4 comments about New Color Schemes Made Easy (Better Homes & Gardens).

1. If you are one of those people who go to a paint store and stare helplessly at the five billion color samples in front of you, zoned out, in a panic over what to decide, then this book is for you.
   
   It runs through such useful categories as starting points--choosing maybe your favorite color or a favorite color from a rug. And then, and this is what really helps, the book goes through all the colors, such as yellow, or red, and shows different hues, different tones, and what other colors go well together with them. Every set of colors shows you a photo of a room using those colors.
   
   There is also a section at the back that includes many neutrals, and shows you how to blend them. If you are terrified of painting everything in your living room blood red, then this part of the book, with its soothing blend of neutral shades, will really help.



2. I'm taking a color class in an interior design program. I have a textbook and various color-related books that I purchased by myself on Amazon. This is one of my favorite of all.
   
   It does introduce some very basic yet important concepts about color in such an understandable language first. Then, it gets into the color application part, explaining how to combine colors to create a certain kind of ambience or impact, in a very easy-to-understand way again.
   
   It is really well written, although it's not written by any certified designers. For beginners who like colors and would like to understand colors, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.



3. Clear, concise guide to choosing and co-ordinating colors in the home. Lots of helpful pointers, such as how to unify rooms in the home with the baseboard color. Often I flip through interior design books looking at the photos, but this one was interesting to read as well as look at.



4. I have purchased my first house and will soon be tackling the job of painting it. I bought this book to get ideas on how to paint without using neutral colors in every room. This book has opened my eyes to the various color schemes and how to use them. It has a painting wheel inside. It tells you how to use colors and even has a question/answer page in the very back. It gives you a lot of pictures with furnishings and talks about how to tie the color on the walls with the furnishings and vice versa. I really liked how the author explained what the colors draw out, for example, "Yellow. Happiness and good cheer circle the room when you invite yellow inside. Bright citrus and pistachio yellows wake you up while the softer tones of vanilla, cream, and honey warm you like sunshine. Yellow-greens add brightness, golds glow with richness. Whatever your pick--buttercup, mustard, bamboo, or lemon sherbert-- yellow is sure to improve your outlook on life." I had some ideas of how I wanted to paint my house and this book helped me to figure out if I was headed in a good direction. By allowing me to pick a trait I wanted to draw out, for example my living room I would like to draw on conversation, while the bedroom relaxation; this book helped guide me into the correct colors to draw on those attributes. The author speaks in a basic level so the average person can comprehend what they are saying at a basic level. I would recommend this book for beginners, but would also recommend purchasing another book to go with it that may give more ideas.

4 comments about Paul Rand: Modernist Designer.

1. Firstly, Derek Birdsall had no hand in the book, unfortunately. Nevertheless, the book contains an excellent range of essays on his life and work that give an insight not often achieved in such publications. A strongly recommended read.



2. Sorry to not be reviewing, but asking a question. This book isn't really 34 pages, is it (as it says in the details section)?



3. This book, more than any other, will carry the reader into not only the work, but also the life of legendary designer, Paul Rand. The essays, written by some of today's leading designers and critics, give you an overview of his accomplishments and contributions to the practice of design. Whereas other books largely focus on his work, this book comes to life through tributes from friends and family which outline how great of an impact Rand truly had on our world. Finally, dialogues between Rand and others [in his own words] offer the most honest glimpse into Rand. In addition to this exhaustive account of Rand himself, the book includes beautiful photographs of his work and a timeline of his career for reference.
   
   This book should not be overlooked by anyone serious about graphic design or anyone who is intrigued by the work of Paul Rand.



4. After reviewing many books on and by Paul Rand, I believe the reader will be amazed of the facts about this genius designer that this book details.

   After reading the contibuting materials from many other famous of his peers in the field of graphic design, a reader will be astonished of what this man has contributed to the world of design.

   Design is what a reader does not readily see, but visually understands because of its simplicity at the hand of Paul Rand. Beginning with the children's books he was partners in producing, Mr. Rand has contributed more to the field of attractive and interesting graphic design than any other individual I have known.

   Having had the honor of working with Mr. Rand, I can only say that his contribution to graphic design will always be missed.

5 comments about Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory.

