stumbled on your site last week, and I really love your style (compliment
As the daughter and niece of some pretty compuslive re-decorators, I am also a born and raised house addict.
I HAVE to have this book because my husband and I are nearly finished with a major kitchen remodel in our first home, and are now at the stage of pulling together all the little finishing touches. We love our house and would love to stay in it for a long time (maybe forever), but only time will tell if its location and size will continue to work for us.
Thanks so much!
Well, duh, I like it because anyone who is hooked on houses is a friend of mine.
Your blog is great, I love it and I would love to win that book!!!
xoxo
You know I am hooked on your site girl! I love seeing what you are doing to your house and what the trends are from around the country. I would enjoy this book because I refuse to let our house win!
Thanks for coming by to check out my new stationary find…I just received my second order from them and I love it! I will post about it soon.
I forgot to say PLEASE enter me in the drawing (maybe a couple extra times:) I must have this book. We need all the help we can get!
I NEED to win because I’ve never won a thing in my life. Oh, and you know I’m your biggest fan!
Please enter me to win the book. Thank you.
This is officially my new favorite blog. I think I have read the entire archive! We are considering some redecorating projects & we are really unsure what to do. Just reading these excerpts has been so helpful!
well i really dont desire the book…but, i will answer your question why am i hooked on your site. the variety. the sometimes we are thinking alike. but, then that is just my perception. humm sometimes i have gained knowledge from your site. or a different insight. and in the back of my mind i really think i am a little differnt then most of the viewers here and make you chuckle just a tad bit. but, then i was hooked on homes and different ways to do things around the house before i came to your site. your site is just one of the best. thanks.