Subjects:  1. Decorating    2. Decorating - General    3. Decoration & Ornament    4. Home Improvement / Construction    5. House & Home    6. Interior Design - Style Books   

Reviews (2)

Important for color
So many Provence house books show plenty of details, but this book's strength is the profusion of color throughout. We took it with us to the tile store and could easily see by opening any page what tones, hues are truly Provencal and would work in our new house.

Beautiful
A beautiful book, full of concise details and suggestions for decorating your home to evoke Provence. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Decorating    2. Decorating - General    3. Home Improvement / Construction    4. House & Home    5. Interior Design - Style Books    6. Architecture / Interior Design    7. Home furnishing & decoration    8. Interior design   

Reviews (1)

Comprehensive look
This book offered a historical view of cottages across several countries explaining why they were built the way they were.He then writes about the classic entrance to the cottage home.Following that he discusses theinterior broken down by areas of the house.He covers furniture, paint,kithchens, bathrooms and bedrooms.He finishes the book with a discriptionof the cottage garden and conservatories.The pictures are great.I hopeyou enjoy it as much as I did. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Cottages    3. Country homes    4. Decoration and ornament, Rusti    5. Design & Construction    6. Domestic    7. Interior Design - Style Books    8. Interior decoration    9. Residential Interior Design   

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Architecture    3. Design - Decorative    4. Design - Textile & Costume    5. Interior Design - General    6. Interior Design - Style Books    7. Interior design    8. Residential buildings, domestic buildings   

Reviews (2)

EXQUISITE GEORGIAN
This is a beautifully realized book on a most deserving subject.The text is highly informative and the images are vivid.The craftmanship of these interiors is astounding.Early Georgian furniture and interior design is so elegant and it does not overwelm, like its contemporary styles like Louis XIV, the woodwork and molding in these homes is just breathtaking.If you have any interest in the Georgian style or just appreciate beautiful interiors then you will love this book.

All you need to know about early Georgian English Interiors
As a classically trained english architect I find myself in a unique position to authoritively review this book. And what a book. That perfect blend of photos (most of them colour), drawings - both plans and renderings, and an informative text. This is a must for anyone interested in early Georgian Interiors, as it comprehensively covers interior architecture, decoration, furniture/artwork, and the general design aesthetic of this era. If only we still had the artisians and cratspeople to still build like this. It is an inspiration to any aspiring classical architect. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Architecture    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. Crafts & Hobbies    5. Decorating    6. Decoration & Ornament    7. Decoration and ornament    8. Georgian style    9. Great Britain    10. History    11. History - Specific Styles    12. Hobbies/Crafts    13. Interior Design - General    14. Interior decoration    15. International Architecture - British    16. Art / General    17. Interior design    18. United Kingdom, Great Britain    19. c 1700 to c 1800   

Reviews (3)

Old Fashioned Type Kitchens
I think the person who reviewed the book as too old, misunderstood the book's intent.The book is about barn kitchens, retro kitchens, cottage kitchens, farm type kitchens.Depends on what you want your kitchen to look like.Not all of us want a light beech modern kitchen that looks sterile.

Very dated
I didn't know when I ordered this that it was such an old book. It's not that the kitchens are bad but the book and the rooms in it are so dated. I feel that I did not get my money's worth. I assumed that the book would give me some fresher ideas than these. A real disappointment.

THIS BOOK IS EXCELLENT, I THINK EVERY AUTHOR SHOULD READ IT.
CRHIS MADDEN HAVE BEEN A FAVORITE OF MIND FOR YEARS, THIS BOOK IS GREAT, I DON'T OWN IT SO I CONSTANTLY CHECK IT OUT OF THE LIBRARY, AND I RENEW IT, EVERYTIME MY RENEW TIME IS OVER.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - General    4. Decoration & Ornament    5. History    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. Interior Design - Style Books    8. Interior decoration    9. Kitchens    10. United States    11. Home furnishing & decoration    12. House & Home / Decorating   

Reviews (14)

"Shallow & Vacant" doesn't begin to describe it
These designers have a great gimmick going.Basically, they travel around the world, hoarding antiques, ship them back to NYC and have cheap Mexican labour refinish them.They then charge foolish, rich clients (the ONLY people they'll work for) exorbitant prices for shoddily refinished junk.The reason the book seems "shallow & vacant" is because it's a direct reflection of the designer's personalities.Their designs are more stage settings than ones for living in.They manage to pull the wool over most clients eyes, but, they have been sued when their scheme was discovered and had to drastically lower their prices as compensation.So, if empty, weirdly coloured interiors don't make you vomit, then buy this book!

