No comments about Ideas: Interiors (Ideas).

1 comments about Cool Restaurants San Francisco (Cool Restaurants Guides).

1. COOL RESTAURANTS SAN FRANCISCO surveys the interiors of San Francisco's best restaurants, focusing on design options and providing well over a hundred color photos - and recipes - from some of the city's most notable establishments. Full-page color photos capture these establishments at their finest.

5 comments about Christopher Lowell's If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It!: Dream Decor on a Budget.

1. Christopher Lowell is one of the best decorators around. This book helps the layman to understand how to put a beautiful room together!



2. I've seen his show a few times and really like how he envisions things and carries them out. This book is about the same thing, only with more description and instructions - plus you get to see how he did his bedroom. I liked the fact that he has you take a "personality-type quiz" and take those elements into your decorating. But if you're not a creative person, it may be harder to make the transition.
   
   Though I admire his ability to transform rooms, none of them were really my "style." Lots of great ideas, but this book just wasn't for me. My house is just your normal 70's style split level so any of these ideas would take a lot of imagination and a bit of money. This book would be better for someone who has a larger home with character. Also, this book is filled with posed pics of Christopher - can be annoying if you're not a huge fan.



3. Don't get me wrong, I love his shows, although I think his rooms are somewhat overfilled with stuff. His built-ins and projects are great!
   
   However, unless you've taped his shows, the instructions for the few projects he did include (l really would have liked the instructions for the desk in the kid's race car room but it wasn't there--looked very "Jetsons") leave a LOT to be desired. And instead of nice pictures of the entire room and full furniture layouts, you got a lot of his drawings over the color pictures.
   
   So, bottom line, you cannot just pick up this book and hope to do this stuff without watching the particular episodes he's referring to.
   
   I hope future books are written to correct this problem (present in all the books except his entertaining book), and also that he puts out a book with ALL of the projects he builds in it, with good instructions and lots of pictures.



4. This was my first encounter with Christopher Lowell and his energetic decorating. I'd recommend starting with his Seven Layers of Decorating book first. If You Can Dream It builds on that earlier book.
   This is not just a collection of pretty room photos. It really makes you think about how decorating relates to your inner feelings and dreams. He gives the reader a great tool in the Dream Questionnaire, then explains how your answers can be applied to home decorating.
   His own questionnaire reveals his love for things tropical/water/organic/bamboo, etc. That explains the dramatic rooms pictured in the book which may be overly theatrical for some people. The martini lounge and the retro room put me off, but I fell in love with his down-by-the-sea bedroom and some of the others.
   Sandwiched in are projects (usually 2 pages each). These include making a circular pouf, a saucer fountain, a bookshelf room divider, an ottoman, modular bookshelves, a nautical bedside table, deco sconces, a bed/storage combo, refacing kitchen cabinets, and finally a car bed for a kid's room.
   Well, worth a look.



5. I love this book! Christopher's rooms are always excellent (even those featuring my not-so-favorite color schemes). But, no matter which color he chooses, I always find several things I like about each room - which is more than I can say for most books of this type! This particular book is a must have for anyone who likes zen, moroccan, or coastal/nautical designs. There is more, of course, but those are my favorites.

3 comments about Harlem Style: Designing for the New Urban Aesthetic.

1. I brought this book for my mom who loves interior design and she adores the photographs in the book.



2. This wonderful coffee table book won't be on the coffee table long! It is chock full of beautiful pictures with practical ideas. Although many of the rooms are decidely high-end, there are several ideas that can be applied to more moderate tastes.
   I highly recommend that this book be added to any home design library.



3. If you enjoyed Spirit of African Design, then you will love this book. There are nice room pictures showing african art in primarily a contemporary design style.

   It's a great coffee table book for anyone who loves both African Art styles and contemporary interior design.

4 comments about Magnificent Italian Villas and Palaces.

1. This book shows large, ornate villas and palaces. It has some great interior and exterior pictures and good text. It is an excellent book if that is what you want. I wish that it had some floor plans and more photographs of the gardens. I really wanted something with all sizes of villas with some floor plans as well as photos. Sometimes, there is no substitute for thumbing through a book before you buy it to see what you are getting.



2. This book has a fabulous collection of Villas in Italy. The photography is wonderful.



3. Great Pictures. If you really enjoy old world architect, you'll love this book.



4. Shakespeare's words define the extraordinary structures in this elegant Rizzoli book MAGNIFICENT ITALIAN VILLAS AND PALACES. This is one of those massive tomes to spread on the table or before a nightlight fire and enter another far more beautiful time. Massimo Listri is the gifted photographer who captured the exteriors, landscapes, interiors and art of these places of wonder throughout Italy. With an informative and entertaining text by Cesare Cunaccia, who in addition to being an architectural historian is a frequent contributor to Architectural Digest, this sampler of some of the various interesting villas and palaces found in Italy is one of the finest books of its kind.
   
