Open House: Reinventing Space for Simple Living

by Amanda Pays, Corbin Bernsen

Overview

Transforming older homes into modern, functional, open spaces filled with natural light.

Author Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen share ideas for remodeling older homes to create modern, open floor plans while sharing lessons learned along the way. Topics include tricks of seeing through cluttered, dark rooms to imagine an open floor plan and space filled with light; how to manage a renovation budget (ideas on where to shop, items to splurge on, where to save); and designing homes for simple family living.

Fans of HGTV and DIY Network home renovation shows will love this sweeping behind-the-scenes perspective on home transformations, written in a personal, intimate style, with humor and honesty.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423647355
Publisher:	Smith, Gibbs Publisher
Publication date:	08/08/2017
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	269,717
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen have been renovating homes for their family to live in for around thirty years. Some twenty-four houses later, they have a lot to share about remodeling interiors and revamping yardscapes. Pays and Bernsen live Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

2014-09-11
A brief self-help volume that covers the basics of life in a humorous, no-nonsense manner.Blunce, formerly a workaholic investment banker, has plenty of candid advice for living a happy, emotionally healthy life. His book is broken into chapters corresponding to potential readers' teenage years, the decades beyond and the challenges unique to the various stages. Early on, he emphasizes respect for oneself (i.e., maintaining good hygiene, getting an education) and for society (paying taxes gladly, drinking responsibly). Throughout, he adds bullet-point specifics and "offhand bits of advice." His discussion of life in your 20s ("The Go-Go Years") mainly covers—for the purpose of broad appeal—graduating from college, getting an office job and navigating the perils of the workplace. Subsequent chapters, "30 to 40—The Making It Years" and "50 to 60—The Worldly Years," detail practical ways to raise children, buy property, see the world, retire and acquire the proper health care. Blunce includes funny, insightful visuals (an image about "the chains that hold us" shows a horse tied to a plastic chair) and famous quotes ("It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men"). More controversial subjects appear, like religion's negative effect on the world and the emptiness of accumulating wealth (rather than earning and enjoying it). For his debut, Blunce boldly dives into the self-improvement arena, offering a refreshing, down-to-earth work that isn't padded with anecdotes. There's also unabashed playfulness; in a segment on dressing for a job interview, Blunce says, "If your suit exudes ‘loser,' your interview might as well have the sound of a toilet flushing in the background." He also admits to being a Type A personality, and his advice may not appeal to those seeking a more creative, reflective life. His finale is a frank denunciation of religion as an unnecessary barrier toward living in global harmony. Luckily, Blunce remains jovial even here, sending us off with the message, "I love you...see you soon."A rousing pamphlet that deserves to spread like wildfire.

Kirkus Reviews