5 comments about Interiors.

1. This was a required text for a design class. I found it pretty useful (in conjunction with the other text), and ended up keeping both for reference books when the class was completed.



2. GReat book pretty updated, I dont plan on selling it off in exchange for another in the future. It is a great referrance for anyone to keep who would like to reminded of all design terminlogy. A great foundation book for anyone pursuing Int. or Arch. Design.



3. This book is easy to read, easy to navigate and has great illustrations. Worth the price and an asset to any designers collection.



4. This is a great book to study the basics of interior design, and I have referenced it many times, long after that first class. Highly recommended!



5. The book is very helpful and has great examples and reference photose

3 comments about Mediterranean Design.

1. I felt that I did not get my money's worth with this. I wanted to see more pictures of Mediterranean design located in the Mediterranean not the USA



2. More countries line the Mediterranean than any other body of water, and MEDITERRANEAN DESIGN thus reaches into the cultures of Spain, Italy, Greece, France and others to incorporate a wide range of architectural styles. When it transplants to the U.S. and blends with local needs here, it can be truly astonishing, as MEDITERRANEAN DESIGN teaches in a survey of Mediterranean living spaces both at home and abroad. Full page color photos of home interiors accompany detailed historical notes and descriptions which include period changes and trends. A gorgeous, inspirational survey.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. "The stonework is hand chiseled and laid in an organized pattern, with wide chinking and wooden accents. Wood-framed windows deep-set in very thick walls purposely shade the rooms from the hot Mediterranean sun yet swing open easily to direct the sea breeze throughout." ~ pg. 108, Stone Casitas
   
   Luxurious designs are displayed in all their glory throughout this beautiful collection of inspired ideas. From the incredible spa-like pools in creative shapes (including stars) to the sapphire blue tiles in a Moroccan-style bathroom, the pictures are breathtaking. Dreamy outdoor settings filled with sunflowers and fountains look like scenes from a novel you would want to live in and the terrace with a tented roof garden is so romantic!
   
   Sunlit walls surround an outdoor seating area and sheer orange curtains allows light to filter into a room with ancient walls. Light plays with color and texture throughout the book and makes this fascinating.
   
   Villa Rockledge has an enviable reading room with a cozy chair upholstered in a crimson fabric that is mirrored in the carpet, but with less complexity. The room seems especially comforting and may give you some ideas for your own reading room/library.
   
   The walls of the rooms throughout are almost as interesting as the furnishings. In one room a lime-washed pumpkin walls glows in the light of candles, a chandelier and a fireplace. An outdoor room seems to glow with hints of lavender blue as sunlight filters in onto the stone pillars and tiled floor. The stonework in the Ada Hotel in Turkey is fascinating and create the feeling that you are living inside a castle.
   
   Every page of this book is a masterpiece! It is rare to feel such longing to dissolve into the pages of a book and to wander through intoxicatingly designed rooms, covered verandas and courtyards. The aquamarine seating area that matches the color of the water in a pool is a must-see. You can truly imagine spending much more time outside with such beauty. Unlike many architecture books of exclusive homes, this one showcases a few hotels you could actually visit!
   
   ~The Rebecca Review

No comments about Architecture in the Emirates.

No comments about Twentieth-Century Pattern Design.

5 comments about The Measure of Man and Woman: Human Factors in Design.

1. I'm studying furniture design and this book will be extremely helpful for me. It gives tons and tons of measurements throughout the human life span. All kinds of positions, arrangements, etc. There is section on every age, even infants and elderly. It's also just an interesting thing to read, regardless of being an awesome reference book. I loved reading about how different abilities/capacities develop at certain ages. This way you can know when humans are able to do what. This can help better understand human's needs, in a physical and spatial sense.
   
   Great book, just get it.



2. I found a handful of pages out of this book useful for space planning. Not worth fifty bucks unless you are designing equipment and products.



