3 comments about Flea Market Finds: Instant Ideas & Weekend Wonders.

1. I found a few ideas to try that I never would have tried prior. Not everything is for everyone, but most should be able to pick out one or two projects that pay in themselves for the cost of the book. I would have, however, appreciated more step - wise pictures and having the instructions with the item, instead of in the back of the book.



2. I have to admit, I actually borrowed this book from the library first to see if it was worth purchasing and it definitely is!! Great ideas on fairly easy projects that I can't wait to try. I'm no Martha Stewart, but I think I could actually DO most of the projects in this book. Very inspirational and the projects actually look NICE, not like grade school crafts. I recommend it!



3. On the positive side, the photographs are excellent. That's the only good news. This book does nothing but tell you how to make ... out of ... I'd return it if I could. The directions are sparse and usually say, use according to manufacturer's directions. Oh yea, I paid for that little tidbit. You have to be a moron not to have come up with anything in this publication.

5 comments about Flying Star Feng Shui.

1. It is indeed a very comprehensive reference for beginners as well as advance learners of Flying Star Feng Shui. Good for beginners as the author lays Feng Shui foundation with the basic theory, knowledge, logic & approach. Though I have discovered what I am looking for in this book, I am going through chapters quite slowly and trying hard to absorbe as much knowledge as possible at this juncture. So far, so good and happy with my new found love.



2. If you're already familiar with classical Feng Shui or are a classical Feng Shui practitioner and want to learn about Flying Stars, this is the book to buy. Stephen Skinner puts a lot of descriptive detail and charts in this book making it very easy to follow. I was able to begin using what I learned right away.
   
   If you practice Black Sect or Western Feng shui, this book may be more of a challenge since you need to understand the cycle of elements and directions associated with them.



3. Boy! It is really hard to follow and understand those Chinese translation. One thing I notice in this book is the method to use Lo P'an that you should stand at the center of the house, not the front door to measure the directions. It is easy to see the different result when you apply it. It would be more practical and useful if authour told us the sequence and priority to apply each Feng Shui school when practice. Otherwise, it just one school violate the other.



4. This isn't the easiest book to either read or understand, but there's an incredibly amount of information packed into a relatively small book.
   
   I don't think this is a very good first book for Feng Shui, but it's a great great library addition! I too would recommend The Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui for a first introduction. THEN buy this book, as it adds to it by quite a bit.
   
   I wish there were a stronger focus on remedies, I have yet to find a feng shui book that covers all the potential remedies for all the different circumstance. Every Feng Shui book spends a huge part in the beginning explaining Feng Shui... if you are a total beginner, a book of this type won't make sense anyway, fast intro notwithstanding. If you are not, it's just wasted pages, because every book covers the intro over and over again.
   
   I'm still looking for that perfect book that dispenses with the Feng Shui intros and leads right into remedies... ie., the Host/Guest relationship in this book uses as it's only example a positive positive. What happens when you have a 6M 5T 4W combo in a critically active office? What do you do? I have yet to see a single book that answers this (if any readers can answer this, please email me!). I give it a 5, because it's the most comprehensive book of 5 I own on the subject next to the Idiot's Guide.



5. It is a great book to get the formulas down. With practice, you can definately fly the stars. Suggested remedies are sometimes not appropriate because other unforseen variables are not discussed. Deeper explanations of number combinations would make it that much better. In general though, It is good to get started with and opens the door to a very powerful system.

No comments about Hip Hotels Orient.

No comments about The Interior Dimension: A Theoretical Approach to Enclosed Space.

4 comments about The Splendor of France: Great Chateaux, Mansions, and Country Houses.

1. A great and large collection of huge impressive photos for any Francophile that loves the French countryside and it's haute-couture architecture. A super reference for artists and travelers.



2. This is a nice book on an amazing subject. Maybe I expected too much from this book, I don't know, but though I liked it very much indeed, it did not blow me away. Something was missing, I think it was Versailles and Fountainbleau and maybe Sceaux. I just thought most of the greatest chateaux where absent, although I loved the section on Vaux le Vicomte, now that is a spectacular chateaux by anyones definition; maybe the most beautiful in France...Louis XIV thought so. The photographs where first rate and I did enjoy the book, I just wanted more. Having said that I do recommend it to anyone who in interested in this subject; for those it really is a book worth owning.



3. I got this because I really missed France after studying architecture there for a semester. This book really captured the same feeling of many of the historical sites I visited. My favorites are Chenonceau and Vaux-le-Vicomte, the French chateaux with formal garden.

   This paper back version is only 287 pages much shorter then the first hardcover that was about 400-500 pages. I don't quite remembered, but I think there were some lesser chateaux taken out. I found the hardcover for $130 at a local architectural bookstore. So, this definitely a steal at Amazon price of $28.

   The pictures are very big; every other page is a full page photograph. Some pages have a smaller picture and a written summary. This is more of a picture book with very little written texts, so you can't really use it for writing a resource paper. The picture of the building or site is very clean, since most of these places are full of tourist and it is funny seeing it empty. There are photographs of Chateaux, garden, interior design with furniture, and sculpture.

   If you like France and garden after the Baroque period, this is a nice book. It would be a five star if they didn't condense the book from the in-depth first edition.




4. This book is an absolute treasure to anyone who loves French architecture and decoration. It contains spledid photographs of French Chateaux inside and out. While expensive it is worth every cent and then some. A Must!

