Reviews (4)

PALM BEACH
To almost anyone, Tiffany and Co. and Palm Beach would go hand and hand, analagous like Lalique and Monte Carlo.The concept for this book is very interesting and the author fully realizes how to exploit the two to their most advantagious.The text is highly informative and the images are crisp and beautifully presented.I agree with one of the reviews that this is an expensive coffee table book, but frankly im sure those interested in this sort of thing, will not think twice about the price of admission.Really a wonderful book on a very interesting subject, well done indeed.

FANTASY LAND
This book shows that given enough money there is no limit to how young, thin and attractive your wife can be.And apparently there is no limit to the hubris of the rich--designer wine cellars on a hurricane prone barrier island.
Tiffany's Palm Beach Review
Loved this book.I purchased it merely for inspiration photos for my own construction, but found myself reading each page!!Very interesting read! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture, Domestic    2. Art objects    3. Description And Travel    4. Florida    5. Homes and haunts    6. Palm Beach    7. Pictorials    8. Rich & Famous    9. Rich people    10. Travel    11. Travel - General    12. United States - South - South Atlantic (General)    13. Interior design    14. Travel / Pictorials   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Buildings    3. Design and construction    4. Electric equipment    5. Environmental engineering    6. Interior Design - General    7. Mechanical equipment    8. Architecture / Interior Design    9. Building construction & materials    10. Interior design   

Reviews (4)

Found book arrangement difficult
A College textbook or reference-type book.Comprehensive--fine print.Seemed a good read, but I didn't like the set-up.All text was in the front, and the examples and photos were grouped in the back.One would need to flip back and forth to view examples of the subject matter.Didn't work for me.
The Complete Guide to Furniture Styles
As a college educator in the history of architecture, furniture and the decorative arts I think the Boger is a very good overall text both to students and interested others.Information on furnitre prior to Gothic is the weakest, and would reccomend other texts to satisfy those needs.Photographic reproduction quality in some instances barely passable.

Great book for a history of furniture styles!
I have to disagree with the previous reviewer--this book is FILLED with pictures in the back half of the book. The pictures are disappointingly all black and white, but it keeps the cost down I suppose. This is the best resource for visual identification of styles from Egyptian through Twentieth Century that I have seen, and I have seen quite a lot of them. The front half of the book is very detailed information about each of the styles as well as specific pieces within each style. It's not something you can read from cover to cover, as the details would quickly overcome you. But it is a wonderful reference book for anyone who wants to be able to look up a particular style, read about it, and look at many pictures to visually understand general characteristics of the style. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles / Furniture    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Antiques/Collectibles    4. Architecture / Interior Design    5. Furniture    6. Styles    7. Antiques    8. Antiques & Collectibles    9. Design - Furniture    10. Furniture Arts And Crafts    11. Furniture, Classical   

Editorial Review

Most people are familiar with the hallmarks of Rachel Ashwell's shabby chic style: fabrics in pastel florals and stripes, chintz sofa covers, antique-store and yard-sale finds turned into home furnishings and accessories. At the heart of this breezy style is a very practical idea: don't buy new--use what you have or can find at thrift stores and secondhand shops and enjoy the old-fashioned charm that only aged pieces acquire. The same idea goes for houses. Read more

Reviews (34)

The Shabby Chic Home
I received The Shabby Chic Home on Friday, and it was such a joy to spend a night with the beautiful and warm-hearted book of Rachel Ashwell, her family and sweer home. Nothing luxuary, only lots of love!

Fabulous!
I look at this book again and again.The colors inspire me, and I seem to notice something new everytime I look at it again.

Admirable.
This woman is truly admirable. She is financially successful, yet it is clear from the way she organizes and decorates her dream home that she values her family life and simplicity above all. Shabby Chic is not my style. However, I find myself benefiting from her advice again and again. Mostly to help me find my own sense of beauty every time I need to purchase something for my home. This is a wonderfully useful book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crafts & Hobbies    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - General    4. Hobbies/Crafts    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House furnishings    7. Interior Design - Style Books    8. Interior decoration    9. Interior design    10. Residential Interior Design    11. Crafts & Hobbies / Decorating    12. Home furnishing & decoration   

Reviews (2)

Revisitedand Exansive!
This book portrays a vast amount of information on lodge-camp- and cabin style.
Great Book.
What a great book!I bought it to give as a gift and ended up keeping it for myself.It's filled with beautiful photos of rustic style in all its forms: including Adirondack camps, lake houses in Wisconsin, Western lodges and Southern cottages just to name a few.I got many good ideas from it, and will be buying more copies to give to friends.I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural Design    2. Architecture    3. Country homes    4. Decoration and ornament, Rustic    5. Design & Drafting    6. Design - Decorative    7. Domestic    8. General    9. Interior Design    10. Interior Design - General    11. Interior architecture    12. Houses, apartments, flats, etc    13. USA   

Reviews (3)

Can't review a book I never received
I waited 6 weeks and Amazon never sent the book so I cancelled the order and gave up.

