AUTHOR OF BOOK's NAME Annie Guest
AUTHOR'S EMAIL ADDRESS annieguestdesign@gmail.com
AUTHOR'S FAVORITE LINKS: https://www.annieguestdesignforyourmind.com/
ASSURANCE TO SATISFY COPYRIGHT LAW:
X I am the reviewer and give TNBR permission to print this review.
REVIEWER’S BYLINE: Abigail Adams
THE REVIEW:
Design For Your Mind is an inspiring tale of how someone can cope with the loss of their parents and sorting out the possessions that they have left behind. In the case of Annie Guest, the author of this book, she inherited her parents’ house and renovated it to be a suitable home for its new occupant—which was Annie herself. The book tells not only how she did this, but how she was able to rediscover herself in the process.
As a mental health therapist, Annie understands how the environment in which we live can affect our mental health. She shows how it is possible to retain the precious family memories which we acquire as we grow up in our family home, and then put our own contemporary stamp on the home to make it habitable for ourselves—and how to do all of this in a cost-effective way!
Design For Your Mind is in part a practical manual on interior design, and Annie lays out the process in a clear and easy manner. The book systematically goes through each room in her house and outlines what methods she applied to renovate these rooms. Readers will find these methods readily applicable to their own homes.
Annie has given her own name to the type of design she describes in Design For Your Mind: “Benessent Design.” Annie explains that the term “Benessent” comes from the Latin phrase for well-being, bene essere. What she means by Benessent Design is the design of rooms and furnishings that can meet “the emotional and intellectual needs of real people, so they have what they need to thrive as whole human beings.” For Annie, the “four pillars” of an enriched environment are good nutrition, high-quality sleep, regular aerobic exercise, and social support.
Annie takes us step-by-step through her quest to renovate her parents’ home and make it her own. Her methods and explanations are easy-to-follow, meaning you do not need to be a qualified interior decorator or a certified mental health therapist in order to get to grips with Design For Your Mind. Her Benessent Design theory provides the framework for why all of the steps she took were taken, and the “before” and “after” pictures give a clear visual illustration of what steps she is discussing throughout.
As well as her underlying theory and her practical steps, Annie makes the book personal with a great store of heartwarming family anecdotes. This helps to make Annie’s book very relatable, as many of us will be able to identify with the sort of tales she has to tell, or recognize ourselves within them. It ties in nicely with her theme of blending old memories and traditions with new innovations that help to make a home truly your own.
The blend of sound theory, practical steps, and personal anecdotes all help to make Design For Your Mind a terrific, practical book from which we can learn a lot about interior design, and about ourselves. Very highly recommended.
MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER:
I’m Abigail, and I’m a big book lover who is interested in all genres.
REVIEWER'S TWITTER MONIKER: @AAdams22700
ABOUT THE AUTHOR WHOSE BOOK IS BEING REVIEWED: Annie Guest had a varied career in book publishing, advertising, and law, before she took another jump to work as a mental health therapist and publish her first book. In DESIGN FOR YOUR MIND, Annie combines her passion for people and their potential with her love for interior design and her appreciation for the design choices that support mental health.
AUTHOR IMAGES:
Cover of Design For Your Mind by Annie Guest
Profile Photo of Annie Guest, author of Design For Your Mind
AUTHOR'S EMAIL ADDRESS annieguestdesign@gmail.com
AUTHOR'S FAVORITE LINKS: https://www.annieguestdesignforyourmind.com/
ADD THIS ASSURANCE TO SATISFY COPYRIGHT LAW:
I am the reviewer and give TNBR permission to print this review.
REVIEWER’S BYLINE: Abigail Adams
INCLUDE THE THE REVIEW ITSELF, of course!
Design For Your Mind is an inspiring tale of how someone can cope with the loss of their parents and sorting out the possessions that they have left behind. In the case of Annie Guest, the author of this book, she inherited her parents’ house and renovated it to be a suitable home for its new occupant—which was Annie herself. The book tells not only how she did this, but how she was able to rediscover herself in the process.
As a mental health therapist, Annie understands how the environment in which we live can affect our mental health. She shows how it is possible to retain the precious family memories which we acquire as we grow up in our family home, and then put our own contemporary stamp on the home to make it habitable for ourselves—and how to do all of this in a cost-effective way!
Design For Your Mind is in part a practical manual on interior design, and Annie lays out the process in a clear and easy manner. The book systematically goes through each room in her house and outlines what methods she applied to renovate these rooms. Readers will find these methods readily applicable to their own homes.
Annie has given her own name to the type of design she describes in Design For Your Mind: “Benessent Design.” Annie explains that the term “Benessent” comes from the Latin phrase for well-being, bene essere. What she means by Benessent Design is the design of rooms and furnishings that can meet “the emotional and intellectual needs of real people, so they have what they need to thrive as whole human beings.” For Annie, the “four pillars” of an enriched environment are good nutrition, high-quality sleep, regular aerobic exercise, and social support.
Annie takes us step-by-step through her quest to renovate her parents’ home and make it her own. Her methods and explanations are easy-to-follow, meaning you do not need to be a qualified interior decorator or a certified mental health therapist in order to get to grips with Design For Your Mind. Her Benessent Design theory provides the framework for why all of the steps she took were taken, and the “before” and “after” pictures give a clear visual illustration of what steps she is discussing throughout.
As well as her underlying theory and her practical steps, Annie makes the book personal with a great store of heartwarming family anecdotes. This helps to make Annie’s book very relatable, as many of us will be able to identify with the sort of tales she has to tell, or recognize ourselves within them. It ties in nicely with her theme of blending old memories and traditions with new innovations that help to make a home truly your own.
The blend of sound theory, practical steps, and personal anecdotes all help to make Design For Your Mind a terrific, practical book from which we can learn a lot about interior design, and about ourselves. Very highly recommended.
MORE ABOUT THE REVIEWER: I’m Abigail, and I’m a big book lover who is interested in all genres.
REVIEWER'S TWITTER MONIKER: @AAdams22700
ABOUT THE AUTHOR WHOSE BOOK IS BEING REVIEWED: Annie Guest had a varied career in book publishing, advertising, and law, before she took another jump to work as a mental health therapist and publish her first book. In DESIGN FOR YOUR MIND, Annie combines her passion for people and their potential with her love for interior design and her appreciation for the design choices that support mental health.
AUTHORProfile Photo of Annie Guest, author of Design For Your Mind
