5 comments about Flea Market Baby: The ABC's of Decorating, Collecting & Gift Giving.

1. I was quite disappointed in this book, which is fairly self indulgent on the authors' part and doesn't offer much useful information. If you've never thought about buying vintage baby items and don't have much imagination, it might be a good starting point. However, it is quite limited.
   
   For one thing, the photos and items featured in the book are almost exclusively mid-century in vintage (50s and 60s), which is certainly not the only vintage style in the world or the only style available at flea markets. Also, don't expect to see any photos of nurseries or other rooms, not even a wall or a whole crib. All the photos are of single items or small vignettes, which are often extracted on a white background with no context. Oh, and the pages of "resources" for flea market shopping are useless for most readers outside of NY/NJ and the Chicago area.
   
   I will keep looking for a good inspiration book for vintage nursery style



2. I am absolutely delighted with this book. If these authors want to write more books in this vein, I would want them all! I don't even have a baby to decorate a room for, but I was enthralled with it nevertheless. Charming decor and collecting ideas using all sorts of vintage things (which I love!). An absolute must-have for any mom who likes the vintage style, antiques, flea markets, etc. I agree it would make a terrific shower gift for a mom-to-be. It will give her plenty of ideas. And you know what? Even if she doesn't even like "old" stuff (or just doesn't know she does yet!), she may still get helpful ideas and/or may find it as delightful to look through as I did!



3. this book is a great additin to a home decor library. I really enjoyed it, but I would have liked more information on sources and how thigs were made.



4. A wonderful, inspirational reference book. I read it over and over again! I can't get enough! I study it, make lists of ideas and head off to the Flea Market! I just LOVE it! A great gift for the vintage lover! Or treat for yourself!Grab it up and ENJOY!!!!!!! Keep em' comin' PLEASE!!!!!



5. I absolutely loved this book! A friend gave it to me for my baby shower. If you're like me and admire the vintage look, but never knew where to begin or what to look for--I think you'll find this book as helpful as I did. The authors give such creative and useful ideas! Instead of being intimidated, I am now inspired to go to the flea market and begin decorating the baby's room! The photos are beautifully done and the writing is fun and clever! It was a great gift! I can't wait to get started!

2 comments about Chinese Lattice Designs (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series, 5-6.).

1. I have been delving into this book for the past twenty years and now have my own copy. The book is truly inspiring, a wonder of flat pattern design. You will never ever find anything to compare with the wealth and variety of designs found here. This is it, the bible of Chinese lattice design.



2. This remarkable book began as a momentary hobby when the author was sightseeing in 1916. He spent the next two decades or so collecting over 1,000 designs in China (primarily near Chengtu) that span three millennia. In this book, he classifies them into 26 general types, arbitrarily assigning a letter of the alphabet to each.
   
   The book is a great gift for anyone interested in design, ranging from blacksmiths to architects. It is also an excellent reference and makes for interesting leisure "reading" when one is in the mood for visual patterns rather than verbal concepts.

2 comments about White Christmas: Decorating and Entertaining for the Holiday Season.

1. Darling book filled with inspirational photos. If you are really into white, you will love all the fun ideas to try. It is one of those books you look at again and again for the beautiful pictures.



2. This book was full of beautiful snowy white Christmas pictures. More pictures than projects, more of a decorating book. A lovely coffee table book, especially during the holidays.

No comments about How to Work with an Interior Designer.

No comments about Boutique Restaurants.

3 comments about Glass Tile Inspirations for Kitchens And Baths.

1. Wonderful book full of inspiration for mosaic and glass. Must have for your creative library and resources to make beautiful mosaic happen in your space.



2. First of all, this is a beautiful book. The 200 plus photographs of glass tile works of art in kitchen, bathroom, and flooring are alone worth more than the price of the book, even if you have no plan to install glass tile. But you will be inspired to consider it. Add to that the informative and perspicuous exposition, the creative and imaginative sensibility, and the developed professional design judgment of Katharine Kaye McMillan, and you have a work of excellence.



3. Pat McMillan has done a great job of showing in her book -- probably in unprecedented manner -- different applications of the great variety of glass tiles currently on the market. Inspirational, indeed!

1 comments about Feng Shui: The Living Earth Manual.

1. If this is a reprint or revised edition of Stephen Skinner's original book of the same name - published in 1982 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd - then the reader is in for a special treat. I learned the principles of Feng Shui from a Chinese friend in the 1980s. Most of my instruction came in the form of gestures and drawings, as she spoke little English and I understood no Chinese. To augment what I considered a fascinating introduction to ancient principles little known in the U.S. at that time, I turned to the best (British) book I could find - Stephen Skinner's "The Living Earth Manual of Feng Shui."
   
   As the practice became popular (indeed, commercialized) in America, many systems were introduced here in simplified and sometimes questionable form. When I want to review a principle or discuss Feng Shui with a novice, I tend to pass over the various newer books on my shelves and turn once again to Skinner. My daughter and son-in-law have just bought a summer home that they plan to extensively remodel. My housewarming gift? A copy of the original edition of this sometimes obscure but overall illuminating book.

