Design Wise

Vern Yip, one of the most beloved and recognizable interior designers in America, has helped thousands of people beautify their homes during his near-decade at HGTV. He effortlessly combines their personal styles with his trademark look that’s sleek, simple, and welcoming. And as a family man with “two very active kids and 500 pounds of dogs,” he understands the challenges of decorating a home that fits with a busy family life.

Now in his debut design book VERN YIP’S DESIGN WISE: Your Smart Guide to a Beautiful Home (Running Press; September 2016; $27.50), Vern shares his secrets to smart, beautiful living with a “design by the numbers” approach, revealing the optimal measurements that are integral to making a room feel “right.”

These standards of distinctive, good design—where to place sofas in relation to coffee tables, how high or low to hang artwork, and how large a living room rug should be—free you to explore and develop your personal aesthetic while bringing flow and balance to your living spaces. Applicable to all décors, from old-world elegance to rustic simplicity, these principles save money because you know what to look for and ask about when making a major purchase, and save time by eliminating the agonizing decisions about where to place furniture.

Combining his signature attention to detail with creative, clean-lined interiors balanced with warmth, Vern includes:

• Design by the Numbers – Critical dimensions for transformative spaces
• Shop Smart – Need-to-know insights before you buy wood, dining, bedroom, or living room furniture; lighting fixtures; window treatments; accessories and more
• Creating Moods and Functionality – How he expresses these design principles in his own distinctively different homes: an historic Atlanta family home, a modern Manhattan apartment, and a casual laid-back cottage in Florida’s panhandle
• Design Dilemmas – Break through “design paralysis” to solve them for good value
• “Learn from Vern” – Sidebars of practical information and tips on how to personalize your space
• At-a-Glance Cheat Sheets – Gather the most essential information for quick and easy reference

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vern Yip has helped countless families with their homes during his four seasons on TLC’s Trading Spaces, NBC’s Home Intervention, his own HGTV shows Deserving Design with Vern Yip, HGTV Urban Oasis, and through his private practice Vern Yip Designs in Atlanta, Georgia. A judge on nine seasons of HGTV’s hit summer series, HGTV Design Star, he also hosted his own special, Live In Vern’s House. Vern has been writing for The Washington Post since 2011 and has had his own HGTV Magazine column, “Learn From Vern” for four years. Vern’s design brand has also successfully extended into home product design, with fabric collections available at Calico and other major fabric retailers, lighting for Stonegate Designs, and home fragrance and home accessories available nationwide.