4 comments about Mexican Tiles: Color, Style, Design.

1. I'm in the process of building on the Maya Riviera so this isn't a book read for fun. This is real research looking for real ideas. Building in Spanish Colonial style can't be done without some incorporation of Mexican Tiles. This book is basically 90% pictures and 10% background and history of Mexican Tiles. The background write-up is excellent and gives good history of Talavera and Talavera-Style Tiles. Then it's on to different uses, floors, kitchens, bathrooms, walls and stairs, and patios and gardens.
   
   I'm very simple in the colors I like in homes so these tiles can be "over the top". This book has a lot of these type pictures. It has more tile usage than I've ever seen on exteriors. The kitchen section has huge tile usage but I've seen more attractive usage in other books.
   
   Overall, I did not get any ideas I will definitely use but I did get a different perspective on tile usage. There are definitely pictures I will take back to discuss with my architect and designer which may be incorporated. This book can be consumed in an hour. But it may take many hours of review going over the pictures again and again.



2. I love Mexican tiles but I felt the book was a bit of a let down. The pictures were a bit small and there wasn't enough information about tilemaking in the book. I think the book would have been much more effective in a larger format where the tiles would have been more impressive. There are some wonderful talavera tile websites on the net for anyone who wants a better overview.



3. Book has great ideas. Wish it had been hardback. Book binding, does not want to hold together, considering the wear and tear it shall receive. This is also a great book.



4. After I bought Masako Takahasi and her husband Tony Cohen's book "Mexicolor", I thought no other book I purchased would EVER compare to that experience. When I discovered "Mexican Tiles", I opened it with fear and trepidation, hoping against all hope, yet hardly daring to believe that it could be even half as good as their first.

   But this book is AWESOME!! I think I finally figured out why, after reading Tony Cohen's book "On Mexican Time": these people simply ADORE Mexico, and it comes through in everything they do. All of the wonder and breathless anticipation and teary-eyed beauty that I feel and am so hopelessly unqualified to express when I am either in Mexico or adding to my collection of artesania, Tony vividly portrays in his prose and Masako captures with her camera.

   As for subject matter, I LOVE Talavera tiles, Talavera pottery, Talavera ANYTHING, because they are so INCREDIBLY Mexican, and this book is simply PAGE after GORGEOUS PAGE of Talavera-lined kitchens, bathrooms, stairs, floors...you name it, it's tiled. If you at all appreciate ethnic interior design or Mexican handicrafts, this is an AWESOME book!!!

No comments about Alberto Pinto Orientalism.

2 comments about San Francisco Modern: Interiors, Architecture and Design.

1. What a great book packed with pictures. The design is very modern and unconventional (read expensive). This is a very fun book to review. If you can't afford the architecture costs there are many ideas you can incorporate into a more typical home design.



2. Coffee table book showing all the nicest spots in the Bay Area. The spread on the family compound in Sonoma is worth the price alone!

4 comments about The Window: Inspired Ideas for Framing Your View (Leisure Arts #3422).

1. Umm...yikes. Wish I would have flipped through this one before I threw my money down. It's hard to fault Ms. Charton for her enthusiasm and inventiveness, but this book isn't for everyone. I found many of the designs to be gimmicky and over the top. All in all there's nothing in it for me. Maybe for the do-it-yourselfer? Design professionals looking for elegant treatments, look elsewhere.



2. I recently moved to Little Rock and found myself searching for draperies for my home. Unable to purchase quality window coverings I began searching for the newest and most creative ideas. The book " The Window " offers the most wonderful treatments. It has given me great ideas in fabrics, hardware and even fun ways to decorate my home. This book will definitely
   give a kick start to your decorating dreams.



3. If you are looking for beautiful and innovative ways to dress your windows, this is the book you have to buy. So many other drapery books are so blah. This one is gorgeous, after you glean all of the ideas you can from it, you can place it on your coffee table and share it's beauty with your guests. Not only did I find great ideas in this book, I so enjoyed reading the stories that the author/designer wrote about each of the clients whose homes were featured in the book.



