Bookstore Goes from Drab to Fab

You can't accuse bookseller Judy Wheeler, owner of Towne Center Books in Pleasanton, Calif., of not leaping onto an opportunity when she sees one. Recently, she started out to support the latest book from a local author and ended up getting her store redecorated on the cheap.

The book, Nesting: It's a Chick Thing (Workman Publishing) is a savvy blend of two current crazes—it's chick lit for the HGTV crowd. It's co-authored by Ame Mahler Beanland and Emily Miles Terry, two of the editors of the 2000 title It's a Chick Thing: Celebrating the Wild Side of Women's Friendship (Conari Press), which featured famous women talking about their friendships with other women. The new title takes the frothy pink sensibility of Chick Thing and translates it into a how-to title that covers all things domestic.

To launch the new book, Beanland approached Wheeler. Beanland has long been a customer of the store, which she credits with helping her first book become a success. "Ame and I were talking about what to do to make this party special. I said, 'Well, Ame, makeovers are so big and we're a little tired here,' " said Wheeler. "You can't have a book on home decorating and gardening tips and not be spruced."

So Beanland went about helping Wheeler redecorate the store. They got customers to volunteer their time painting the store's wall, which had been "a yellow-beige, off-white, nothing color," said Wheeler. The new color—not coincidentally also found in Beanland's own home—is officially called "straw." As Wheeler described it, "It's a very warm, green-yellow cast." The transformation also includes adding touches like flower pots in the window, reclaiming an unused garden area outside the store and opening up a storage room to expand the children's section.

"It's just a lot warmer and a lot cozier and you notice a lot of things you never noticed before," said Beanland. After the launch party, scheduled for June 10, the authors will embark on a 30-city bookstore tour. And what if some bookstore owners think their shop could use a makeover? "I would help anyway I could," said Beanland. "I don't know if I could physically come and paint like I did at Judy's."