A must have
This is a divine book.
Don't listen to other reviews......
This book is great!!From the text you actually learn something rather than just a bunch of boring pictures. The pictures are annotated with the designers comments- you can actually LEARN things from this book. It's not a pretty coffee table book ( thank god, do we really need another one of those?! )but one which you can actually learns secrets to great design.One step above the beginers level. I would highly recommend this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Decorating    4. Decorating - General    5. History    6. House & Home    7. Interior Design - Style Books    8. Interior decoration    9. Interior design    10. United States    11. Home furnishing & decoration    12. House & Home / Decorating   

Editorial Review

True to the sense of bounty and calm that the California wine regions convey, Diane Dorrans Saeks writes, "Wine Country life is private, peaceful, undisturbed. Rural bliss soothes the mind. The Wine Country encourages simple wonder and gratitude."The inhabitants of the idyllic properties presented in Read more

Reviews (4)

Nice start - but barely a beginning
Ms. Saeks did a reasonable job, but the book is close to worthless if you want to design your house in a recognizable California Wine Country style.Katya and I suggest developing a color palette from the book, but after tens of hours of studying it we can not determine a quantifiable style.Consider this book as a raw first start; a survey of modest importance.The interiors are all over the map.The only commonality is their location in California.Worth buying - yes, but only to understand the diversity possible.Is a more serious study necessary - yes.California wine country is a combination of Tuscan, Provencal, and Spanish Colonial/Early California, with Asian influences.Themes and moods vary.Pretty much freestyle designing. However, certain rules will give you a recognizable style.We're working on it. Beautiful
I collect decorating books (I'm obsessed with them!) and this is my absolute favorite! It's sitting on my coffee table and I look at it again and again; I wish I could find more like it. We have recently purchased/remodled another house and this book was the inspiration for many of the things I incorporated into this house.

An architect's opinion of this book
This book is a beautiful presentation of Interior (and outdoor) Design, but little true architecture. Most of the profiled homes appear as sets in a film and seem unrealistic as full time residences. As an architect, Iwill admit that most are wonderful, humanly scaled spaces. I'm not sure whythe wine country is profiled-- other than the budgets are fat there.Overall, the book is worth the price. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural Detail    2. Architecture Of Specific Structures    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. California    5. Decorating    6. Decorating - General    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. House & Home    9. Interior Design - Style Books    10. Interior decoration    11. Napa Valley    12. Architecture / General    13. Home furnishing & decoration    14. USA    15. Wines   

Reviews (4)

Contemporary Thai
It's a typically and exclusively fantastic book. It helps me study and learn a lot more about contemporary Thai style to start decorating 1 of the rooms in my house in that style. Highly recommend this book to all of readers and Thai-style or Asian-style fans.

Wow, do I love Thai style now!!!
I loved this book. It's a feast for the eyes, and is a great introduction to Thai style. While Japanese, Zen and Feng Shui styles have been overexposed lately, Thai style is a secret so wonderful, it won't be a secret much longer. Visually Stimulating
I was in BORDERS BOOKS shopping for some audio tapes, and decided to check-out what was in the Home Decorating Section. I discovered this MARVELOUS book. I was captivated by the photographs on each and every page. For those individuals seeking design ideas, color options or furniture placement this is a MUST HAVE! The photographer did a marvelous job capturing the essence of Thai Design in the modern home. This is definately my next purchase when I go back to the book store. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - General    4. History    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House & Home    7. House furnishings    8. Interior Design - Style Books    9. Interior decoration    10. Thailand    11. Art styles not limited by date    12. Home furnishing & decoration    13. Interior design   