4. I found this book to be the most inspirational decorating book I've ever bought. It is so full of great ideas and wonderful pictures. I love how directions are put step by step in the book. This is well worth your money.

No comments about Apartments DesignSource.

5 comments about The Victorian Home: The Grandeur and Comforts of the Victorian Era, in Households Past and Present.

1. This book is loaded with color photographs! I went through this book several times before putting it back down. It's a must have if you are trying to get decorating ideas for a victorian room.



2. This is a beautiful book to dream by. I bought one because we are building a Victorian home, but this would be enjoyed by anyone who loves Victorian style and design. Lovely!



3. I could not have decorated my recently renovated 100 year old Victorian home without this book. Friends and family think I have great potential as a decorator, little do they know.



4. I bought this book about a year ago and I still refer back to it often. The photos are so gorgeous, they give me goosebumps. They transport me into a place I'd like to live, a fantasy of design and genteel composure. The text is informative and the quality of photos is top notch. I highly recommend this book to folks who like Victorian design, both contemporary and traditional. You will feel the money was well spent!



5. I found this book at a local library, I have went threw several books to get ideas on styles and of the victorian era. I found this one to be one of the best. It has wonderful, all color photographs, has a dictionary of old words and is wonderful for discribing details. I am going to purchase it for my own collection.

No comments about Buenos Aires Style: Exteriors, Interiors, Details (Icon (Taschen)).

3 comments about Victorian Style.

1. While there may be a plethora of books on the subject of Victorian decorative arts, none have the ample number of photographs this one has.
   
   My wife and I recently bought a circa 1900 home, complete with most of its original elements ranging from seven glorious mantels to original gaslight overhead lighting fixtures. The only problem was the awful interior paint job, and of course, lack of Victorian furniture.
   
   We searched everywhere for a book which depicts correct colors and design elements to no avail. Then at the local library we came across this currently (at the time of this writing) out of print book. It is still available as new and used.
   
   The text is excellent, however, the photographs are the main selling point. If you are interested in authentic Victorian style and want to decorate your home correctly, this book has it all.



2. This book is a must have for any lover of the Victorian era. The photographs are gorgeous, wonderful quality. I have it on my coffee table for all to see. Please don't hesitate if you want this book because you will regret it. I have always loved this era, especially Victorian homes. If I had the money, I would live one. My dream!
   
   Nancy S.



3. A must for everyone who owns or dreams of owning a victorian period home. Covering grand to smaller scale homes, this book takes you through every nook and cranny of homes...from porches to living rooms to victorian style bathrooms. This book offers the reader so many ideas but is not a true reference book...no how-to's in this one but rather a visual treasure chest of examples for those looking to renovate or decorate in true victorian style. A source directory is included. Enjoy!

3 comments about Tropical Style: Contemporary Dream Houses in Malaysia.

1. Tropical Style is a beautiful book that is a pleasure to read and to have close to hand on a living room table. With plenty of pictures -some on exquisite details- the glossy pages invite the reader into Malaysia architecture and decoration. The vibrant use of colors and lights, and the warmth of the exotic wood play with the modern inspiration and the garden luxuriance. The purity of the lines as well as the mix of West/East inspiration brings an original elegance to the Malaysian houses. Simple and delicate at the same time, the Malaysian style is worth the attention it gets on this book. To buy for yourself or to offer.



2. Tropical Style: Contemporary Dream Houses In Malaysia by Gillian Beal (an expert in vernacular architecture) with photographs by Jacob Termansen and Pia Marie Molbech, is an impressive collection of superbly produced photography vividly illustrating the interior designs of contemporary Malaysian homes and resorts. Showcasing thirty-five awe inspiring indigenous and cross-cultural building and room interiors, Tropical Style offers readers an armchair traveler's visit to Kuala Lumpur, coastal, and island beach retreats of Malaysia. A welcome addition to personal and professional Interior Design reference collections, Tropical Style is very strongly recommended as an expansive collection of what Malaysian and Southeast Asian homes have to offer by way of interior designs and beautiful living.



