Tap To Tidy At Pickle Cottage by Stacey Solomon
My review
4/5 stars
I really enjoyed the first Tap To Tidy book that Stacey wrote last year, and have been following her renovation of Pickle Cottage on her Instagram, so I had this book on pre-order as soon as it was announced.
This one was very much the same in terms of its' look and feel. The aesthetic is very pleasing on the eye, with fantastic illustrations that really captured the rooms in her house. It is absolutely a book you want to have a physical copy of if you're going to buy it, because it's been published in a quality way.
Similarly to the first Tap To Tidy book, my favourite part of this book was the easy-going, conversational tone that Stacey has in her writing; it makes for a relaxed and pleasant reading experience. No effort was required at all for me to enjoy this book from cover to cover.
What differs between this book and the previous one is that this one is intended to be much more instructional, in order to give novices the confidence to try their own DIY at home. While there are parts of the book that read a little bit like an instruction manual (which was necessary), the overall message is that it's just about having fun and giving things a try, so there's no prescribed "right" way of doing things.
That is except, of course, where things have to be done a particular way for safety or efficiency reasons. Where the book just fell slightly short of 5 stars for me was in the pages that described things like how to choose the right drill bit, or how to paint a bit of furniture. While I can appreciate that the book is aimed at people who have absolutely no clue how to DIY (I'm one of them) and so the content has to be quite basic, for me the tone also felt a little basic at times as well - almost as if Stacey was spoon-feeding her information to children. It was only at fleeting moments in the book, but that fact that I noticed it at all was a little surprising, as I normally don't get that vibe from Stacey Solomon; I've read several of her books and follow her on Instagram and she's normally the complete opposite.
On the whole, a lovely, helpful book with beautiful illustrations.
Book blurb
'This book is for you to use as a guide, as inspiration, or even just to read without any pressure to do anything at all! Grab a cuppa and dip in and out of it at leisure. I want you to know that you really do have the skill to do anything you want - don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Having your own home is something we all dream about. I hope this book will give you the confidence to pick up a drill, paint brush, hammer or a hack saw and make your space the home of your dreams.' Stace xx
Discover Stacey's Tap to Tidy DIY Method - with steps on how to get started. Each chapter takes readers round a room in Stacey's dream home, and how she transformed each room herself.
Each chapter includes:
· Hero projects: Big renovation or organisational projects
· Quick fixes: Small jobs to spruce up a room
· Make-ups: My transformative craft projects and accessories
· Little things I love: Power tools, amazing DIY products, my favourite accessories...
· Tips: Stacey's tips to make your projects run smoothly
· Expert help: tips on when you need to call in the experts
More...
You can buy the book here (I normally link to the Kindle edition, but as with the first in the series, this one is so pretty it's worth buying a physical copy!). It was published by Ebury Press.
For more on the author, you can follow her on Instagram or head over to her Goodreads page.