Reviews (3)

Showcase of Contemporary Western Design
"In the typical cowboy-chic living room, overstuffed couches and deep Molesworth-inspired club chairs invite lounging while oversized upholstered ottomans offer a variation on the traditional coffee table, providing softer edges, a more casual feeling, and extra seating." ~ pg. 54
Beautiful Book!
I needed pictures to help me figure out how to design a Country Western style art gallery. This book had beautiful pictures, gives an overview of the history of the western culture, and provides names of companies and/or creators of furniture pieces. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the Rustic/Country Western style home; this book was absolutely wonderful!

Cowboy Chic
I enjoyed the book, but I was a bit disappointed, since there wasn't enough technical decorating information on color schemes, regional variations in styles, etc.Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Decorating    3. Design & Construction    4. House & Home    5. Interior Design - Style Books    6. Interior decoration    7. West (U.S.)    8. Architecture / Interior Design    9. Home furnishing & decoration    10. Interior design    11. Western & Pacific Coast states   

Reviews (7)

Expectation vs product
The book is more of a catalogue than an architectural publication. It certainly contains lots of contemporary details, but these are often displayed lacking context. I believe this book was published to help architects in their everyday practice, but don't we have enough commercial material these days?
Not what I expected
The reason I purchased this book is because it billed itself as a great reference/sourcebook.In my mind, that meant a place to get ideas for contemporary home improvements, as well as a means to make them actually happen.I envisioned a book that showed a photo of a (kitchen, floor, bathroom, some tile, etc.), discuss the actual materials used in EACH setting, and where possible, where they can be found. While there are a few basic references of this type, the bulk of the book gives the name of whatever architect contributed to each setting and then describes the shot in great detail, yet with hardly any information about what's IN it.In addition, many of the pictures are too small/shot too close up/at odd angles to get a lot out of them.I'm sorry, but I did not find this book helpful.

Contemporary Details 1992 ed
I got my hands on a used 1992 edition.There were some great ideas in here if you like contemporary/modern design. Some rooms seemed to be more of a Zen modern/asian influenced.Only get this book if you like to look at photos of nice rooms though, there is little to no instruction found inside. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architectural Detail    3. Architecture    4. Decoration & Ornament    5. General    6. History    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. Interior Design    9. Interior Design - General    10. Interior Design - Style Books    11. Interior decoration    12. Interior decoration accessorie    13. Interior decoration accessories   

Reviews (2)

great ideas for an asian inspired home
Nice ideas for using Japanese art and furniture.

excellent book of ideas and resources
Book contains abundant pictures with full descriptions of items and history.Also contains excellent resource section for U.S. and Japan. Terrific book for anyone interested in Japanese style interior design ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Decorating    3. Decoration & Ornament    4. General    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. Interior Design    7. Interior Design - General    8. Interior Design - Style Books    9. Home furnishing & decoration   

Editorial Review

Tired of buying your furniture in giant warehouses an hour's drive away and struggling with assembly instructions once home, only to see the same table on the same rug in your friends' houses? Well, don a neckerchief and white blouse, pour a glass of plain old red table wine, put on some Billie Holiday, and prepare to reject "the dull conformity of mass taste and manners." Read more

Reviews (12)

book browsing verboten!?
I can't buy this book. Because unlike the time when I could go into a local bookstore (now locked and shuttered for good) and look through it, and even unlike Amazon's old system where we could see a lot of whole pages, only a few pages are available doe a buyer's inspection - too few, for a book which is primarily a picture book - to impress me enough to prompt me to buy it. If bookstores used this same policy, the books would be under lock and key, and little or no browsing would be permitted.
Great idea!
Move from mass consumerism andfurnish your home with interesting and found objects. Make your place different. Laugh at the" keep up with the jones" set and make your point.

