1 comments about Architecture in Detail: Spaces (Architecture in Detail).

1. This serie is absolut outstanding, You will love it if your are a hardcore fan of the simple expression of complex thoughts in good architectur.

5 comments about Diamond Baratta Design.

1. The Diamond-Baretta Design book gives braided rugs a great outing. Being a longtime braider it does my heart good to see Jan Jurta's great rugs showcased in such a fine manner. The colors and decor are exciting and let us know that braided rugs will fit in a lot of different venues and don't necessarily have to be dark and country.
   
   Recommended if you are planning an expensive redecorating project or if you're just dreaming you can afford it.



2. Great style and advice from Diamond and Baratta. The photos alone are worth the investment. Surprisingly embraces contemporary design as well as traditional. Recommended.



3. Diamond and Baratta are two of my favorite Designers! This book displays the ecclectic environments they help their clients create!



4. This book was written by the designers themselves. After working together for twenty-five years they decided to create a selection of their favorite designs for publication. Their most telling comment was that it became apparent that each of the twenty four projects in this book reflect the clients personalities and passions. As they say: 'We think of our clients as partners and muses and see ourselves as interpreters of their dreams by listening very carefully to them.'
   
   Perhaps the most outstand characteristics of their designs that come through in project after project is the bold use of bright, often primary colors. Not long after that comes a spark of insight as they talk about things like the fabric or lamps or furniture that they had made for this or that project.
   
   All design is a matter of personal taste and desire. The Diamond Baratta designs are bold and striking, but as they say in the quote above, these are not for everyone. I have a hard time imagining some of these homes in a house with four or five kids.
   
   A very interesting book of bold designs that makes for a good idea book.



5. Basically Diamond Baratta Design is a lovely picture book - If you are a decorator or decorating your own home it can be a good source of inspiration or at least a few ideas .If just a fan of decorators it might disappoint as there is little substantive background information about their careers and philosophy. A good mate to this volume would be a book about Dorothy Draper as the Diamond Baretta team follow through on many of her ideas about color and scale.

No comments about The Charged Void: Architecture.

3 comments about Period Finishes and Effects: A Step-By-Step Guide to Decorating Techniques.

1. I found the book very well done. There are many techniques that can be used to decorate furnitures and walls and all of them are very well explained. I'll soon try to embellish my house!



2. I may be a weekend do-it-yourselfer, but, I love looking through this book for period ideas for my 200+ year old Georgian home.

   The photography is beautiful and it's full of ideas and the history of the colors and methods used is fascinating.




3. This is an excellent book for the professional designer or decorator looking for a comprehensive catalog of "out of the ordinary" finishes. The finishes reviewed are generally european in heritage, although many were imported to the US during the last 2 centuries. This is not a handbook for the weekend "do-it-yourself" decorator/painter as the finishes illustrated require multiple steps and practice to attain the desired look. The book is an excellent resource when discussing finishes and 'looks'with a professional painter/finisher. Additionally, the photographs are of a fine enough quality to help the reader understand the relationship of the color, technique and texture to the surrounding room. This should help the reader to visually conceive the design before the project execution and thereby minimize 'mistakes'. Enjoy!

No comments about Spas for Your Home.

5 comments about Southwest Style : A Home-Lover's Guide to Architecture and Design.

1. Living in Ontario, Canada and designing an adobe like home is difficult and we need lots of inspirational books. This one is highly valued in our home during this design period and we recommend this book for anyone in our circumstances. We found it inspirational and useful to our architect who has little exposure to the southwestern style. But...we need more books just like this and find it difficult to buy a book on your site without you providing additional information about the book...for exmample...peeks inside at some of the photographs. That would be so useful. But don't hesitate to order this one; it is well worth the investment.



2. Given my passion for the southwest, I expected to love this book, but I didn't. Certainly I found the photos lovely, but somehow the overall package does not convey the excitement, spirituality, and drama of the region. In other words, the book is a little flat. And what I expected to be a good read turned out to be more of an encyclopedia style rundown of facts (in other words, boring). The book comes off as a cold report on what is in fact a fabulously exciting and inspiring region.



