Debbie Travis' Facelift: Solutions to Revitalize Your Home - Softcover

Debbie Travis is the author of Debbie Travis’ Painted House, Debbie Travis’ Decorating Solutions, Debbie Travis’ Weekend Projects, Debbie Travis’ Painted House Living and Dining Rooms, Debbie Travis’ Painted House Kids’ Rooms, Debbie Travis’ Painted House Bedrooms, and Debbie Travis’ Painted House Kitchens and Baths. She is the host of two internationally acclaimed television series, The Painted House and HGTV’s hit show Facelift. She lives in Montreal, Canada.

Barbara Dingle is a former magazine editor and coauthor of Debbie Travis’ previous books. Travis and Dingle also write a nationally syndicated column, “Debbie Travis’ House to Home.”

Devotees of Travis's interior design show on HGTV will be thrilled with this companion book, which reprises many of the designer's recent projects and offers additional insight for those seeking to tackle their own home makeovers. Design junkies who love a good "before" and "after" section will find an ample one here. Though many of the "before" pictures are too small, the overall effect of Team Travis's work is impressive. Travis boldly uses orange, red, chartreuse and Parma yellow on the once-drab walls of her surprised clients. She admits, though, that some subjects are initially dismayed by her choices. "If we had not already destroyed the old kitchen, I believe he would have called the whole thing off," she quips about Pierre, recipient of flaming orange walls. But in the end, all of her homeowners are delighted by the final product, a fact that is underscored by the many photos of people smiling rapturously, relaxing in their trendy new rooms or clasping each other in joy. In this respect, the book is as sugary sweet as the reality show itself, and the offbeat nature of the layout (random words like "perked," "radiant" and "timeless" are printed in bold or colored lettering) only enhances this impression. The book contains some practical information, however. The "Prime Time" chapter, in particular, offers step-by-step instructions on how to replicate painting jobs and helps do-it-yourselfers formulate an action plan. This section, combined with the book's lush color photos, should light a fire under armchair designers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.