   The sights and environments of the areas in which these estates exist are captured as aperitifs for the actual examination of each building. The two creators of this book spread their travel from the Villa Borghese in Rome to the Doge's Palace in Venice, including Tuscany for the Medici Villas and the Pitti Palace in Florence and the stops in Siena, to Lombardy (Lake Como and Lake Garda) and Naples, and even Sicily. Each structure is examined for its architectural details, its history, its gardens, and art treasures.
   
   Rarely has a book on architecture felt so comfortable to read and view. The flow is a fine mix between word and image and both Cunacci and Listri are exemplary in their presentation. A magnificent coffee table volume, this. 'We are such stuff as dreams are made on...' Grady Harp, November 05

1 comments about Ranch Style: The Artistic Culture and Design of the Real West.

1. I thought the book was beautiful. But I was looking for a book on decorating my home the ranch style look. So although the pictures were great if I was looking for that kind of thing. It was not exactly the book I needed. Wonderful pictures!!

1 comments about Cool Pools and Hot Tubs.

1. This book has some innovative pools -- especially the one under a set of glass stairs in the entryway of a London building. There are indoor pools, outdoor pools, indoor-outdoor pools, the now-ubiquitous "infinite edge" pools and even "rustic" pools that look like natural ponds. Gorgeous! The book also covers Jacuzzis and pool-related structures, such as cabanas, waterfalls, and so on, but the focus here is high-end "cool" pools.

5 comments about Hollywood At Home (Architectural Digest).

1. This book is just sumptous! A wonderful look into the lives of Hollywood legends via color and b&w photos. I especially like the older stars featured: Carole Lombard, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, etc. I have most of the Architectual Digest magazines featuring Hollywood stars, but this book includes additional photos for some of the stars and is presented so beautifully that even those who own the mags should get a copy. Printed on heavy glossy stock, this is an oustanding book that every Hollywood fan should have in their library!



2. I saw Hollywood At Home from Architectural Digest advertised one day on HGTV and I was interested in getting it. Occasionally it's fun to take a peek into a celebrities life, which is what this book is all about. There are celebrities from mostly past and some present including Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and John Travolta. Perhaps my high hopes made it difficult for me to truly enjoy this book. I was expecting there to be more celebrity homes showcased or perhaps show more pictures of the homes of the celebrities they did spotlight. I've read Architectural Digest many times and I have been more impressed with their single issues than this book. I did enjoy seeing John Travolta's home photos and his amazing wall of aviation. Overall, the photos were decent, most of them culled from archives. If you're into some of the celebrities that are featured in this book then I highly reccommend it. If you're expecting any mind blowing architectural insight, then this is not the book for you.



3. The book arrived in a timely manner in good condition.
   Beautiful photos and lots of inside
   information about some of Hollywood's greatest.
   It's a great book!



4. Architectural Digest has done a fantastic job in creating this book. They have taken some of their best features from their superb magazine on Hollywood's stars and their homes and compiled it into this great book. The stories feature stars from the golden age up to the present time. I highly recommend it! It also makes a great gift!



5. First of all let me state unequivically, I love Architectual Digest, and this book is a dream for those of us who do. The houses vary, some are opulent, some are modest, most are in between. You get a feel for the real person behind the star fascade and because Architectural Digest has been in circulation for so long, some of old guard Hollywood is on display here as well as the more current stars. It's interesting to see the juxisposition of the era's. Highly recommended to anyone with any interest in this subject.

4 comments about Paint and Color in Decoration.

1. Beautifully printed (Rizzoli) with a wealth of info on historical paints and formulations.....tho not really of interest to the average reader.
   
   Also, caveat emptor, this volume is produced by Farrow & Ball, purveyors of spectacularly expensive paints, and is basically a marketing device for their products.
   
   For a paint geek like myself it is a pleasure, though.



2. I had wanted this book for some time prior to buying it. It is thick, substanital and nicely made. If you love paint, the photographs are lovely. That said, had I had access to this book in a library I would not have bought it. Despite it's size it is a quick read. The most valuable part is the information on various types of paints. This is not a book for someone needing basic color information and inspiration. This is a nice addition to a substantial color library especially for those who love F&B paint.



3. I found this book to be a beautiful testimony to the rich and historical colors represented by the Farrow and Ball company.



4. I thought, Oh another book on color ! But this one completely surprised me. A classic and timeless lay-out of beautiful photographs and truly educating text tailored this book into a must have for anyone interested in decoration.
   Obviously the authors know what they're talking about and they mastered their book in a way only the british can do.
   I bought that book for all my best friends as a Xmas present and my gift to you is an advice: buy it too !

1 comments about Mexico Style (Icon (Taschen)).

1. The book is very nice to take an inspiration for a mexican party decoration, with real ambients and true colors.