3 comments about The New Apartment: Smart Living in Small Spaces.

1. This book is full of minimalist, contemporary, or vacant apartments. Out of 60 apartments only 3 do not fit that description one of which is the cover photo. I was expecting a mix of old and new furniture, color, and places that looked lived in.



2. In 423 (!) pages, full of color photgraphs, this book showcases 60 small apartments in big cities throughout the world (Europe, Australia, USA, Brazil), plus 4 mobile homes. Each apartment is shown in 6 to 8 pages, mostly in photographs, with floorplans, and some accompanying text.
   The style in general is urban modern (although there are two or three apartments that are more traditional), and all the apartments are done by architects or interior designers, but it isn't all white and too minimalistic; many apartments display bold colors and natural materials like wood, and there are usually some works of art, carpets and fabrics involved (and some apartment owners mix IKEA with designer furntiure, as can be seen on the cover).
   Although I'm usually not a big fan of homes that are (too) modern or minimalistic, I found there was still enough to enjoy and think the book has a lot of great ideas that can be translated to the average home; all the photos give a good impression of each apartment and the floorplans give an exact overview of the use of space and furniture, which I love.
   However, if you don't like clean, straight, modern lines at all (these áre all modern, designed apartments), but look for a book about average and more traditional, warm small homes, this book may not be for you.



3. If the Amazon description of this book had noted that it is limited to (mostly) European, totally modern spaces, I would not have been an unsuspecting purchaser. I returned it-- unless you want totally modern surroundings (black, white, spare, chrome), you won't be inspired here.

3 comments about Porches & Sunrooms: Your Guide to Planning and Remodeling (Better Homes and Gardens(R)).

1. I bought this book, along with another on building additions, when I was rebuilding an old porch that was falling apart because of bad construction. I needed some ideas on what to make it look like and how to go about it. I liked the basic design of the original, but it's execution was poor. The many pictures of such a variety of porches showed me what I needed to do, and the end result of my little project is one of my favorite rooms in the house. The book shows porches in various climate zones, although all of them were larger than my project, it's nice to be able to apply ideas from bigger and fancier to smaller projects to add just a bit of elegance to what would otherwise be only average.



2. The Guide would be useful to an interior decorator. I was looking for help in estimating cost and materials needed to build a porch.



3. I could not find any other books like this that showed me all the possibilities and helped me decide what kind of room was right for our house, where to put the room, and even how to decorate it.This isn't a book about building it yourself but about getting your own goals and ideas straight before you call in the builder or the architect or the seller of sunroom additions,

4 comments about Japanese Gardens (Midsize).

1. I am very impressed with the amount of information in this book. Excellent source for technical help with Japanese Gardens, as well as the history of and reasons for the different designs.
   
   An excellent source!



2. The author must know what he's writing about - he's a Professor! He has included lots of garden theory, which I have to assume is actually important to Japanese garden design. And, as you might expect, the pictures are glorious. But the correspondence between the text and the pics is awful. As I read the text, I had to leaf through the book forwards and backwards to find a relevant illustration. If the author describes a trend in garden design, is it too much to ask that he direct the reader, immediately, to a specific picture that illustrates his point? Shouldn't the text explain the pictures? or the pictures exemplify the text? Shouldn't the linkage between the two be strong and direct? Is this so difficult? I am disappointed in this book; there must be better ones.



3. Taschen publishes some of the best values around and this book was no exception.My only complaint is that we don't see more small private gardens in this volumn .This is a good introduction to Japanese style in the garden.



4. "...our earth is both a living and conscious entity. . .when a human being becomes conscious of himself as part of the earth, and of the earth as part of the universe, so the universe itself thereby becomes conscious of itself. . . enlightenment. . .consciousness becoming aware of itself.
   
   At this delicate moment... a flower opens in the "garden" of the universe."
   
   Japanese Gardens is a 239 page historical visual spiritual odyssey through man's interpretation of nature in confined space. Chapter subheadings focus atmosphere: Gardens as mindscapes, Gardens as subsitutes for travel, Gardens of seclusion, Gardens of austerity, Gardens of joy.
   
   Drawings, b/w and color photos illustrate the history and evolution of Japanese garden design.
   
   The book Intimate Spaces by Joe Earle, exclusively color photographs of spiritual gardens, is a fine complement to Nitschke's book with it's comprehensive written text.
   
   Video sources of garden inspiration can be seen in movie backgrounds: Shogun (5 disc 12 hour miniseries on DVD with extra disc explaining tea ceremony, geisha, samurai), Sayonara (tiny household garden, public garden spaces), The Last Samurai (community as garden, cherry blossom garden), Memoirs of a Geisha (cherry blossom garden).
   
   Actual Japanese Gardens to visit: Japanese Garden San Francisco, Japanese Garden Portland Oregon, Hakone Garden (site of filming of Memoirs of Geisha) Saratoga Village (south of San Francisco) California.
   
   Thoughtful quiet moving book.