Katherine Sorrell is a former Associate Editor (features) of Homes & Gardens magazine, and now writes books as well as magazine and newspaper features on interiors, design, style, and crafts. Based in Penzance, Cornwall, her most recent books are Home Design Planner and City Living (both Ryland, Peters & Small) and The Art of Display (Mitchell Beazley).

6 Introduction; 8 Elements; 10 Colour, pattern, and texture; How and why colours affect the look of a room; ways to use paint cleverly to make your home seem bigger and brighter; different types of paint; why texture is the new colour; how pattern can create visual clutter; how to mix-and-match plains, stripes, checks, and patterns to create the illusion of space and light; 22 Storage; Getting rid of clutter to bring space into your home; how to recycle, sell, or otherwise dispose of clutter, and where to put what's left over; practical, good-looking ideas for organization and storage of all kinds; 32 Furniture; Re-arranging the furniture to create clearer floor areas; choosing furniture that helps create space and makes your home feel lighter and brighter; 38 Mirror and glass; Clever tricks with mirrors to double the effect of space; how glass brings light into your life; replacing solid cupboard doors with glass ones or adding glass panels into doors; 46 Windows; Why the wrong window treatment can actually make a room seem darker than necessary, and how to get it right; introducing blinds, sliding panels, screens, and pretty-but-minimal curtains; 58 Lighting; The importance of natural and artificial light in the home; how to design and implement schemes for each room in order to create the right mood at the right time; 66 Ideas For Living; Living Rooms; Kitchens; Bedrooms; Bathrooms; Home offices; Outside; 114 Real Homes; A carefully selected group of case studies that show a range of styles and size of home, each with its own particular problems; 140 Resources; 142 Index; 144 Acknowledgments