unique, beautiful, colorful decorating
My husband and I are both artists of sorts, and like a profusion of handmade and vintage things in our home.Being a newly married lady having to set up housekeeping for the first time, I have read whatever books I could find on decorating.I found most advocated the kind of stiff, minimalist, store-bought look my husband and I so strongly wanted to avoid.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Design - General    3. Found objects (Art) in interior decoration    4. Home Improvement / Construction    5. Interior Design - Style Books    6. Residential Interior Design   

Reviews (1)

Great reference, some hard-to-find information in here too.
Want to see the original drawings for the Red-Blue Chair? Or find a little-known fact about one of designs of Gerrit Rietveld that normally would require examination of an original or a long conversation with someone from Christies? And then, maybe, actually build the piece yourself? This is the book to get. It's not enclyclopedic, though, so make sure what you are interested in is present in the 50-or-so works present. Also has some terrific old photographs of the workshop, original installations, lines, and advertising. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Design - Furniture    3. Individual Artist    4. Furniture & cabinetmaking    5. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    6. Individual designers    7. Interior design    8. Netherlands   

Editorial Review

As Western lavishness collided with striking native elements in the vast reaches of the East African savanna, the Safari style was born. Blending ethnic African with colonial European, the look emphasizes relaxed yet luxurious living, drawing on an elemental approach to texture, color, and pattern, and on indigenous materials and design. Exploring 21 spectacular homes in glorious color, Read more

Reviews (5)

As useful a memory guide as a hunting trophy
One should not get the idea that the "camps" depicted in SAFARI STYLE have anything to do with the experience of safari.I have stayed in both tent and cabin camps and they were comfortable.They were not, emphatically NOT, anything like these.However, after safari is only a memory and an anticipation, a room decorated with ideas put forth in this volume will help soothe the longing until you can really go back.Whether your goal is to compile your memories in photos, watercolors, or traditional heads and horns a "trophy" room decked out in Safari Style will end up being the most satisfying in the home.

Romanitc,exotic living found here, but not for the timid!
Safari Style is the quintessential insiders design source for creating African interiors. At over 200 pages, literally every other page has a full page color photo on it! While this book is a feast of exotic interiors, exteriors are featured too, they include a wide array of domiciles: rugged tents to palaces to tree houses, and game camps to very exclusive lodges. In fact, at the back of the book, the author has generously offered up a �Safari Guide,� complete with addresses and phone numbers of many of the books featured sites, for those of you inspired to go to these places! Luxurious lives of the expats
One side of me recognizes that the younger sons of the Empire without great resources "went out" to Africa where they could live like princes on comparatively little [comparative only for Europeans, of course]. The other side wishes I had enough decadence in me to have lived in Happy Valley. There is no pretense that this is anything other than splendid housing for Europeans, not native Africans, and it is honest about malaria and the like, without mentioning politics. Nonetheless, I am happy to put this on my shelf with more technical works on indigenous African architecture. The work offers splendid structures built of simple materials on simple plans in which I could happily end my days relishing the elegant detail. The rich melange of styles effectively denies any dim notion of East African cultural isolation. Here Arab, Persian and Indian met and married native genius, and biologists know the offspring of heterosis are often ravishing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Africa, East    2. Civilization    3. Decorating    4. Decorating - General    5. Decoration & Ornament    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House & Home    8. Interior Design - General    9. Interior Design - Style Books    10. Interior decoration    11. Interior design    12. Pictorial works    13. Residential Interior Design    14. Architecture / Interior Design    15. Home furnishing & decoration   

Reviews (3)

Beautiful and informative but not helpful to me.
This book is full of beautiful pictures and is well written. However, I was expecting a book about the average art-deco home.This book featured only the more extravagant homes of the time.It did not help me decide how to furnish my modest 1930's home.