Very good general overview
This was a great book for an overview but did not go into great depth for some of the topics. The book does have a lot of great picture and I think it is well worth the read.

Good overview for textiles
If one is studying interior design or one wants to learn about textiles, this book is very informative. This was used as a textbook for a textiles class in an interior design program.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Decorating - General    3. General    4. Interior Design - General    5. Interior Design - Professional Reference    6. Interior decoration    7. Reference    8. Residential Interior Design    9. Technical & Manufacturing Trades    10. Textile Fabric (Applied Arts)    11. Textile fabrics    12. Industrial / Commercial Art & Design    13. Interior design    14. Textile arts   

Reviews (1)

the cabin book is just super!
I just received this book in the mail from Amazon.It is wonderful, it is art. It is everything and much, much more.If you want to get design ideas for a crafted cabin of quality, THIS IS THE BOOK! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. General    3. History - Specific Styles    4. Log cabins    5. Pictorial works    6. United States    7. Architecture / General    8. Architecture / Interior Design    9. Houses, apartments, flats, etc    10. Interior design    11. USA   

Reviews (15)

Should add to title "And Owners who did a lot of work themselves"
Lovely book, love the idea, got some great ideas for my remodel. However, the author makes clear that one of the most cost-savings measures the owners took, house after house, was to do the work, or some of it, themselves. That's great, if you already work with concrete or metal or can use autoCAD, but for the rest of us, it makes some of the ideas as expensive as before. In addition, the author relied on pictures in the book, which is always great, but the text didn't really cover all of the cost-savings ideas seen in the pictures. Going through the book, I kept wanting more and more detail.
ideas for the house
The book has some very good, inexpensive ways to update your home.definately worth the price !

Disappointing
Most of the book dealt with improving existing construction, not building new .... & most of it was very modern & brightly coloured. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Decorating - General    2. Design and construction    3. Do-It-Yourself    4. Dwellings    5. General    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House & Home    8. Interior Design - General    9. Residential Construction    10. Home furnishing & decoration    11. House & Home / General   

Reviews (46)

We laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed
This book was hilarious, almost without letup.I don't know if you had to be there -- in those houses, in the '70's, when we kids _knew_ something wasn't adding up -- but James Lileks just hits the nail on the head.We laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed.This is his funniest book.

What were we thinking??
This book is one of those cases where I may have seen a similar bedroom layout in a magazine thirty or so years ago and thought it was cool or got decorating ideas from it.Thirty years later? Whooo, that's awful, what was I thinking?For as loud as the colors were, I remember them as seeming grayed-out or browned-out, as if the dyes and the synthetic fibers of the day hated each other.I really liked that shag carpet in my room that looked like somebody puked up a bunch of Skittles? Yes.. yes I did. What was I thinking??
That's Shag baby, Yeah!!
Do you actuallylike to have big helpful arrows pointing you to your bed, A wallpaper print of giant logs in the living room? 3 foot deep shag rug(orange, of corse) in the bathroom? If so, you won't like this book! If not, you'll laugh and wonder along with the author "What were they thinking??" when you read this book, concerning the.. shall we say, quirkier interior design ideas from the 70's. I particlaurly liked the Peter Max decal that dominated all the things in the closet. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Aesthetics, American    3. General    4. History    5. Humor    6. Interior Design - General    7. Interior decoration    8. Nineteen seventies    9. United States    10. Humor / General   

Reviews (2)

