Happy Home By Charlotte Hedeman Gueniau
I'm so thrilled to bring you today my review of Charlotte Hedeman Gueniau's first decorating book, Happy Home - Everyday Magic for a Colourful Home. You may know Charlotte as the lady behind the super mega Danish lifestyle brand, Rice, or you may know her home since it appeared in my first book Decorate. Since Decorate published, Charlotte relocated to a new home that she renovated and decorated from the ground up in a colorful, friendly palette (complete with a glitter bathtub) and you can see most this color-filled castle in her new book. Want to have a peek inside?
In addition to Charlotte's own space, you will see many homes belonging to her many friends and the bonus is that I've never spotted any of them before - even online - which makes this book even more special. Happy Home has everything you need to know about color, whether you love it or are scared to death to explore outside of your neutral world since it encourages you to experiment, play and not be so uptight about it - it's only color, not hostage negotiation! Have fun!
I'm going to go a bit deeper though so this won't be the standard reviews I do because in this case, the author happens to be my friend, so it's tough for me to not let out friendship influence my opinion. Honestly, she could have filled it with photos of her home and wrote on a single page, I Love Color! and I would have bought a million copies because she is just a super special person. But you know what, if you like me and my style then the fact that I like her and her style may tell you that you can still trust my opinion and the gushing words that follow.
Charlotte is the author of two Danish cookbooks, both of which I own, but when I worked in her home in 2010 for Decorate and got to know her better on the shoot, I felt really confident that she could also do a decorating book. We stayed in touch and after she appeared in mine, I dropped the idea by my UK publisher that Charlotte should do a book and before I knew it, she was sitting on a book contract because they agreed with me - she had something truly special to share that not a lot of people have. I am so glad she went for it and even happier that I was chosen to write the foreword for Happy Home because Charlotte is a true authority on hue not only because of how she lives but through the hundreds of products she and her team design for Rice which bring so much joy into homes, especially here in Europe where her brand is so well known and loved.
Another thing about Charlotte that I adore is that whenever I'm around her, I'm so inspired by her clothes! She'll show up in pink cords, neon striped shirt and a floral blazer topped with a big colorful brooch and a pair of sequined chucks on her feet and she thinks nothing of it. I adore that she owns who she is and her spirited design travels from her magical hands into everything she touches - her wardrobe, accessories, home, the food she prepares, party decor, her products... Even her car is a lovely sky blue Fiat. This is why I think she is the perfect voice for a book about colorful, bright decorating.
There is something about a woman who has such confidence and who wants to stand out and be noticed. You want some of what she has, you know? And for me, I have not only her friendship by now, her new book so there is always a little Charlotte in my life and I like that and I bet you will, too.
Please check out Happy Home because I know that you'll walk away with color confidence that you may not have guessed you had locked inside. Her approach is so casual, her words so warm and encouraging, and everything she teaches from how to make your outdoor space brighter to infusing your home with bold happy hues, will give you a burst of ideas and the energy to see them through. With Spring on its way, it's about time we turn to sunny yellow, bold blues, perky greens, fresh-picked picks and juicy orange tones to wash away this gray winter.
Charlotte, well done! I'm so happy for you and hope to see many more books from you in the very near future.
You can buy Happy Home on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com and it is soon to be released in German under the title, "Funky Home: Style und Design für ein farbenfrohes Zuhause" at Amazon.de. The book is also available in all good bookstores in North America and the UK.
(images: holly becker)