1 comments about Ironwork: Dynamic Details.

1. Very good information and photographs.
   I don't normally buy without seeing some of contents but this time it was worth the gamble. It adds wealth of knowledge to my ever expanding library on ironwork etc.

5 comments about Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World's Most Colorful Despots.

1. "Dictator Style" is so repulsive you can't look away. This insight into the homes of some of the most evil men and women of the twentieth century reveals depravity, a ghastly lack of taste, and a glimpse into their lives.
   
   Common themes from a century of dictators are discussed up front. Gold, glass, marble, and 'larger than life' are the essentials. Other influences, are mentioned, but these stuck with me. Looking at the themes common to all the homes profiled, I was put in mind of pictures of Graceland, a Trump casino, or the home of someone who came into money entirely too quickly. As I write, I see that this is redundant.
   
   Imagery from the homes of Mobuto, Ceachescu, Saddam Hussein, Milosovic, Tito, Hitler, The Marcoses, Noreiga, and others, along with discussions of the... design decisions, provides a window into the minds of people who sought out absolute power. Milosovic's home struck me as the most tasteful (overdone for my tastes, but to each his own), without the insane overstatement of many of the others. He stood on the cusp between what appeared to be an 'old school' of over-doing European palaces, and the new school of just over-doing everything. Mobuto was amazing, creating a Chinese palace in Africa. Of course, Saddam Hussein took the cake with his dozens of palaces, in the most hideous taste. Even more interesting was that he routinely retired to very modest quarters.
   
   The snapshots of how these people chose to live are disturbing, pathetic, and tacky all at once. The taste displayed is utterly repulsive, but the people behind the images are so facinating that (in a repulsive way) you can't turn away.



2. Very entertaining and a good present for someone who is difficult to buy for.



3. Page 102 Slobodan Milosevic. I am shocked that Mr York did not even bother to see who has been living in the Royal Compound in Belgrade following our revolution 5 October 2000. The text is loaded with lies. Mr York did not even bother to inform himself of the facts. For example page 103 shows my desk, a picture of my wife and I and three sons Peter, Philip and Alexander, look at the pen holder with the A and crown. The White House is the White Palace and page 106 shows the main hall with a portrait of my grandfather King Alexander above the fireplace. Page 107 was never a chapel and the theme is about Czar Dushan poems and what Mr York refers to as a cross is a billiard cue holder. My family name is Karadjordjevic and not Kradordevice. There are many more errors. Full of Lies - no proper research



4. The front end flap of the dust jacket says a lot about the book. It's a quote from P. J. O'Rourke: 'Saddam's chandelier was the size of a two-car garage. If a reason to invade Iraq was wanted, felony interior decorating would have done.'
   
   This book is a private look into the homes of sixteen dictators from around the world. Here are people to whom money is absolutely no object. But they did not contact Frank Lloyd Wright to seek a brilliant new design. They knew what they liked and they got it.
   
   Many of the photographs come from fifty or more years ago, so you need to temper your view with what was in fashion at the time. This is particularly true of the homes of Hitler, Stalin, Juan Peron. The more recent homes have a kind of fancy hotel lobby look.
   
   The book is fascinating. It's with a kind of macabre fascination that you want to see just how these people lived.



5. DICTATOR STYLE: LIFESTYLES OF THE WORLD'S MOST COLORFUL DESPOTS is a hard book to peg: pairing interior design with a funny look at history's alarming dictators, it blends a racy sense of humor with fun profiles of the inner sanctums of the terrifying. Sixteen such interiors - largely bygone by now - are featured along with dictator profiles and 'achievements': you don't know whether to laugh or cry - but will probably wind up doing both.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

1 comments about Living in Bahia.

1. I loved this book about Bahia in Brazil. The pictures are beautiful and the places are kind of a paradise.

2 comments about Country Living Shortcuts to Decorating Country Style (Country Living).

1. I have a great time every time I open the book. It has simple ideas and projects that can make a change in your home. I highly recommend it.



2. I couldn't wait to flip through and absorb the images in this book. The photos are so inviting! Anyone who loves the textures and colors that make up the country look, will luxuriate in this book.
   Then I began reading the tips which are set off in numbered paragraphs. That format made it so easy to read and absorb the ideas.
   Whether your preference is for English country house or for a cottage, this has ideas to create it in your own home. A lovely book.

5 comments about Wright Style: Re-Creating the Spirit of Frank Lloyd Wright.

1. The book landed on my doorstep 2 weeks after I ordered. The photos are well made and the whole atmosphere breathes the true wright stories.
   Too bad that the webshops listed have very little to offer which was the only disappointment.
   The level of detail and attention for seperate elements gives inspiration on how I want to decorate my house and how the harmony was created.



2. All of the other customer reviews were extremely positive, and I would like to concur in their respective judgments.

   Wright's life was filled with controversy, and his work is subject to complex interpretation. Other authors, in my opinion at least, devote way too much book space to these matters; Lind, on the other hand, has done a masterful job in organizing the key elements of Wright's style (furnishings, usonians, etc>) and gathering stunning, modern photographs that illustrate each.

   If you buy one book on Wright, this should be the one. Better than anything else I've seen, it will demonstrate why the man's work lives on -- 45 years after his death.




3. This book takes a look at what makes Frank Lloyd Wright's designs still so popular today. The book itself is so gorgeous, focusing not just on the houses but also on the furnishings, which can be breathtaking! The photos were excellent and conveyed the feeling of really being there.

   I read three books about this architect this weekend, and this one was the most complete of them all. It gave me a peek into so many of his uniquely designed buildings and the furnishings and decorative arts that he created for them.

   Something I had never seen before: at the end of the book there is a catalog of items that can be purchased from different vendors. These are FLW reproductions, items inspired by FLW, and those "in the style of FLW". These items range from furniture to rugs to lamps to fabrics and decorative items.