3. There's minimal reading in this book, which is nice since it's good for reference. The reading that it does have is very simple with bulleted paragraphs full of information that you can't get from looking at the diagrams.
   Great diagrams for industrial design students (I got this for one of my classes), gives you the measurements, reach, sight and motion range, pretty much any numeric info you need to know for the 1 percentile, 99 percentile, and 50 percentile man/woman.
   Also has nice chart of child development w/descriptions of what the ave. child can do at each age, as well as diagrams for the elderly (and in wheelchair). This book is essential if you are going for product design or interior design.



4. This was purchased to be a reference book for human sizes and I am very happy with it.



5. This book arrived in good condition from the sender and before time. The book inself is very interesting and will serve its purpose.

No comments about Freehand Sketching: An Introduction.

1 comments about Retaining Walls: A Building Guide and Design Gallery.

1. This book contains technical information about how to build a retaining wall, as well as dozens of inspiring photos that will give you idea after idea for your retaining wall. This is probably the only book you'll need if you're thinking about building a retaining wall.

5 comments about American Country Houses of the Gilded Age (Sheldon's "Artistic Country-Seats").

1. The author of this book refers to country homes of the Gilded Age as "Country Seats" (or "country cottages"). By the author's definition, these were homes of, "grandiose size and scale with imposing facades complemented by manicured gardens and with large and impressive reception rooms, halls, parlors, dining rooms, and other public spaces."
   
   George Sheldon published a book around 1887 documenting this surge in architectural creativity (expressed via country seats) and called his book :"ARTISTIC COUNTRY SEATS".
   
   Therefore, this book in review, called, AMERICAN COUNTRY HOUSES OF THE GILDEN AGE, (by Arnold Lewis) was written to show the homes photographed in the Sheldon book, and to update the information provided by Sheldon, so that we can better understand what the Architects and structures' owners were trying to express.
   
   For a long time, I have been interested in seeing what the opulent homes of the Gilded Age must have looked like, especialy those that were avaialable before they were all torn down or destroyed by vandals, fire, etc.
   
   Since I was not too familiar with "country seats" I wanted to find a good book on this specific topic. Well, by buying this book by Arnold Lewis I think I was able to get a better feel for these "country seats" of the wealthy (aka: "country cottages" of the rich).
   
   
   The "country cottages" owned by the wealthy class shown in this Lewis book, are mostly from 1880 to around 1889. Also included in this book are a few selected Casinos from the same period. Reason for the Casinos being included in the Lewis book is probably because the same famous Architects that designed some of the opulent private cottages also designed Casinos located in vacations spots visited by the wealthy class. In addition, some of the Casinos bear a striking resemblance to the styles of the country seats shown in this Lewis book.
   
   Anyhow, when reading this book, I would advise that the reader reads the INTRODUCTION throughly because it explains the role that Sheldon had, in describing each structure. In other words, before jumping right in (as many of us often do) and looking at all the photos, I would recommend reading the entire INTRODUCTION, because it puts the photos in complete perspective.
   
   For instance: The author of this book has researched the Sheldon photos (and reviews) and then re-vamped the descriptions so that they are more understandable to a reader from our Era.
   
   The photos are large and the reader can see all the details so clearly. In fact, it's amazing that photos taken in the 1880's can be so clear!
   
   The black and white photos, have an almost sepia tone to them, making them even more enjoyable to admire. Each structure's photo has a clear explanation of the Architect of the structure, and also a brief description of the date of production and a background of the actual owners, and also, when the structure was finalized.
   
   The photos include a reproduction (in black and white) of the "blueprint" of the first floor of each structure.
   
   As other commentators have pointed out, the book does not show "blueprints" of the second or third floors, however, the author does attempt to describe the upper floors within the photos' description.
   
   Each Architectural style is described in detail in the INTRODUCTION. However, if you are a novice as to specific Architectural styles of the past, then I would recommend becoming briefly acquainted with Architectural styles (and the elementary Architectural vocabulary) before attempting to fully understand the structures` actual styles. For example, to a novice, a structure that looks like a "snow white castle" may be misunderstood, unless the reader has a brief knowledge & understanding of why the early Victorian and/or Queen Anne homes were designed with so many gables and filligrees and turrets.
   