1. Judith Dupre's book is a keeper, a volume to be read and treasured for generations. It's for those with a relative who fought in World War II, and those who have visited Gettysburg, seen the Liberty Bell and marveled at Mount Rushmore.
   Ms. Dupre infuses major historical events with glowing new life. She fills her pages with interesting facts and profound truths, explaining, for instance, why the triumphant Indian Americans were not commemorated in the first 120 years after the Little Bighorn Battle in Montana. Other battles -- from Gettysburg, World War II, Korea -- yield important cemeteries. Ms. Dupre's presentations range from the familiar (Statue of Liberty) to the unfathomable (Saint-Gaudens's monument to Clover Adams in Washington's Rock Creek Cemetery.) In a book that easily stirs emotions her description of New York City prisoners burying the unclaimed bodies of convicts at Hart Island ("the marginalized are interred by the marginalized with dignity") is especially poignant.
   The book will be valued by those with connections to these sacred sites, but it belongs in the collections of all who are tuned into American history.



2. Bravo! MUCH MORE than a "coffee table" book! Dupré's thoroughly researched and cogently presented text outshines the fascinating graphics. "Monuments" taught me more than I had intended to learn about the subject, and made me realize memorials talk about history in an unique way. I would recommend this book to any and all readers, especially those interested in getting a new and intriguing take on presidential and military history.



3. What impressed me of this work is how well it was researched. It has many side stories. Names and dates are carefully reported. The linkages to similar memorials or concepts are included in shaded boxes as ancillary threads. Was also impressed on the timeline, that reveals how the event that is memorialized eventually came into fruition of an actual memorial.
   
   My only criticism is not clarifying the geographical location of the monument (it assumes the reader knows where it is).
   
   The bonus is including ample space on the mass-conscious inpromptu memorials, such as leaving teddy bears, flowers, notes on the side of a tragedy or catastrophic event. I would add to that the silent and passive solitary memorials left by people along roadsides, memorializing a traffic accident. Or even the placement of a geocache, a box in the woods containing a logbook, such as the one in Western Pennsylvania in remembrance of two teenagers killed ["In Memory Of Clairenda and Loretta" GCQHZP]
   
   On the discussion of people mourning by leaving items at places such as the Vietnam Memorial, Oklahoma City, Columbine, the author however missed to mention that the same people that visit such memorials can actually take an object that is laying there. The items left are considered as abbandoned property by the National Park Service for 30 days, and only thereafter picked up and inventorized into the national museum system. In the meantime, the same item can be picked up by visitors, and the memorial acts as an exchange place. ... very much like a geocache.



4. This fascinating and unusual book is beautifully produced- it would make an excellent gift. It's a kind of treasury of richly detailed visits to a wide variety of different kinds of monuments. Dupre describes each one historically, evoking the powerful emotions behind the monument or memorial so that the original need can be felt and understood. The book gives us access to the people who created these monuments, and for whom they were created. Scholarly and also profoundly intuitive, Judith Dupre understands that a monument is by definition a labor of love, and has given us one.



5. Judith's books are always enjoyable but there is something especially wonderful about this one. It isn't just history or architecture, she finds the heart of why we remember, the purpose of these places. The histories are told with sensitivity and care, and the dozens of people that inhabit the book are portrayed colorfully and with close observation of their humanity, something usual lacking in ordinary history books. Having been to Manzanar several times and wandered over its acres myself, her narrative touched me and brought alive the people and the time.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone with even the slightest interest in the human side of history.

No comments about Corporate Interiors No. 8 (Corporate Interiors).

No comments about Black & Decker Flooring 101: 25 Projects You Really Can Do Yourself (Black & Decker 101).

1 comments about The ASHRAE GreenGuide, Second Edition (The ASHRAE Green Guide Series).

1. As an ASHRAE Member and Certified High Performance Building Design Professional, I expected this Guide to be a great summary guideline. It isn't. Many typos (KW vs Watt). Examples of green buildings were mostly selfserving.

2 comments about Makers of Modern Architecture: From Frank Lloyd Wright to Frank Gehry (New York Review Books).

1. I enjoyed Filler's strong opinions and revelatory biographies of modern architecture's major figures. The book is not without flaw. The omission of a chapter on Walter Gropius surprised me. Two things distracted from the otherwise strong criticism. The first is Filler's choice of flowery language. This choice distracts the reader from the analysis (often because the eyes must roll back into place).
   