2 comments about Van Day Truex: The Man Who Defined Twentieth-Century Taste and Style.

1. Lewis has obviously unearthed a treasure trove of very important material in the form of Truex' scrapbooks bringing to light an amazing tapestry of relationships bridging the worlds of fashion, product design, interior design, design education, and various cultural elites. It's refreshing to read a biography that is illustrated with the subject's own snapshots, original works, and previously published material that has been long unavailable. Parsons School of Design itself celebrated a centennial not long ago giving Truex no more than a few lines in its retelling of its story--the author has filled in a gaping hole in American design history for Parsons as well as Tiffany and Co.

   Contrary to another reader review, I am relieved not to be subjected to the "spice" that is strewn over so many other biographies. Lewis gives us as much personal information as is appropriate to the subject. This will be a requisite acquisition for many libraries, circulating and otherwise, I think.




2. Lewis is to be commended for his valiant attempt at constructing a biography about one of the 20th century's most invisible design talents. Truex had a minor influence on a certain coterie of designers and products that never reached very far beyond 57th and Fifth. His circle was rich, cultured and insular, therefore preventing him from gaining a kind of commercial notoriety that some of his peers were able to. Yet we still reap the fruits of his efforts to this day, with some of most lovely flatware,china and objets Tiffany's has to offer. What is most curious about Truex as a subject, is that perhaps he should have been a chapter in another book. He just wasn't that compelling (except for his fastidious neatness and controlled eating habits). Not to minimize the amount of work it must have been for Lewis to assemble all of this vaguely interesting material. I just wanted to know a little bit more about his personal life. Just a tiny bit more gossip might have been like a dash of paprika!

No comments about House Beautiful Decorating School (House Beautiful).

5 comments about Egyptian Palaces and Villas: Pashas, Khedives, and Kings.

1. This book is not only the perfect coffee table book with its beautiful cover and amazing photos, it actually is very informative. It takes us back in time to the era of pashas and kings. The book is very comprehensive, the author covers 41 palaces and villas with the history behind each of them. I also recommend "Cairo Illustrated by Michael Haag" and "Paris Along The Nile by Cynthia Myntti"



2. I do not know how Ms. Johnston managed to take all this gorgeous pictures and publish a book so outstanding considering the fact that some of these villas are not longer opened to the public.
   There is so much beauty in private villas.I remember some of my friend's houses,looked like palaces with gorgeous cherry wood,stairs that could envy Gone with the Wind movie.All The wood teak, ebony,Italian tiles and Greek original statues.
   I strongly suggest purchasing this book,as you will see how people lived in this wonderful places.
   There are much more villas to be photographed by I guess it is no longer allowed.



3. EGYPTIAN PALACES AND VILLAS may just be one of the more sumptuous books available on the always mysterious land of Egypt. For those of us who crave visiting the Alexandria of Lawrence Durrell or just having an inside view of the exotic pleasure domes of this bewitching country, then look no further.
   
   Shirley Johnston has a talent for writing about countries in away that is more than a travelogue or picture book. Not that her books are impoverished pictorially: photographer Sherif Sonbol assists her in over 170 fine photographs of the splendors that Johnston explores. Within the cover of this Abrams book are views of palaces in Cairo, homes in upper Egypt that are directly lifted replicas of palazzos along the Grand Canal of Venice, treasures both ancient and contemporary that have not been available for viewing until this insightful volume.
   
   Johnston's writing style is seductive, polished, and informed. This beautifully designed and produced book is a treasure trove for all those who dream of the days when wealth and Egypt - and mystery - were synonymous. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 06



4. Almost all books on Egypt have photographs only of the antiquities. It is rare that the public is allowed to see the inside of most of the places included in this book, and it is a privilege to see photographs of them. The narrative is well done and very interesting.



5. Deftly authored by Shirley Johnston with help from Sherif Sonbol, Egyptian Palaces And Villas: Pashas, Khedives, And Kings is an inspiring collection of photographic and informational documentation of historical and modern Egyptian architecture and the progressive means by which it has come to be. Focusing on architectural design from the nineteenth century, Egyptian Palaces And Villas artistically presents an illustrious compendium of Egypt's most timeless and visually engaging domestic structures. An ideal choice for academic or public library Memorial Fund acquisition selections, Egyptian Palaces And Villas is very highly recommended reading for students of Egyptian culture, history and architecture.

No comments about Contemporary Seaside Houses (Evergreen Series).

1 comments about Inside the Renaissance House.

1. Dr. Currie worked at the Victoria & Albert museum in London for several years in the Furniture, Textile and Fashion department. She now lives in Florence and has combined her experience and education to present this study of the 'lifestyle of the rich and famous' during the Italian Renaissance.
   
   The book is lavisly illustrated with photographs of artwork, furniture, tableware, and room fixtures of the time. It presents a view of how life in the period was lived. It is done in the form of first a description of the Renaissance home, then a room by room view.
   
   Along with a descrition of the room itself, there is also a description of life in that room at that time. For instance in the chapter entitled 'The Bedroom,' there is what might be called a sub-title: 'Marriages, Births and Everyday Life.'
   
   Dr. Currie has done an excellent job of pulling these pictures together.
   
   There are, of course, no bath rooms, and in spite of the decorations and elegance, I can't help but wonder what the place smelled like.