3. Despite the somewhat plain cover, the rest of the book features colorful and interesting interiors of private residences and hotels. While the title says "Tropical Style," the book focuses almost exclusively on properties in Malaysia. Clearly the companion book to Island Style, I would rate this book slightly lower only because I enjoy more pictures of exteriors.

5 comments about Green By Design.

1. This introductory guide to sustainable living will give you new ideas for building your home in an environmentally-friendly way.



2. I agree with Bill below - this book is outdated. The author seems to miss the concept of ecological footprint. The first two houses she features in her book are 3,300 sq ft (for three people) and 3,000 sq ft (for two people). Another house is 4,175 sq ft.
   
   Even if people use green materials and building practices, the houses aren't green if they're using excessive materials and space.
   
   There are a number of better green books, but one that specifically focuses on minimizing environmental impact is Little House on a Small Planet by Shay Salomon.



3. I am a SoCA tract homeowner getting ready to relocate to the mountains of northern Utah. My husband and I are committed to building a home that is environmentally responsible, but the "green" concept is absolutely overwhelming. Green by Design is a terrific overview of the concept of sustainable living. Through the several case studies we learned that we would not have to be locked into an ugly straw box or uglier geodesic dome, and this book gave us just what we needed for next steps. If you already have expertise in this area and are looking for a how-to, I'm sure there are more appropriate books to help you build your home. However, if you want an introduction, this book does a great job.



4. This book uses a lot of buzz words and offers very little substantial advice when it comes to actually designing your own house. It touches a little on straw bale and reused materials and barely grazes cob/clay/rammed earth. It doesn't even mention geodesic domes as far as I can tell. The book advocates on one page (p.72) that people should live in small humble buildings, only having the square footage they absolutely need. Then a few pages later (p.79) it shows a 4000+ sq. ft. home, with the title "an excersize in efficiency." I fail to see anything efficeint about a 4000 sq. ft. home, especially when it's a standard A-frame building (granted, it's for a family of 6, but then again there's nothing "green" about having 4 children).
   
   It does cover some good stuff like gray-water use, rain collection, alternative heating and cooling, but it glosses over all of this and takes up a lot of space with strange-angled shots of rooms and floor plans. I KNOW the floor plan I want, and there's very little that a floor plan has to do with green building (it's more about orientation to the sun for passive solar use). What I'd prefer to have seen was simple diagrams of how the systems of the house work. There's a spot that explains how one house has the pool hooked up to the AC such that the hot exhaust from the AC heats the pool. Now THAT's something I can get into, but I want more than a couple sentences about it. That deserves a diagram!



5. My 50's Florida ranch style home is in the design stage for major remodel. In the the first "case study" in Green by Design the owner's took a 50's style one bedroom home in Utah and incorporated the foundation and concrete masonry shell into the new design. Exactly my plan. The author uses 14 green design homes as case studies with wonderfully insightful pictures and just the right text to accompany the pictures and to explain "process", "design", "site", "materials", "space", "energy"- all concepts I can use to make my newly remodeled home a certifiable Florida Green Home.
   
   Building Green is NOT about the latest designs and materials as the previous reviewers would have you believe. It's about designing for "sustainable living". Go to floridagreenbuilding.org to find a 5 page checklist of features required to build a green home in Florida. Nothing will get you more points (other than a small home) in this 5 page checklist than not having a permament irrigation system. In fact not having a swimming pool, not living on a natural body of water and not having an attached garage all count toward living "green" in Florida. If you want an up-to-date and "exhaustive resource" buy the latest edition of the "Greenspec Directory"-$89.00 here on Amazon. However the last 5 pages of this book is a list of resources, including the Greenspec Directory and 5 local green building programs. With Florida's now you have 6.
   
   The ultimate green home is a SMALL HOME! In Florida, a 1000 sq. ft. home will get you 50 points (out of 200 required minimum for certification) and a 2000 and above sq. ft. home will get you 0 points. Over 50% of the case study homes in this book would have recieved extra points if they would have been built in Florida. Which brings me to the regional focus of this book. Most of the homes featured where located in western states ( a few were in the northeast) and normally that would disqualify most books for a Florida resident, but not in this case.
   
   I highly recommend this book if you are serious about designing a home for sustainable living.