apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

With all the enthusiasm that people now have for improving the look and feel of their home, it is not surprising that there are new books cropping up to address every problem or interest we may have. We recently took a look at two very different approaches that we now pass on.

Twigs: The Go-Girl Guide to Nesting by Julia Bourland is a fun, girl-friendly romp around the house. With an cute cover, a text font in lavender, and an approach to "building your nest" that focuses on the various "twigs" or building blocks needed to turn a house into a home, it's motivational reading for the post college set.

Help! It's Broken: A Fix-It Bible for the Repair-Impaired is another matter entirely. Written by Arianne Cohen, Help! is a much more of a manual that is meant to be kept on the shelf and referred to when something goes wrong. This makes it a good gift for a friend with a new home, but a little dry for bedside reading. What is particularly commendable about Arianne's approach is that she believes in fixing things first over shopping for solutions. An original macgyver, Arianne's book will have you putting together a toolkit in no time.