   However, Filler's repeated attacks on Philip Johnson's architecture and character were most peculiar and interesting. Filler's bête noire haunts every chapter of the book. I am not a fan of Johnson's architecture either, but as I read each chapter out of sequence I began to anticipate when Filler would compare some unfavorable characteristic of Architect X to Johnson. A common pattern is X lacked originality, but certainly possessed more than Johnson. This antagonism began to overshadow the criticism. I became more interested in what about Johnson led to Filler's obsessive attacks. Johnson's Nazi sympathies? Johnson's sexual orientation? Johnson's privileged roots? Some unmentioned personal slight?
   
   The book is a nice survey of major architectural figures and their works. In doing so it provides more of a history than an analysis of modern architecture.



2. Martin Filler has been a contributor to The New York Review of Books for the last twenty years. During that time, he produced a series of remarkable essays on the "Giants" of Modern Architecture. "Makers of Modern Architecture" is a compilation of seventeen of those essays. Filler starts with the first Modernists (Sullivan, Wright, Mies, Corbusier) and then moves on to the second (Eames,Kahn, Johnson) and third generation (Gehry, Meier, Foster and Piano) of Modernist architects.
   
   Martin Filler is one of the nation's best architectural critics and this book finds him at the top of his form. With great style, he praises the noteworthy and pillories the cynical. There is an erudition and honesty to his writing that is at times, thrilling. His chapters on Phillip Johnson's opportunism and the political wrangling over the Twin Tower re-construction are especially good. "Makers of Modern Architecture" is criticism at its finest. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Build It Right! What to Look for in Your New Home.

1. This book is about the pieces-parts (as the commercial used to say). There are little sections on just about every piece in the house: plumbing, countertop material, HVAC, security etc. It also talks quite a bit about proper design, such as: which way a door should swing,; when to use pocket doors; where to put the dishwasher (better yet: where NOT to put the dishwasher); how to vent the dryer; what size kitchen hood to use; etc.
   
   As I mentioned, he writes one or two pages on nearly every visible or finish piece in the house (notable exceptions: framing materials and foundation). His primary focus is functionality and user-friendliness of the house, followed by quality and durability of the materials.
   
   Buy this book BEFORE you decide on a floorplan. It will help you spot design flaws. As you move through the building process, refer to it often as you are required to make decisions on materials, surfaces and appliances. A great reference source but not a "how-to" or "construction timeline" book.



2. I've been nothing but impressed with this book! It gives you a complete comprehensive guide of what and what not to do when building a home. The author discusses HVAC types, stove vents and their installation, where to place the light switches, types of doors and why and a complete breakdown of the kitchen from cabinets to dishwashers just to mention a few topics. (He covers it all) The things you honestly wouldn't think about and items often missed or ignored by a builder. If you are planning on building your home give this a read, it could save you a ton of money and certainly squash quite a few common mistakes that make a big difference after you move in.



3. Hey Michael Bird - learn what linoleum is before talking about it like it is vinyl. There is a big difference.



4. Read this book with a notepad by your side and take notes on every chapter. The main focus is to show you how to build a home that is convenient for you with the knowledge that sometimes this can be inconvenient for the builder. It talks about hundreds of little details that most people aren't aware of when designing a home. Room sizes in relation to furniture, light locations in relation to tables, materials, door swings, vents, heat lamps, and on and on and on...



5. There is a lot of good information in this book, but there is also a lot missing as well as some misleading information. I'd recommend this book to someone that was planning on building or remodeling with the caveat that they also read from other sources or better consult with established professionals in each and every trade on the project.

   The strong points of this book include good discussion of doorway layouts, spacing in kitchen and baths, things to look out for that could be problems and good questions to ask or things to consider when planning. Pointing out problems and potential problems that a homeowner may face in the future makes this book worth the money, after all, if after reading this book an owner solves or prevents just one simple mistake, the book has paid for itself many times over.

   The weak points of this book are why I suggest reading elsewhere or consulting with professionals. I am an electrician by trade so I read the chapter on electrical first. It wasn't that any of the information was really bad or mistaken, but simply that I felt it didn't mention a lot of things that could and should be brought up when planning.