   I should also mention that this book's INTRODUCTION mentions the COST of each home, specifically at the time of the home's finish. So, I think that the readers will find this fact also very interesting, especially when comparing each home to each other (eg: why did some homes cost $6,000, while others cost $200,000.00?).
   
   Also included in the INTRODUCTION are descriptions of where each home was once located (by State), and also which Architectural firm designed each home.



2. This book is richly illustrated with black & white photos of historic houses in the United States. For the person interested in houses from the gilded age, this book provides clear photographs with a minimum of text that can be studied in detail. The photos, more often than not, set the house in its surroundings, however photos of gardens and landscape architecture is minimal. This book is ideal for someone looking for ideas to incorporate into their own plans for home-building, as well as for students and professionals seeking a good photographic reference to the gilded age that covers houses in many regions of the country.



3. The homes shown and described in this book are wonders of a world gone by, and sadly many of them have fallen to the wreakers ball. Thankfully, this book has saved the images, basic floor plans and stories of these magnificent homes. This book is a nice addition to any Victorian lovers library.



4. "American Country Houses of the Gilded Age" reprints 100 photographs from "Artistic Country-Seats," a book originally published in 1886-87 with commentary by George William Sheldon. This new version of the collection replaces Sheldon's original comments with those of Arnold Lewis. But the real "stars" of the book are the 93 houses and four casinos portrayed in the excellent black-and white photos.

   These houses represent some of the most stunning mansions of the late 19th century. Most of these buildings were built in the northeastern United States. Each plate is accompanied by both Lewis' comments and by a first floor plan.

   The houses themselves represent many of the popular styles of the era: Tudor, "Shingle," Queen Anne, Chateauesque, Richardsonian Romanesque, Colonial Revival, and Exotic Revival. The crisp photography captures a wealth of beautiful details: covered verandas, stone arches, classical pillars, towers, pinnacles, parapets, half-timbering, castellations, fanciful dormers, and intricate decorative flourishes.

   The only disappointing aspect to the book is the fact that only the first floor plans are included. Plans for the other floors would have increased the book's value as a record of social history. Nevertheless, the detailed first floor plans do offer fascinating insights into the lives of the wealthy families of the "Gilded Age." You can imagine yourself wandering through the billiard room or music room of your favorite mansion! If you are fascinated by American home architecture, or if you simply want a taste of this opulent era, you will love this book.




5. This book let's readers see how the wealthiest people in America lived back in the late 1800's. The floor plans are, although small, completely readable. I do wish the author would have included the floor plans for the second, third, etc. floors. Great photographs and good desrciptions of the homes.

5 comments about Landscapes for Small Spaces: Japanese Courtyard Gardens.

1. This is a beautiful book. I'm giving it 5 stars even though I was actually hoping for a little more reading material and insight - the imagery is wonderful.



2. Wonderful book with great photos and examples, some from different angles which are very useful to understand the actual lay out of these great Japanese gardens. Could use more in dept explanation of technical characteristics, but non the less wonderful.



3. This book is not only a great picture book, but it also provides wonderful descriptions of the Japanese gardens featured - succinct and informative. If you like landscaping with the Japanese feel, you'll enjoy this book.



4. The book is excellent but the dust cover was torn obviously before despatch as the packaging was good.
   The disappointment was that there was no method of complaint other than returning the product. From Australia to USA not practible.



5. I've been through a lot of Japanese gardening books, and many of been a little repetitive, covering the basic design elements and what not. Mizuno has put together a great "Intermediate" read once you've had enough of the basics. The pictures are some of the best available of authentic Japanese gardens, and the captions are short and to the point but with just enough plant identifications to be useful to someone in their planning stage.
   
   Perhaps the best feature of this book is the introductory discussion on the "Omoteya style" town home (traditional Japanese merchant class town home). The text suggest there is a conservation movement to this vanishing style of Japanese home that mirrors the affection American's are beginning to culture towards the Bungalow. As the Omoteya styled homes share similar dimensions with the American city lot (diagrams are provided with the text), this book is a fabulous resource to urban dwellers looking to incorporate the Japanese garden concept to their grassy postage stamp.

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