Willette Brian - Frank Fontanas Dirty Little Secrets of Design

INTERIOR DESIGN is difficult enough without the added stress of doing it on a budget. Nationally renowned design expert and guru of lowcost, high-style design Frank Fontana is HGTVs go-to guy for chic makeovers on a dime. His name is synonymous with finding ways to create amazing room designs on a fixed budget. Keeping his clients needs and dreams in mind, Fontana designs, builds, refurbishes, and paints, with a low budget and high creativity.

In Frank Fontanas Dirty Little Secrets of Design, he shares his techniques, breaking down the process room by room, project by project, and divulges his secret tips and tricks for how to create highstyle homes the low-cost way. Frank analyzes several beautiful homes, dissects the individual design components of each room, and applies his Look for Less principle to help readers build their own look on a budget.

The book includes advice and DIY projects that are accessible and doable for readers with varying skill levels, as well as how to be a savvy shopper when shopping for home decor items or furniture.

Introduction: Franks Way
A Realistic, Thoughtful Approach to Stylish DIY Home Design

PART One: The Blueprint
The Foundation of High-Style, Low-Cost Decorating

Chapter One: High-Style, Low-Cost Principles of Planning
Franks Plan for Creating Beauty on a Budget

Chapter Two: Know Your Design Style
Learn the Language of Design to Help You Save a Dime

Chapter Three: Walls of Wonder
Using Color, Texture, and More to Create the Best Environment for Your Design

Chapter Four: Going Green for Less
A List of Green Options Without Those that Wallop Your Wallet

PART Two: Transforming Your Home
A Room-by-Room Guide to Infusing Your Home with Style

Chapter Five: Entryways
Making a Perfect First Impression

Chapter Six: Living Spaces
Designing the Heart of Your Home

Chapter Seven: Sleeping Spaces
Designing the Perfect Restful Nest

Chapter Eight: Kitchens
Whip Up a High-Style Tasty Space

Chapter Nine: Office Spaces
Your Sanctuary for Success

Chapter Ten: Entertaining Spaces
Spaces for Parties, Dining, and Media Centers

Chapter Eleven: Outdoor Spaces
Add a Room to Your HomeNo Walls Needed

Interior decorating and home styling can be very difficult to teach. Achieving true style on a budgeteven harder. Lets face it; if it were easy to master, then I would be out of a job. Well, I suppose I could hit up some of my buddies from the old hood for work on a construction site (I do, after all, know my way around a drill and pneumatic nail gun). Construction sure isnt my first choice, though Ill play the tough-guy card when I have to; its hands-on home design and (thats right, Ill say it!) decorating that really captures me. The job I have is an important and creative one that I love. In light of periodic economic nose dives, my employment is not something I take for granted. Ive always made it a policy not to take my clients, or their budgets, for granted either.

People hire me to save them time and money. I know what youre thinking: Hiring an interior decorator ranks just below having a full-time chauffeur in the list of habits reserved for the rich. Now you have this book, though, so thats not the case anymore. Ill guide you through every aspect of the process I go through on behalf of every one of my clients, as well as each of the guests on my hit television show, HGTVs Design on a Dime. Though Im not there in person to do the building, shopping, planning, and furnishing for you, that doesnt mean you cant take my advice and turn your space into the nest or palace or anything in between that youll love to live in. Along the way, Ill drop some knowledge that will save you some major scratch and plenty of headaches to boot.

Maybe you need help with one projecta single room that has been lying cluttered or ugly for too long and needs rehabilitation now. I humbly submit that after employing some of my tips and Dirty Little Secrets to keeping costs lower than low, you might just venture into a new projectmaybe upgrade another space with the money you saved. Not only will you find cheap solutions for staples of any well-designed room, but Ill show you ways to bring in lots of unique style with uncanny, affordable, and almost effortless tweakstweaks I learned by doing room makeovers on a very tight budget. Also, to shine some tasteful lamplight on the obvious, saving money is not just for when times are tough.

So my goal is to impart my best budget-conscious advice on designing anyplace into your space. How, exactly, are we going to accomplish this?

Ill show you how to take Everything in a room and, using my principles of design, rearrange it so that a few introductions will create a huge influx of style and cohesion.

What do I mean by Everything with a capital E? I mean not just the rug, the lamps, the curtains, and the seats. Not just the wall hangings, the plants, the windows, and the drawers. Each room is composed of so much more. Each room has a distinctive feel. Its something that hits people within their first thirty seconds in a space, and they know whether they like it or not. (That same intuition guides us through the pitfalls of blind dating ideally.) That thing (call it an aura, a vibe, a resonance, an aesthetic whatever suits you) is what we are trying to craft when we design a room. Tuning the feel is central to my design method. It is the basis of what I address with my Quantum Design Element (Q.D.E.).

Thats right, were dabbling in quantum mechanics. Dont worry, thoughprotective eyewear is only mandatory when youre working with power tools. It is the quantum nature of things that dictates how they interact with one another in palpable ways. The specific things were concerned about in this case are the contents of your room, including the empty space. I want to suggest that this space isnt actually empty. Its already quite full of feeling.

Whether you rented or bought, you paid for the space that you are about to transform. There were probably even some things you liked about it. Personally, when I bought my loft in Chicago, I loved the exposed brick, the high ceilings, and the worn wood. But it wasnt really those individual things that grabbed me. It was the way they existed in the space. The feeling they exuded told a storyan almost audible one of how this place, my new home, had been carved out of its urban surroundings. I listened to the voice of the space while I decorated it, choosing stressed leather instead of sleek new stuff and breaking out the sandpaper to wear down some of the wood accents on the furniture I built and bought.