A Wonderful Blend of History and Photography
This book is perfect for the person who wants to know more about the Arts and Crafts Movement from a historical perspective and who also wants to see wonderful examples of this architectural style.It is also particularly helpful in training the eye to select accessories for your own home that follow the Craftsman tradition.The photography is just beautiful.
Arts and Crafts Style, strictly speaking
I'm in the middle of converting my house into a neo-Craftsman style house (http://hillsdalehouse.blogspot.com).I'm trying really hard to recreate all those wonderful details that you can seemingly only find in the circa 1914 originals.So, whenever a new book with Craftsman in the title (especially picture books) comes out, I'm quick to sneak a peek.So, I jumped all over this book (actually, I got it from the library).Here are my thoughts:
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. Arts and crafts movement    5. Domestic    6. History - Specific Styles    7. Individual Architect    8. U.S. Architecture - General    9. United States    10. Architecture / General    11. Home furnishing & decoration    12. Interior design   

Reviews (13)

Great reference book
Although I have a much smaller home, I am using much of the design elements by Ms. Phillips in the renovation of my home.

A Decorator's Dream
So many lovely pictures!I am using many of the design ideas in decorating my new kitchen and breakfast room in the Country French style.I would recommend this book to everyone who is a visual learner.

Not bad, but pretty much the same look throughout
This decorating book has plenty of pictures, but I was a little disappointed that the only color scheme included was monochromatic.This is a very soothing look, but after a while the pictures start to look the same. I was hoping for some different ideas, but this book showed pretty much one idea throughout.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. France    3. Influence    4. Interior Design - General    5. Interior Design - Style Books    6. Interior decoration    7. Italy    8. United States    9. House & Home / Decorating    10. Interior design   

Reviews (10)

Fantastic, Helpful, Informative Book about using Stone in your Home
We are considering having our kitchen remodeled and definitely want to replace the current Corian with some type of stone. This book covers stone used in kitchens and baths. Besides the gorgeous photographs, the book includes lots of helpful tips in helping you chose the right stone for your project. Each photo is described with caption of what the stone is, including the pattern or color. The chapters include the stone kitchen, bath, floor and architectural stone. What is really nice is that it addresses various possible focal points, such as the stone vent hood in the kitchen or a beautiful stone fireplace.
I love this book!!
This book describes the nature of various types of stones and the recommended usage inside and outside the home.I've used this book as a guide to show my local stone dealer what type of stones I'm looking for.And also used it to illustrate the concept of my dream home to my Interior Designer, she understood immediately without us having to go through many rounds of interview to get it right.As a result, my dream home is now almost complete with stones from all over the world, marbles from Spain, Italy, Iran.... granite from Norway and Indonesia... coral stones, tumblestones, slates, and many more....Wonderful pictures and illustrations, I'd recommend this book to anyone!Suitable for modern Asian homes too!

Excellent Stone Resource & Nice Pictures
I work for a natural stone retailer in Texas, and this book gives me ideas for customers.Many of my store's clients want to take this book home or buy it.I don't let them take it home of course; I suggest that they buy one on Amazon.com.
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Subjects:  1. Decorating    2. Decorating - General    3. Home Improvement / Construction    4. House & Home    5. Interior Design - General    6. Remodeling & Renovation - Bathrooms    7. Remodeling & Renovation - General    8. Remodeling & Renovation - Kitchens    9. Stone in interior decoration    10. Architecture / Interior Design    11. Home furnishing & decoration    12. Interior design   

Reviews (29)

Floorplans and great photos
I really like it that the floorplan for each place is included.
Does anyone LIVE like this?
Seriously, the book is beautifully photographed and the rooms are very well designed if you like rooms where no one actually has to LIVE...
My bad?
Perhaps it's my misunderstanding of the purpose of this book. or the implication of the title. In sum, it's stuffed with pretty pictures of overdecorated spaces - and nothing, & I mean N-O-T-H-I-N-G remotely useful for utilizing small spaces.
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Subjects:  1. Apartments    2. Architecture    3. Decorating    4. Decorating - General    5. House & Home    6. Interior Design - Style Books    7. Interior decoration    8. Interior design    9. Personal space    10. House & Home / Decorating   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - General    4. House & Home    5. Interior Design - Professional Reference    6. Home furnishing & decoration    7. House & Home / Decorating   

Reviews (1)

Ideas Galore
If you're doing trimwork but have never spent a lot of time looking at various ideas out there, this is an excellent book to get your creative mind going.There are numerous variations of trim possibilities within these pages.But the best thing for me was the pages of molding profiles showing the various types and styles of molding available.Not all of it is available in my market, but it gave me ideas for molding I could make using my tools.Overall a really good book - I keep it by my bedside and go through it regularly just to create new ideas for trimwork. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Construction - Carpentry    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - General    4. Home Improvement / Construction    5. House & Home    6. Interior Design    7. Woodworking    8. DIY    9. House & Home / Decorating   

Reviews (5)

MSUT HAVE FOR DESIGNERS!
I got this book for my Sr. Design class where we are designing a retail store.This book is a MUST HAVE for an interior designer... students especially....
great reference book
book is packed with useful diagrams and illustrations.A highly recommended alternative to better known expensive standards books.It is a very handy desktop reference!

