Chris Madden The Soul of a House: Decorating with Warmth, Style, and Comfort »

Chris Madden is the author of several books, including A Room of Her Own (100,000 copies sold). She was the host of her own (and one of the first) television shows for HGTV for eight seasons as well as Oprah’s first design correspondent. Her home collection for JC Penney is now in its seventh year and her licensed products for the home have generated over $1 billion in retail sales to date.

From best-selling author and design icon Chris Madden comes the first book on her design philosophy, and how to achieve her comfortable, chic style. Design expert Chris Madden has spent years chronicling other people’s beautiful rooms. Now, for the first time, she presents her own design sensibility as illustrated by examples such as her elegant one hundred-year-old carriage house in upstate New York and a mid-century modern family getaway in the mountains of Vermont. Organized by type of room, each house is explored—from entryways to bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, mudrooms, greenhouses, and terraces, as well as specialty rooms like yoga studios and a man’s study—through rich photography and dozens of practical styling tips. Readers learn how to layer fabrics and colors for seasonal decorating; how to repurpose materials; and how to recognize a room’s quality of light. Also featured are sidebars on caring for guests, collecting, and living in an old house versus a modern house. An avid gardener, Madden explores the way outdoor space frames and supports a house. This lush and elegant volume is an eminently practical resource of ideas for creating rooms in which to celebrate family, entertain friends, and provide personal sanctuary.