No comments about Josef Frank: Life and Work.

No comments about Ludwig Mies van der Rohe & Lilly Reich: Furniture and Interiors.

4 comments about Keith Irvine: A Life in Decoration.

1. I've had this book for a year or more and recently reviewed it. When I first bought it I thought a more likely title might be "A Life In Overdecoration", But many of the rooms are lovely and I think Mr. Irvine is best when he uses some restraint. I think he often aims for the look of John Fowler, but often misses somehow. I found the writing in this book sometimes pretentious, e.g. Mrs. Onassis preferred "ton-sur-ton"; after all, this book is written in English. And I think the disparaging remarks about Mrs. Onassis and Mrs. Parish detract from the book; after all, no one else had these things to say when writing about these women. And Bunny Williams worked for Mrs. Parish for decades. Mr. Irvine seems further intent on name dropping, as if to impress. It's tiresome and doesn't add to the book.
   Still, Mr. Irvine's talents cannot be denied. Beautiful rooms.



2. Very dissapointing!!! Many of the design photos are dated, and the quality of the printing is fuzzy on many pages. I must own at least 75 Interior Design books spanning 30 years and THIS is the first book I have ever returned!!! There was nothing in it to make me ever look atit again!!! Definitely not worth the price (to me). W O'M



3. I have been a decorator for 37 years..I have at least, 1000 books about decoration.....
   
   This is the BEST, by far. When I took it to the Pacific Design Center for Mr. Irvine to autograph.......he saw all these little stickie things marking pages......notes,; stars, and underlining everywhere......I was afraid he would think I had defaced this book!!
   
   Hardly......he looked up at me, and said......"Oh...You are getting so much OUT of it!!"
   
   Indeed I am....I make sure I spend several hours a week....with my magnifying glass......on this book.
   
   Penelope Bianchi



4. I very much enjoyed this book. It is filled with ideas and information.

1 comments about Ideas: Storage (Ideas (AM Editores)).

1. This book gives a lot of storage ideas that look like they are very expensive & customized to the individual situation. I enjoyed the book but I don't think that there is much in it for the average consumer. It appears to mostly contain modern European interiors.

No comments about Design Destinations Worldwide.

4 comments about Axel Vervoordt: The Story of a Style.

1. This book is a true classic and a MUST for anyone interested in antiques or interior design. We were very fortunate to first be introduced to Vervoordt at the 1984 Paris Biennale des Antiquaires where his booth, displaying Ming porcelain lost in 1645 in the South China Sea and recently recovered, was the sensation of the Salon. All of that massed blue-and-white in a large booth at the center of the Grand Palais drew lots of attention to the 37-year old Vervoordt and his subsequent success allowed him to restore a magnificent Belgian chateau over the next four years for use as both home and gallery. Much of this book is photographed in his home/gallery chateau.
   
   This book provides a superb overview of his aesthetic, one which can incorporate a huge Anish Kapoor sculpture (perhaps circa 1995) with ancient stone Thai carvings, gorgeous Renaissance bronzes and wonderful European furniture. Think Rose Tarlow on steroids. The photography is excellent, almost all color, many full-page, and the scale of the book is appropriately large.
   
   If the eclecticism of a Cy Twombly (a contemporary abstract painter) displayed in a warm wood interior appropriate for 17th C. Amsterdam sounds intriguing, he may be on your wave length. The array of tasteful objects beautifully presented is a key feature of the book. His collection (all of which is always for sale) will no doubt include some superb items which you have really never looked at before; when you read about the object, you may reconsider. His enthusiasm is contagious.
   
   Those primarily interested in interior design may find his new book "Axel Vervoordt: Timeless Interiors" more interesting because it shows some twenty homes he has done for clients. But if you only want one book on Vervoordt and if you can afford this out-of-print text, I'd go with the Meredith Etherington-Smith volume.