   On my "tour" of over 40 houses (designed by both Wright and his followers), I saw that all of the designs were simple ones, with natural colors and finishes, the buildings seeming to spring out of the earth. I saw the open flowing floor plans that are sheltered by overhanging, gently sloping roofs. Many of the places I "visited" had built-in furniture and fixtures.

   It was interesting to view all of the things that Wright designed for his homes....besides the items mentioned above, he also designed the windows (art glass), light fixtures, skylights, wall murals, and even the landscaping!

   Wright changed American architecture forever, resulting in open floor plans, multi-purpose rooms, naturally-lit spaces--- and showed us a different way of living.




4. This is a wonderful book: gorgeous color pictures with an informative and most insightful text. Far beyond a coffee table collection, this is a real contribution to understanding Wright, and American housing. Lind discusses the design ideas of a number of Wright's most famous or typical extant buildings. You get a good idea of the exhilarating play of light and space in his houses, and the real significance of such modern cliches as ranch-style, strip and corner windows, patio doors, and built-ins. Besides real insight into Wright's aesthetic, the book is notable for its unique coverage of 12 houses by Wright disciples, and appendices on interior arts and sources of reproductions. (Wright would be appalled, since he saw furnishings as uniquely integral and scaled to particular houses!) A "dangerous" book, it singlehandedly reawakened my interest in Wright's architecture. It may draw you, too, into learning more of Wright, and influencing your choice of home.



5. The book has many photographs an does a credible job of detailing each of them. I found that the book well organized. . I would highly recommend this as an intro to Wright's work. The author tries to touch on as many subjects a possible, as result there are times when it was somewhat lacking in depth. That being said there is a great reference of things Wright in the back of the book that is worth the price of admission alone.

No comments about Alberto Pinto Orientalism.

4 comments about Williamsburg Christmas: The Story of Decoration in the Colonial Capital.

1. With the loss of Colonial Homes magazine, Christmas ideas with a American colonial theme are becoming rare. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation along with Libby Hodges Oliver and Mary Miley Theobald have created not only a historical account of early American celebrations, but a beautifully designed and photographed book. Decorating starts outside with simple wreaths and pine roping to more elaborate fruited creations. Inside the greenery continues along with ideas on table decorations,the Christmas feast and best way to spoil Christmas guests. Chapters cover candles to Christmas trees along with colonial revival and twenty first century interpretations. This book will be a welcome inspiration for anyone looking for Christmas ideas and traditions.



2. Informative (and occasionally surprising!) text accompanied by exquisite photographs of the holiday decorating style known as Colonial Williamsburg.

   The text is coordinated effectively with the photographs to which it refers, making this a helpful guide for those interested in recreating or adapting the patterns for their own decorations. Lists of fruits and greenery that are or are not historically valid as well as diagrams for constructing bases for fan-style and pyramid decorations are both practical and helpful. For those preferring merely to look rather than do, it's still a lovely holiday visit to Williamsburg.




3. With its lively, readable text and beautiful photography, Williamsburg Christmas is a must have book for anyone who enjoys Colonial history and Williamsburg. It makes you want to make that visit to Williamsburg during the Christmas holidays.



4. You don't have to like Williamsburg to like this book. Decorations can be used in contemporary homes, colonial or traditional homes. Good thoughts on how traditions such as the first Christmas tree began. I am giving the book to family and friends. It makes a great Christmas present.

5 comments about Seaside Style.

1. You need to know this is just about the place, Seaside, in Florida-which is fabulous. I really enjoyed the book.



2. although the book is lovely to look at, the houses are quite similar and very typical of that particular part of Florida, which I did not realize in the description. My intent was to view houses that would fit in all seaside areas and the book therefore was a disapppointment.



3. When one thinks of Seaside, Florida, images of white picket fences, quaint beach cottages painted in pastel colors and tin roofs are evoked. From classic Greek Revival to urban contemporary, the mix of interior and exterior styles fascinate and capture the reader. In Seaside Style, Nesmith allows readers not only to experience the broad range of architectural styles but also tour the interiors of these amazing spaces. Highly recommended for coffee tables from Maine to California and Alabama to Illinois.



4. As a Seaside neighbor in Old Seagrove I have a special interest in Seaside, but I found the book to be much more than the chance to get inside houses of people I know and others I see every day. While the writing in the style of architectural magazines might be called "gushing," Eleanor Lynn Nesmith subtly focuses her seasoned critical eye on the people who brought more than their money to the "New Urbanism" community. The result is the story of how Seaside got its soul. The somewhat dark--almost broody--photos of Steven Brooke suited my taste, though maybe not everyone's.



5. The new Seaside Style book through the pictures of Steven Brooke and the words of Eleanor Lynn Nesmith takes us on a tour inside some of the homes of Seaside. A small town along the Gulf Coast of Florida, Seaside gained world fame as the birthplace of New Urbanism.
   With humor and insight, the author walks us through 23 houses and gives us a glimpse of both the homeowners and their personal style.
   The photographer takes us there with his stunning images.
   A must buy for anyone with an interest in New Urbanisn or viewing the individual styles and the pleasures of living at the beach.

2 comments about Old World Interiors.

1. Incredible book. The photos are amazing and David's vision for each and every home he does is spot on. You will not be disappointed by this book. I especially loved the house on the cover. It is hard to imagine being so lucky as to live there.
   
   It also makes a great gift. I bought a few for friends.



2. Fabulous! Bold! Beautiful! So handsome, so gorgeous! Loved it! I wanted to tear out the page and walk into the room. It would be nice to see the outside of the house with all the beautiful inside to it.

No comments about Live/Work: Working at Home, Living at Work.