No comments about Bathrooms: Designs for Living.

1 comments about Weekend Kitchen Makeovers (DIY): Illustrated Techniques & Stylish Solutions (DIY Network).

1. WEEKEND KITCHEN MAKEOVERS: ILLUSTRATED TECHNIQUES AND STYLISH SOLUTIONS tells how to update or renovate an existing kitchen - from a DYI standpoint. Remodel your own space through a series of some eleven featured weekend makeover tasks, which here receive step-by-step written description accompanied by step-by-step color photos. Any general-interest public library catering to homeowners will find this a popular lend.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

No comments about The French Room: Simple French Style for Your Home.

2 comments about Big Ideas for Small Spaces.

1. It's true, unlike the other reviewer I live only with my husband. Yet we both work from home, have numerous hobbies, store stuff for relatives who live on a boat but like to visit and access their belongings, and host visitors. Possessions seem to multiply like mice, yet we want a stylish home. How to cram it all in while maintaining the illusion that our home is full of space?
   Christine has written a book filled with clever ideas, all of them illustrated with beautiful photographs on, I think, every single page. Anyone who values a beautiful home will acquire valuable ideas by looking at this book - it's become one of my top favorites. I think someone looking for graceful ways to present their precious belongings will especially appreciate this book as she shows how to highlight each room.
   While you can't make a space bigger, you can make it a pleasure to live in. My rooms will always have more stuff visible than the staged photos in this book, but they do give me inspiration (particularly when I'm in the mood to get rid of stuff!).



2. The book is beautifully presented, fun to look at, and sometimes interesting to read. I didn't want a coffee-table book! I wanted ideas for my small townhouse, and I found the ideas and suggestions uninspiring and impractical. The ideas would be useful if I lived by myself, and could decorate my home in the gallery-like fashion of the homes in the book. Well, happily, I don't live alone. I have a family, and two cats, and life isn't simple, or uncluttered. A beautiful home is important to me, but not at the cost this book offers. I'll continue my search for practical suggestions to help me accommodate our lives, possessions, and needs.

No comments about Tokyo Architecture & Design (Architecture & Design Guides).

1 comments about 20th Century Bathroom Design by Kohler.

1. I bought this book for decorating ideas, and it was really useful. But what I really love most about this book is the old pictures. It's got all these old bathroom ads of what what spiffy in bathroom design way back when. The pastels of the early years. Then the wild avocado green and tiger lily yellow. Outrageous!

1 comments about An Arabian Princess Between Two Worlds: Memoirs, Letters Home, Sequels to the Memoirs, Syrian Customs and Usages (Arab History and Civilization. Stu) (Arab History and Civilization. Stu).

1. In the XIX century many western painters tried to describe the "lost world" of harems and sultanian courts. But those paintings were only imagination, because generally the westerns were not allouded to enter in those places. Instead, these "Memoirs" are a genuine source for having an idea of an islamic court of the XIX century. Furthermore the unicity of this book is due to the fact that it is written by a woman, the daughter of the Sultan Said bin Sultan of Oman, who escaped away from Zanzibar with a german trader and married him. The diary of Salme Reute was published many times and in different places. The edition by E. Van Donzel is more accurate and annotated than others. In it we find old photographs and other written materials on Zanzibar and Salme collected by the editor in different european archives.

No comments about The Literary Microcosm: Theories of Interpretation of the Later Neoplatonists (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition).

5 comments about The Gilded Room: Decorating with Metallic Effects, from Metal Leaf to Powders, Pastes and Paints.

1. I think Ms. Skinner has a lot of talent but I was disappointed in the projects. I wanted some advice to use on different areas of my house but the projects in the book were really unique and not applicable, I believe, to most people. It was not a book I would order again.



2. If I wanted to paint something metallic, this would be the book I would go to for instructions . If I hadn't just bought a bunch of other interior decoration books, I would have bought this one. The projects were very creative and inspiring and surprisingly untacky. This book would be a fun addition to any design junkies library.

   Pluses:
   It has a wide variety of projects, easy to understand technical info, instructions and tools listed in great detail.

   Bonus:
   Several pages of color swatches for every type of paint effect and metallic color imaginable.

   Minus:
   If you were expecting 70's metallic wallpaper, don't buy this book.

   Recommendation: Buy this book!




3. Kerry Skinner's The Gilded Room: Decorating With Metallic Effects, From Metal Leaf To Powders, Pastes & Paints offers do-it-yourself interior decorators twenty innovative projects for walls, floors, furniture and accessories incorporating traditional and contemporary techniques for decorative metallic effects ranging from water-gilding to decoupage. Each project is profusely illustrated with clear step-by-step instructions and enhanced with the color photography by Tim France. The Gilded Room is a very highly recommended addition to any personal or professional interior design reference collection.



4. Though I have numerous books about decorative finishes, this is the only one that focuses on metal effects. It is packed with fresh ideas and techniques not seen elsewhere. While many other books focus on cute floral or antique looking interiors, there are many projects here with a clean, modern, metallic look, along with classical styles as well.

   There are over 15 projects including a faux-gold wall, aluminum wall paneling, metallic-effect patterned floor tiles, mesh lampshade with metal accents, Moroccan-style shutters, a steel-effect column and an incised gesso plaque. Each project includes a materials list, and step-by-step instructions accompanied by photos. A discussion of the project and large photo of the finished design is included as well.

   Technical information is included in the back. There is a photograph of just about every tool and material you will use. The author also guides you seamlessly through preparing size and gesso. The details of water-gilding, gilding with oil and acrylic size, finishes, metal patination, and painted metallic effects are also shown. There is also an awesome section spanning nine pages that shows swatches of over 70 special effects including painted patinas, metal-leaf patinas, and patterned metallics.

   If you love the look of metal then you need to buy this book. With so much information and so many inspirational ideas you won't be disappointed.




5. Metallic finishes don't have to look like cheap tin foil. This book shows you how to decorate with a variety of metallic shades, from burnished golds to delicate silvers and everything in between. The most comprehensive book on this subject that I've ever seen.

No comments about The Art of the Franciscan Order in Italy (The Medieval Franciscans) (The Medieval Franciscans).