3. The pictures are pretty but the book is a boring read.



4. Extremely beautiful and informative. Finally a substantive look at the style of the southwest.



5. I do NOT find this book limiting; when searching for decorating style of the SW; there is so FEW out there, it is refreshing to find one that covers such a broad area of the SW. I LOVE THIS book...Normal decorating books have so LITTLE of this area and for those of us who LOVE IT, the book is wonderful. REFRESHING and NOT CUTESY! At present I live in the Midwest of America and it is so limiting to NEW ideas so often. Our local library had this book, and I was searching to see how many others were out there, not many... so I MAY end having to OWN this book.

   Thank you for carrying this as well as several others pertaining to this area of the USA.

No comments about Brandscaping: Worlds of Experience in Retail Design.

5 comments about Designing With Light.

1. I am a trained architect working in the field of residential design. There is an immense desire for information on lighting design and scant little available. This book is one of many I have found that capitalizes on that problem but fails to deliver any worthwhile assistance. I am not criticizing the architecture which this coffee table volume serves mainly to promote. I just wish it offered some useful guidance pertinent to other less idiosyncratic applications. A better choice is Sally Storey's "Lighting by Design".



2. The book is good, not AMAZING! but it is a nice walk into the world of architectural lighting trough a group pf great projects.
   Architects: good choice for ideas, if you are interested in lighting.
   Lighting Designers: I won't lie to you, it is nice, but only that.
   Good for Beginners...



3. Architects work with light as one of the basic components of design. Unlike the more technical and morphological aspects of building, light is very difficult to learn and understand without direct experience. Knowledge of the nature and effects of light comes by seeing examples and thinking about them. This book provides the next best thing to being there.
   
   Discussions of light usually tend to the poles of the technical or the mystical. "Designing With Light" approaches it as a medium and discipline. The book provides wonderful examples and also begins a necessary process of categorization to help build a basic 'vocabulary' of light and its behavior. Victoria Meyers is an accomplished architect whose work exhibits a sensitive handling of her topic. I look forward to Volume Two, in which her analytic eye and mind continues the difficult project of making knowledge of this 'ineffable' subject more systematized and communicable.



4. Victoria Meyers leaves no stone unturned as she weaves through the worlds of Architecture, Art, and Science to illustrate the broad and intricate capacities of light.
   If you are familiar with the work of hanrahanMeyers you will not be surprised to find the genuinely breath-taking spreads that are to be found within its covers. The pages of this book are jam-packed with beautiful imagery and words that are sure to inspire any creative mind as much as it has mine !



5. Designing with light is a georgeous book. I love the title as well. It has amazing photos and it is stunning to look at. Every page is like a new adventure. It is one of the best design or architecture books I have ever seen. This book makes a beautiful coffee table book that you would love to share with your guests. The author shows a vast knowledge of architecture and the way that light aids in creating sophistication in design. I would highly reccommend this book for any artist's, architect's, designer's or anyone's collection for that matter. Bravo!

3 comments about Peaceful Spaces: Transform Your Home into a Haven of Calm and Tranquility.

1. Looking for a book that actually was what it said and this book did not disappoint. Peaceful spaces galore and into a haven of calm and tranquility are what it delivers.
   
   Page 10: 'By questioning the purpose of everything you own, you will quickly realize that it is you, rather than the stuff that surrounds you, that must take center stage in the home.' Page 13: 'Next look at your furniture and fixtures and ask yourself what you could do without. If you are scrupulously honest, you may well discover that many things you thought were indispensable to domestic bliss are, in fact, easily dispensed with.'
   
   Page 18 'continuity of color prevents fragmentation' I have found to be one main asset when it comes to creating calm and tranquility and the author knows their stuff well. As is the authors thoughtfulness in showing a variety of spaces and abodes from city to suburbia, country and mountains. Something for everyone. Well laid out and a book one will probably use as a reference for decades since the ideas are not 'fad' but timeless.
   
   In the back of the book starting on page 138 there are sources galore listed both international and here in the states. Where possible she includes their websites which is so helpful. The book was well worth the price.