Poor substitute for "Time Saver Standards"
I bought this book as an inexpensive alternative to "TIME SAVER STANDARDS FOR INTERIOR DESIGN AND SPACE PLANNING" by Joseph Dechiara and found it to be a poor substitute.While this book has useful information on human dimensions it falls short when portraying ergonomic information.OK for an introductory book on the subject but "TIME SAVER STANDARDS..." is a far superior reference. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropometry    2. Architecture    3. Decorating    4. Human factors    5. Interior Design - General    6. Interior decoration    7. Tables    8. Interior design   

Reviews (2)

Balinese houses - paradise.
This is a genuinely fine book. The photographs are spectacular, with fine color and resolution.
bali houses
Good overall but not as informative as Bali Modern another book by same author. PHotography excellent. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Bali Island    4. Domestic    5. Indonesia    6. Interior Design - General    7. Interior Design - Style Books    8. Interior architecture    9. Interior decoration    10. International Architecture - Asian    11. Architectural structure & design    12. Bali    13. Interior design    14. Residential buildings, domestic buildings   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Architecture, Modern    4. Criticism    5. Esthetics    6. Individual Architect    7. Influence    8. Modern movement (Architecture)    9. Philosophy Of Architecture    10. Smithson, Alison Margaret    11. Smithson, Peter    12. Themes, motives    13. Architecture / Interior Design    14. Theory of architecture   

Editorial Review

Michael Byrne's Read more

Reviews (26)

Not for the beginner
Like most Taunton Press publications, Setting Tile skews abit toward the art side of its trade, and it glosses over quite a few things that an absolute novice, or even a fairly skilled worker in another trade, needs in order to get a good result. As other have pointed out, he doesn't go into using mastics or epoxy-based mortars. But those seem like decisions based on his experience with the materials. He simply uses thinset. Enough said.
Very good detailed information on all aspects of tile setting
I've purchased over six tile books and this is by far the most
Another perspective
I've been setting tile for over 30 years, but studying this book was still an edification.It was filled with more information than I expected, and I found it to be very interesting and helpful.I counted 283 photographs and diagrams, although some of those were multiple diagrams within one larger diagram.As an engineer and perfectionist, I reject the myth that a professional necessarily does better work than an amateur.(The correct translation of the word amateur is one who pursues any study or art out of love instead of money.)The key to excellence is to thoroughly study and understand any undertaking beforehand, and then to allow enough time to do it as well as it can be done.So there's a reason why the term do-it-yourself often connotates a hack job - that's what you get when you don't have the patience to study the right way to do a job, and instead proceed with ignorance and impatience.This book isn't intended for someone who can't understand that once adhesive has been spread with a trowel, the tiles are placed on the adhesive.If you can't figure that one out, you need a professional.If you can't find the clear diagram on page 179 that illustrates how a membrane and backer board meet at a tub edge, you need a professional.If you can't find any of the book's references to the inferiority of pre-mixed air-drying mastics (glue) compared to latex-modified thin-set mortars, or how to mix and apply them, you need a professional.Here's one short excerpt from a five-page discussion of adhesives that starts on page 38, "organic mastics are probably the most commonly used adhesives, but they're nonetheless generally inferior to other adhesives."If you're too impatient to read this 244-page book and you just want to stick some tiles on a wall, go down to your local home center and buy a big bucket of glue and some tiles and fake it like a typical do-it-yourselfer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Building Details Finishing    2. Construction - Masonry    3. Do-It-Yourself    4. General    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House & Home    7. Tile laying    8. Tiles    9. Home furnishing & decoration    10. House & Home / Design & Construction   

Subjects:  1. Art / Design / Decorative    2. Art / Folk Art    3. Art / Individual Artist    4. Decorating - Painting/Wallpapering    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. Aarseth, Sigmund    7. Art    8. Decorative arts & crafts    9. Design - Decorative    10. Folk & Outsider Art    11. Folk art    12. Individual Artist    13. Norway    14. Rosemaling