Decorate Fearlessly: Using Whimsy, Confidence, and a Dash of Surprise to Create Deeply Personal Spaces

I firmly believe that Dorothy Draper (author of Decorating is Fun!) would love this book. Through a myriad of examples, Salk proves that we can be unfettered from the fear of "making a costly mistake", a mantra I hear constantly in my line of work as a decorator. If we stay true to our style and furnish our homes with what we truly love, then we can hardly go wrong. It took me a good bit of time to fully digest this wonderful book--it is visually stimulating and inspirational, filled with gorgeous images from all styles and budgets, illustrating that it doesn't necessarily take a large budget to decorate your home, just a good working knowledge of your own truth. I highly recommend reading this book. Veer away from formulaic decorating and go with that wallpaper you're crazy about, paint your grandmother's 1940's china cabinet (trust me, I saw the light when I read the chapter on dining rooms and saw that the Madcap Cottage men lacquered a huge china cabinet in black), and by all means, let your dog sit on the sofa! It's your home, for goodness sake. Don't be afraid of it.

If your home is dated in any way, this is your book❗️ It’s one of the most perfect decorating books you will ever find. I have TONS of decorating books & this is definitely in the top three. The pictures are just fabulous, both large and very colorful. You cannot go wrong. A very reliable seller, as well ❗️

Susanna's style is a bit more over the top than my own. That having been said, I really enjoyed reading the book, Each chapter includes a brief introduction for the room that is being covered, and then there is brief text for each photo. The photos are lovely to look at. Even though my house is not quite a wild as those reflected in this book, I still found inspiration in reading it. My favorite chapters were Living Room, Entry, and Dining Room. The chapter on Entryways made me realize that we need to update our own, to add some whimsy or bright colors to welcome us home each day.

I work in the offices of Howard Slatkin's interior design firm, and have done so for twenty years. Every design book is in our library and ones that Mr Slatkin thinks are very important he buys for all of us to have in our home library. And this is one of those rare books he has given us and it is obvious why: every beautiful page is a superb image that shows personality and originality. No boring or conventional rooms here. This book has enough ideas and inspiration to use in your home for a lifetime and will show you that a sense of adventure is how to achieve rooms that are amazing. I love this book!

I love watching Quintessence with Susanna Salk so was pleased to discover this book. However, I was anticipating decor that was colorful and similar in appearance to what is on the cover and what she often features on the show, but I was disappointed. The majority of featured interiors are depressing to me. I am, however, reading the book like a textbook of sorts on various "quirky" styles of decor. I would never decorate this way and am not appreciating the pictures but that is because my taste are more traditional. I would not buy the book again.

I enjoyed this book. It's chock full of decorators with dash and daring! I loved looking at the lively and colorful rooms.

Love the bold inspiration and creative ideas - permission to be bold for someone who is not a professional decorator. Be yourself and do what you love with panache

I enjoyed flipping through this whimsical book, it has all the ideas to create a warm atmosphere, it shows you how to decorate every room of the house. Although the features in this book is done by an expert, I myself tried some of the techniques in this lovely book. If you wanna decorate get this book and discover some ideas in finding the whimsical you!

This is a beautifully illustrated book.

Beautiful interiors and photos but disappointing book if you want to gain insight to a interior designer's own work and thought process. Lots of same same interiors by various interior designers and minimal text so not very explanatory or educational. All the interiors and photos too same samey to each other to provide real inspiration. Once you've looked at 10 you really have done the book.

Man muss diesen farbenfrohen und von vielen Mustern geprägten, überbordenden eklektischen Stil mögen (ich liebe ihn...), dann ist dieses Buch eine Quelle der Inspiration und es ist eine Freude, immer wieder darin zu blättern. Ich habe nach der Lektüre (noch mehr) den Mut gehabt, mit tollen Farben und Mustern zu gestalten, obwohl ich auch vorher nie "Angst" davor hatte, und ich fühle mich dadurch Tag für Tag belohnt. Wie gesagt, wer sich dafür begeistern kann, wird dieses Buch lieben.