   The author makes a point (several times) about having three conductor wire run to any potential ceiling fan location. While this isn't bad advice, it's incomplete. Many of the top of the line fans use remote control switching and don't require an extra wire. The best fans I have installed use a remote that is battery operated and the ceiling fan itself is wired to a two conductor wire that isn't even switched. If an owner picked up one of this fans they would now have a switch on the wall that did nothing or worse a switch that if turned off would cancel out the auto temperature function of the remote.

   While pointing out the importance of having an extra outlet outside for things like Christmas lights, he fails to mention the nice addition of eve high outlets wired to a timer.

   There are many reasons to consider timer switches, especially for outside wall and path lights. The best is a 7 day 24 hour electronic timer that fits in the space of a regular switch. These can be programed to go off at various times through out the night, a nice feature when on vacation or simply for added security.

   The use of lighting controls, dimmers, timers, etc. is barely touched on or not discussed at all. While these systems can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, all but very meager budgets such at least consider the options available because for some applications the extra money can be justified.

   The use of dimming xenon lighting for undercabinet use instead of fluorescent is not discussed. I believe it is a much better option.

   I also noticed some problems in other trades. The use of insta hot water heaters is mentioned as a good way to save energy in the kitchen because the hot water doesn't have to travel to get there. I am not sure what the author was basing this information on, but it isn't correct. First off he implies that an insta hot can supply water at the sink but he doesn't mention that there are two kinds of systems. One is the insta hot that keeps about a gallon of near boiling water for use in making coffee, tea and instant soups and oatmeal. While this is great for people on the go or someone that doesn't want an elderly member of the family turning on the tea kettle and perhaps forgetting it; it is not an energy saving device. The second kind of insta hot is a small unit that doesn't store any water, it just heats up the water as it passes through the unit. It is really only designed for one purpose only hand washing. In the discussion on supplying extra or insta hot water for bathrooms, the author mentions that planning for the space and supplying electrical or gas are the considerations. But what about venting the unit if it is gas? This is a big consideration and would make adding a second unit not very cost effective. The best solution would simply be to add a circ pump and if necessary increase the size of the water heater. The way the information is laid out in the book would probably just confuse the non-professional.

   The biggest problem I had in my reading of this book was when I read the author describe linoleum as the floor of choice in the kitchen. I nearly quit reading right there and then and threw the book in the trash. To his credit he does mention that in certain parts of the country tile is the way to go and if you live in those parts it's ok to go with tile. I happen to live in Southern California where linoleum is the flooring used in apartments and condos and cheap o tract homes. I can't believe anyone would recommend linoleum over tile. Tile stands up for years and if one breaks, which is unlikely, it can be replaced with another tile. If linoleum rips, which it's easy to do when moving appliances around, it is not as easy to fix as replacing a tile and regrouting, it will have to have a seam and seams tend to come apart after time. Plus linoleum over the years tends to get dull with wear while tile can be cleaned and resealed, linoleum is a print on paper and once it wears out or is ripped or scratched it can't be taken back to it's pristine state. While I personally hate the current trend in fake wood floors (laminates) because I think they look fake, I think a compelling argument could be made to use them over linoleum. The author of this book obviously doesn't mind linoleum, which is fine, but he fails to make a case for the other options as well as he could have and should have so that the reader could make informed choices.

   Finally I would like to say that despite my misgivings and the problems I found, I'd like to reiterate that anyone going into building or buying a new home wouldn't be hurt by reading this book and even a simple suggestion or solution to a problem would pay for the cost of the book, but don't stop with just this book. It leaves too much out.

1 comments about Georgian and Regency Houses Explained (England's Living History).

1. This is a wonderfully produced book. Simple to read and understand, without feeling like it was written for children. I think it was produced somehow through the British National Trust, its black & white photos do not quite to it justice, but 2-D floors plans bring a better perspective to the book, making it a great reference in your library.

1 comments about Performing Architecture: Opera Houses, Theatres and Concert Halls for the Twenty-first Century.

1. All the new halls and cultural spaces intended for public performance. Text is informal but pictures talk for themselves. This is not a technical text but rather an artistical aproach to expose the beauty of a very specialized field .