2. Axel Vervoordt is an artist in his own right. A designer and collector of art from all periods of history, he presents here the work of his life's vision - creating spaces where all of the arts from all cultures and timeframes meld into subtle, elegant, harmonious and extraordinarily beautiful spaces.
   
   Vervoordt's keen eye for excellence demonstrates how architectural features of a building/living space are enhanced by a combination of art objects, drawings, paintings, murals, artifacts and bits of nature. The results are page after stunning page of thoughtful, quiet splendor. Mixed with commentary from Vervoordt (with written statements by Meredith Etherington-Smith) and exceptional photography by Laziz Hamani this book goes far beyond the borders of volumes about design. This is a bold and inspiring homage to Style. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05



3. Five stars are not enough! I have savored every word of this gorgeous book. The philosophy of this remarkable man is truly inspiring--his work is very personal, and seeing it and reading about it are a privilege. Anyone interested in interior design, antiques, or art would benefit from owning a copy of this outstanding, intelligent work.



4. Every once in a great while a person enters this world who truly makes a difference. Axel is such a person - generous, brilliant, cultured and admired. He works very hard and has endless passion for life and for the joys of his life. This book is a glimpse into what Axel does, into what he lives for. As you read this book and marvel at what heights of artistry, inspiration, then continue on to Axel's web site, at axel-vervoordt.com. You might even be moved to travel to s'Gravenwezel, northeast of Antwerpen, and visit the world he is building there since the mid 60's. It's a wonderful book about a wonderful person.

1 comments about 52 Weekend Decorating Projects: A Guide to Adding Personal Style to Your Home.

1. I love ideas for DIY projects and enjoyed this book very much. It gives a few ideas each for furniture, windows, lights, accessories and more. Projects are rated beginner or intermediate level.

No comments about Lighting Design: Principles, Implementation, Case Studies (Detail Practice).

No comments about Knoll Home & Office Furniture.

4 comments about Sheer Opulence (Decor Best-Sellers).

1. Wonderful book, lots of ideas. This is a decorator who is not afraid to combine "grand" with "simple" and makes it all look great. Here is someone who goes beyond what most people think of as proper and good decorating and because of his ideas and boldness, makes rooms come alive.
   Anyone can follow the rules and create a nice room, it takes a creative mind to go beyond that, and this book shows that.



2. Nicholas Haslam must surely be the most well-connected decorator of his time. As a very young man he was hanging out with the likes of Lady Diana Cooper and company. The book's inside-flap wastes no time in reminding us of his celebrity clientel.He has had privilged entree to some of the most ravishingly beautiful rooms of his time, and he is an astute observer of the elements that go to make up that thing called Style. His essays are excellently presented, his watercolours delightful.

   If only he had brought these talents to bear upon his own interiors, which are at their best merely whimsical and at worst faintly tawdry. The gorgeous photography serves to reinforce the notion that all interior decoration is somehow suspect. Use of materials and architectural detail is arbitrary to a fault.In short, nothing quite rings true, and the quality of Character that this designer admires in the works of his predecessors is disconcertingly absent from these hollow excercises. Perhaps when Evelyn Waugh's Mrs Beaver noted that "decoration is not an exact science" she gave the world something to chew on.

   Several years ago Mr Haslam moved into the Hunting Lodge, lived in previously by the great John Fowler. A double paged spread illustrates a corner of the diminutive Sitting Room. A bulky sofa having an array of "accent" cushions is thrust further into the room by a table behind it, and above that table are 18century French engravings in gilt frames. The effect is ludicrous. One hardly expected Nicky Haslam to dupicate the Fowler scheme, but at the very least he might have honored the spirit of the place, and restrained himself from tarting things up.
   Nonetheless, this is a fascinating glimpse into a sort of unreal, fantasy world where publicity and social skills count for
   something alarmingly persuasive. Being a good interior decorator isn't in the least a simple matter, yet the myth lives on in these pages.




3. tacky, dated interiors that might delight the nouveau riches. Good photos, 'tho.



4. Great photos and ideas from a very innovative designer.