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Gale Steves explores a very useful concept in her book Right-Sizing Your Home: How to Make Your House Fit Your Lifestyle. The book appealed to me because it is well thought out, and instead of merely talking about decorating, it talks about really owning where you live through right-sizing.
Simply put, right-sizing is about turning your home into a functional space through re-imagining your home, rethinking the space you have, and finally reclaiming it by reclaiming your rooms one by one.
Right-Sizing Your Home demonstrates how to make a living space work for you instead of feeling confined or constrained by it.
The Right-Sizing Process
The right-sizing process begins with an evaluation of your needs and eventually getting rid of everything else that is superfluous. But recognize that it is an ongoing process, and you will have to relentlessly get rid of all clutter that threatens your efficiently right-sized home.
It turns out that clutter is the real villain in this story about living well and comfortably. A chapter on paring down helps to realize the different, seemingly innocent sources of clutter.
Right-Sizing Tools
So what tools do you need in right-sizing your home?
The first step is to have an open mind in order to bring about change. That is something the reader will have to bring to the process. There is help for the rest.
- A style audit helps define the best use for a space. For instance, before you begin furnishing your dining space, you can use the questions in the book to help you figure out your dining style.
- A redesign plan follows to determine needs based on how you want to use that space.
- Trade-offs help you define wants versus needs, depending on how much space you have.
- The measuring up section shows several different ways to arrange your furniture within the available space with measurements to make it more comfortable and appealing.
- At the end of each chapter dealing with a living space, there are more ideas for the best way to utilize it.
- At the very end of the book are resources to find books, websites and other resources to help in your quest to right-size your home.
In Conclusion
While not a book about decorating, Right-Sizing Your Home may potentially help you reinvent how you live, and look beyond labels to fully realize the potential of a living space.
Reclaim your space with the concept of RE: rethink, renew, revise.
The Book:
Right-Sizing Your Home
Author: Gale Steves
Publisher: Northwest Arm Press
Publication date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-926781-04-4
Page count: 208
About Gale Steves
Gale Steves has served as editor-in-chief of the HOME group, which included Home magazine and Best–Selling Home Plans.
She also held key positions at Ladies Home Journal, American Home and Women’s Day before serving as editor-in-chief of Women’s Day Special Interest Publications, a group of 26 lifestyle magazines.
Steves has shared her experience with the Home Depot, Thomasville Furniture, Elkay Mfg. Co. Inc., Toto USA, Sharp Consumer Electronics, Broyhill Furniture Industries and Pioneer Electronics USA, among many others, and is a sought after speaker at industry events.