2. Photos and advice combine to introduce a clutter-free, peaceful way of life. I was looking for some inspiration as to how I can simplify my life and stop keeping so many knick-knacks out. This book is helping me realize how important it is--and how good you'll feel--when you finally decide to clear up your space. If you already know a little bit about Fung Shui, it'll add to the positive effects of this book.



3. 'Peaceful Spaces' is composed of two parts. The first half is a truly wonderful collection of decorative rooms and principles telling you how to make your own rooms look really nice. The idea is to get rid of clutter and excess furnishings, and then artfully arange carefully chosen furnishings & decorations to build a cohesive, peaceful room. Some of the rooms are a bit too spartan for my tastes, but most are simply wonderful. This book isn't about decorating style (e.g., country or modern) but how to use shape, texture, color, and materials to compose an inspiring display. 'Peaceful Spaces' touches upon Feng Shui, Zen, and Japeneese decorating style.

   The second half of the book applies the principles to different rooms of the house & office.

   If decorating your house were an art class, then most books teach technique (e.g., how to do faux painting, how to decorate in the country style, how to recover a sofa, how to choose colors); whereas this book teaches composition (e.g., how to put the pieces together into a pleasing ensamble). My experience with art classes & decorating books is that actual advice on composition is very, very rare. This book is a gem!

5 comments about Vintage Style: Creating a Complete Look for Your Home.

1. loved this book!very easy reading with beautiful photographs.i found this book very insipirational.i know have some great gift ideas for the future.
   
   kellie



2. Unlike many of the other reviewers, I adore this book... to the point that I have had it out from the library for six months! (Yes, I know that I had better buy it soon, and, no, it's not overdue yet.)
   
   Yes, this book is a bit precious. Yes, every single photo in the book features a 100% perfect room (right down to the eerily cute clothes hangers). But Vintage Style makes for delicious eye candy, and, more than that, it does have some nifty ideas.
   
   For example, I've been using it to get ready to go out antiquing, as it has all sorts of ideas for making over old bits and bobs. Like me, you may see lots of old towels, old blankets, and old trims, but never seem to know what to do with them. Of course, you want to buy them any way. But if you also buy this book, then you'll know just what to do. You'll edge plain white towels with strong old cotton lace. You'll use old linen to make a crazy 50's roller towel.
   
   The other aspect of this book that I enjoy is the fact that this book IS a bit precious. I respect the fact the Kidston wants to make every part of her life beautiful. Imagine that you had a lovely, vintage fabric covered ironing board. Imagine that you had charming slippers. I bet your life would be better! Mine certainly would.



3. I THOUGHT THIS WAS A LOVELY BOOK.I FOUND IT TO BE QUITE PRACTICAL CONSIDERING IT WAS SORT OF SHABBY CHIC MEETS VICTORIAN.THERE ARE MANY BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHS WITH PLENTY OF GREAT IDEAS.I DISAGREE STRONGLY WITH SOME OF THE OTHER REVIEWS.PERHAPS YOU NEED TO BE A CREATIVE PERSON TO APPRECIATE THIS BOOK.



4. As a big fan of the "Shabby Chic" books...I thought I'd try this one as well. I came away pretty disappointed. One of the biggest frustations with this book was that the text did not relate to the visuals on the page...Often the photo was several pages ahead or didn't appear at all. And I'd say visual references are pretty important when writing a decorating book. Am I supposed to imagine what this room looks like? The photos that do appear aren't very good...many left me wondering what they even were. If you like this style of decorating, stick to the Shabby Chic books by Rachel Ashwell. They are a much more inspirational and well written series--and the photography is much, much better.



5. I was really looking forward to this book, but was disappointed by its narrow focus. I wish Kidston had shown more examples than just her own home. And while I did like her decorating style, it was most irritating to keep flipping back and forth between text and photos, trying to figure out if the picture next to the text was an example of what she was describing (and often it wasn't) or if the photo 3 pages ahead was really what she was describing. I came away feeling that I really hadn't gathered any usable information for my own home.