More than Deco
The opening sentence "One of the big issues that exercised the minds and consciences ofarchitects and social commentators between the two world wars was the future of domestic architecture" sets the tone for the book that follows. It discusses all of Modernism in the Twenties and Thirties, not just Art Deco, including Rietveld-Schroder and Villa Savoy among the Deco houses. It gives the context of the famous "machines for living" quote, often used as a rallying cry of the anti-Modernists, but which actually only refers to the thermostatically-controlled central heating, hot and cold running water, and other conveniences that were new back then. Good text, good photos and dull layout.
There are some glorious color photos in this book of Art Deco (or Moderne) houses.Twenty-nine are featured as well as places like Miami Beach, Los Angeles apartments and Napier, New Zealand. This last place is the Deco capital of the southern hemisphere and I think there should have been more photos than just the four shown.Read more

Subjects:  1. Architect-designed houses    2. Architecture    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. Art deco (Architecture)    5. Decoration & Ornament    6. Domestic    7. History - Specific Styles    8. Art Deco    9. Houses, apartments, flats, etc    10. Interior design   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Arid regions    4. Arizona    5. Decorating    6. Decorating - General    7. House & Home    8. Interior Design - Style Books    9. Interior decoration    10. Residential Interior Design    11. Sedona    12. U.S. Architecture - General    13. Architecture / Interior Design    14. Home furnishing & decoration   

Reviews (11)

Incredible History of Art Deco
Great book with many helpful photos. Great history of the art. Recommended to anyone who wants to know more about one of the 20th century's most important art forms.

Not impressed
This is a pretty dry book.First it helps to know a little French.Secondly, all this book does is throw in a couple hundred names of designers and places. Third, when the author speak of different designs which were created by people there are no images to back it up, so you really can't produce an image in your head of what the author is describing, the images that are in the book are mainly black and white and drawings which really didn't give me a sense of what the designer was trying to portray.As a designer I purchased this book to learn more about the art deco style, characteristics, elements, materials and influence, which is not what I found in this book.

The last book I'd let go of.
For those who are looking for a special purpose book, such as one that will instruct a person in design, or categorize items one may want to purchase by type (lamps, vases, statues, etc.), this may not be the ideal book.For the reader who is interested in exploring the deco spirit of original times and designers who viewed deco interiors as ensembles and not mere collections of items, this is an excellent book.As well bound as it is, I may eventually wear out my copy.It has been most useful to see original period interiors (ensembles, including the objects of which they are composed) from hotel lobbies, theatres, bedrooms, living rooms, bathrooms, restaurants, train stations, ocean liners, movie sets, offices, kitchens, and more, as I gather interpretive hints and inspiration for remodeling projects for each of the rooms in my house.I also browse through it sometimes just for the type of eye candy I never tire of.Photography is plentiful, and many photographs are nearly full-page in size.The writing is instructive related to history and designers, and well written.If I could keep only one art deco book - so far - this would be it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Art deco    4. Decorating    5. Decoration and ornament    6. History    7. Interior Design    8. Interior Design - General    9. Interior Design - Style Books    10. Interior decoration    11. Art Nouveau    12. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    13. Second World War, 1939-1945   

Reviews (6)

Excellent budget minded tips!
This book is so creative and incredibly inspiring! Lisa Quinn really knows her stuff. She has innovative twists on everyday objects that can suit anyone's style (and you can mix and match between rooms). I especially love the "sexy bedroom" on the cover. What a brilliant idea to screw desk lamps into the wall! I highly recommend this book for people looking for some inexpensive inspiration to brighten up their abode.

Inspiring!
This is a great book for decorating ideas and tips.The author really breaks down all of the design elements in each of the rooms and has great instructions for low-cost decorating ideas.Some of the projects presented in the book are very original and creative.I also really like the fact that the majority of the decorating projects are relatively simple and easy to complete.I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves or is interested in interior design.

Great decorating on a budget
This is one of the best books I have on redecorating on a budget.The ideas are useful, practical, affordable and very appealing.Many books are full of ideas that look cheap.not this one - can't wait to try many of them.Great pictures and well written. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - General    4. Decoration & Ornament    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House & Home    8. Interior Design    9. Interior Design - Style Books    10. Interior decoration    11. Interior decoration accessories    12. House & Home / Decorating   

Features

• Bargain Price

Subjects:  1. Interior decoration    2. France    3. House furnishings    4. Cookery, French    5. Interior design    6. Residential Interior Design    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. House & Home    9. Decorating - General    10. Interior Design - Style Books    11. Bargain