3 comments about Specifying Interiors: A Guide to Construction and FF&E for Residential and Commercial Interiors Projects.

1. 
   Pretty Good information. However, the book would have been much better if the photos they used were more current.



2. The book looked new even though it was used. I was glad to know that the rating of the book actually did match the final product!



3. I am studying for the NCIDQ exam and I found this book very insightful. It is a great review of information I learned in school and in my experiences in the field. The book covers a wide range of information and is very concise!

5 comments about Jonathan Fong's Walls That Wow: Creative Wall Treatments Without Fancy-Schmancy Painting.

1. I ended up donating this book to the library book sale. The ideas were not practical for a "regular" house (and I have old wood floor painted bright red, so I am not totally traditional) and I am sorry I bought it without looking at it first.



2. Exactly right: no faux painting here, just good ideas for all kinds of rooms. Loved it.



3. This book has lots of ideas, some quite unique, for decorating your walls. Unfortunately some are so unique that they edge over into the weird territory. In Fong's case, this happens with:
   *the sticky note covered wall
   *the compact disk covered wall
   *a gray wall with a grid of yellow envelopes containing orange notes
   *stapling pages of a book in a scattered way on a wall to make it look like they blew there from a book on the table
   Maybe some designers are trying too hard to be novel and to stand out from the crowd.



4. The book has few inovative ideas. Come on Spirograph and sticky notes on the wall...Watch a few shows on the home and garden network for better more unique ideas and save the $20.



5. I loved this book. The ideas were amazing -- I never thought I'd find so many creative ideas that I would be excited to try. The format is very thorough and easy to follow with great photography, so that even I feel I can actually do it despite not being very handy. And Jonathan's dry wit throughout makes the book a fun read. I'm sure I'll be referring back to this book many times over the years.

2 comments about Just Chairs: Over 600 Designs from Around the World.

1. Bernie is totally right in his description of this book, and I find it great! The first half of it is devoted to pieces from XX century and the rest to ones from century XXI. The vast majority of them are production models but there is a closing chapter about the chair as a piece of art. As a designer I find all of them very inspiring.



2. I suppose it all depends on what you expect this book to be. I was expecting a history of chairs, with 600 pictures of the chairs. What the book consists of is pictures of 600 mostly modern chairs, essentially all factory made, and almost all made from metal and plastic.
   If you're looking for pictures of chairs through time and how they developed over the centuries, look elsewhere.
   Extremely disappointing book.

No comments about 25 Tropical Houses in Singapore and Malaysia.

1 comments about Monochrome Home.

1. I was sorta disappointed with this book. I expected more wide-angled shots, instead i get endless queues of close-ups. Monochrome Home makes a nice coffee-table book nevertheless, but if you're seeking pages and pages of pretty examples with varied shots..then forget this..browse on.

1 comments about Lofts 2: Good Ideas.

1. A good book on interior loft design/layout. Many of the designs show a nice modern aesthetic using materials like: woods, frosted glass, brushed aluminum, inviting colors, etc.
   
   The book is also broken down to different chapters like "details, distribution and color, and panels & partitions.
   
   A book you can actually get ideas from (unlike lofts that don't feel they're for living).

2 comments about William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Home.

1. If you appreciate anything to do with the Arts & Crafts movement, you'll really like this book -- even if you look only at the pictures. It's separated into sections on exteriors and gardens; interiors (architecture); decorative patterns (wallpapers and woven fabric); furniture; softer elements (curtains, rugs, carpets, etc.); finishing touches (ornament, tiles).
   
   Each has plenty of detail: you see the overall effect (the entire wall of wallpaper) and the specific design (a zoom in on the wallpaper's design). Even if you care about only one element (you're into fabric for instance) you'll get plenty out of this book.



2. William Morris changed people's attitudes towards architecture and interior decoration when Victorian excess was at it's height. I love the use of wood in an Arts and Crafts house. For others who feel this way, this book is a treat. At the back are two useful sections: Where to See Arts and Crafts Homes and a listing of Specialist Supplies for anyone renovating an Arts and Crafts Home.
   You might also want to read The William Morris Stained Glass Pattern Book and The Life and Works of William Morris. Take a look also at Craftsman Homes: Architecture and Furnishings of the American Arts and Crafts Movement.

5 comments about Making Room: Finding Space in Unexpected Places.

1. This was a wonderful pictorial book with all kinds of useful ideas for small spaces. The photos were colorful and clear, the text explaining them was informative and brief enough to keep interest and keep the pages turning.



2. For about 5 years, my adult and single son has complained about the inefficiency of his kitchen. Since he is an excellent cook, the kitchen is a hub in his historic but small home. When I sent him this book, he found immediate adaptability to his situation and the thinking process began. As a package design specialist, he decided to draw up plans and "repackage" his kitchen. One space saver that really caught his eye was the concept of building drawers in the steps up to the second floor.



3. It took me about five minutes of looking quickly through this book to realize that I needed to take the book home and to carry it around the house looking at things in an entirely different way than I'd ever seen it before. I've been wondering about storage space for some time. This book points out that there is room for about twice as much as I have if I would just look at some of the areas of the house in a different way.
   
   Just some of the ideas:
   
   Stairs: Make the treads to flip-up lids to access the box underneath, or insert drawers underneath. Page 17
   
   Dorway: The space over the door can be converted to a small bookshelf of antique display area. Page 56
   
   Under/Over Kitchen Cabinets: Build a drawer into the toe-kick area under the cabinets for storage of thin things like serving dishes, or all kinds of things can be put into the space above the cabinets.
   
   This is a great idea book of how you can probably double your storage area.



4. In "Making Room: Finding Space In Unexpected Places", author Wendy Jordan draws upon her more than twenty years of experience in the remodeling industry to help apartment dwellers and homeowners to create new areas of `liveability' within their existing residence without the necessity of major remodeling. Profusely illustrated throughout, "Making Room" features more than one hundred creative, do-it-yourself ways to make the living space within a home bigger and better without adding on or tearing down walls. More than forty case studies illustrate dozens of ideas highlighting transformation that are `small in scale but big in impact'. From converting the toe-kick under kitchen cabinets into perfect storage areas for serving dishes; to the use of hooks, shelves, and slim cabinetry to enhance the usefulness of a closet, to building a draw into a stair and thereby creating a jumbo-size storage area for bulky items, "Making Room" offers a highly recommended wealth of practical ideas and recommendations for interior design and remodeling that are easy to do and enduringly useful.



5. Brought this book to Friday lunch at our Design-Build company. Passed it around the table and everybody had different favorite great idea's they wanted us all to check out. I like the way the material is organized great idea's, a couple different versions, suggestions for ways to "Make it your own"
   
   A permanent addition to our design library. If you are building or remodeling there are good ideas to be had in this book.

1 comments about Living Color.

1. This book has numerous samples of flower arrangement. The photographs are very brilliant and come in full page. I learn a lot from the photographs. The flower arrangement are very nice, some of them come in a very daring color combination that you never think before. Paula Pryke has showed me that flower arrangement can be transformed from craft to art. I got a lot of inspiration about color combination, texture and composition from this book. The design principles that Pryke used on her flower arrangement can be applied in other field also. This book can be a source of inspiration for other designer (for interior designer, graphic designer, and illustrator).

No comments about The Majesty of Savannah (Majesty Architecture).