Furniture Books

This is a fabulous insight into 18th Century French society. As a costume designer, I found the inclusion of paintings from that period, intermixed with the museum settings to be of particular interest. The close-up photographs of details were also wonderful. The text was fascinating and very enjoyable reading. It's very often tempting to take things out of context according to one's own interests. This publication opens up an intricately woven world where fashion and furniture play an equally important role in the mores of a society.

When I'm looking for visual resourced books to help inspire my costuming I would have to say this one is one of my favorites on the shelf for 18th Century clothing.
I like to have books that have heaps of historical content to help construct my costumes but I also value the 'picture books' to help the creative/visual aspect of desgining costumes! This is one of those :)

Great text and pictures. I only wish there were more details of the fashion.

An overblown production that does not deliver. A waste of photography and an even bigger waste of money.

I make porcelain dolls and found this book invaluable for costuming the dolls in authentic dresses.The settings for the costumes is also very inspiring

Angonita Blue Ribbon Dolls

I liked the book because it was fun to read. I enjoyed reading about Joe's adventures caused by the lawn gnomes' mischief. While I was reading the book, I thought about how I would feel in Joe's position. I also liked the book because it was about a brother and a sister and how they get along. I have an older sister like Joe does, except my sister doesn't care about clothes.
I enjoyed reading "Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes.'' It was a very entertaining book. I would recommend this book to any one who enjoys reading. This book is appropriate for ages 9 to 11 years old.
I would give this book 5 ***** stars.

"Hey, Joe here. I hate those stupid lawn gnomes we have now. They are so ugly!! What can my dad possibly see in them? Now we're getting blamed for everything. Great fun, huh?" -Joe

"JOE! What did you do to my room?!" -Mindy

"JOE! MINDY! The gnomes are missing again!!" -Dad

I have read almost all of the Goosebumps Books, and this one always stands out in the crowd to me. It has a very good storyline and even though it is one of the more "unrealistic", it is one of my personal favorites.
The story is about a dad who likes lawn ornaments and buys two lawn gnomes from a store down the street. When the neighbors garden keeps getting trashed, the pet Rottweiler is blamed. When the havoc continues after the dog has been tied up, the children of the house are blamed. What will they have to do to prove that they are innocent? And who in the world could be doing the mischief? Read and find out! Hope this was helpful!

I Like This Book!
When Joe's father had two lawn gnomes, strange things started to happen. One day, Joe and Mindy heard a disturbing news to their neighbors. Then Joe's Father blamed Mindy and Joe because of what happened next door. Looks like the gnomes are getting their revenge.

I was addicted to these books when I was younger and it wasn't until I was majoring in education in college that I figured out why. They were interesting with bizarre plot twists that most 9-12 year olds don't think about and they were short (usually between 110-130 pages). I could read the whole thing in a day.

My parents also didn't have a lot of heartache with buying me a new book because these are relatively inexpensive (in the neighborhood of 3-5 bucks each).

R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" books aren't scary, just kind of creepy. There aren't graphic descriptions of murder and mayhem. Just some ghosts, werewolves, or potions. The main character is alive in the end, and the final chapter resolves everything.

**Keep in mind, R.L. Stine has other books that aren't in the "Goosebumps" series that tend to be a little harsher when it comes to hauntings and plot. They are written more for the 12-14 age group and are longer (around 150-200 pages).

This book is okay. There really aren't that many new books on this subject, and it's cheap, hence the 4 stars. It's worth buying, though more for non-professionals.

I was hoping to learn more than I was able to in this book. This book covers small veneering projects. If you build cabinets, entertainment centers or other large pieces, you'll find better sources for info online.

The section on vacuum pressing was a joke. I feel as if he was forced to include the subject by his editor and he made up the most ghetto vacuum press I've ever seen (don't waste your time or your tools following his instructions). On that subject, don't let some moron try to convince you there is something wrong with a vacuum press. It's simply the only economical way for a small shop to properly adhere veneer, especially on large panels. If you hate excellent results, good tools and modern ways, then avoid the vacuum press.

He also makes strong statements, then ignores them in his projects (I'm thinking about facing MDF, specifically). I turn to books like this to guide me with examples and I lose faith in the authority when they cannot follow their own advice.

This is a really, really good book. The format is excellent (color photos, well organized) and he covers all of the important topics including flattening veneer, substrates, shop-made equipment and of course, cutting and fitting veneer.

However, there is a big gap in his coverage: the use of a vacuum press.

I've used a vacuum press numerous times and have excellent results. Mr. Barton, on the other hand, has never wanted to make the capital investment (~$700) in a quality vacuum press and consequently a lot of his projects didn't go well. Because he didn't have success with a retrofitted vacuum cleaner and thin plastic bags (both are inadequate for the task), he ignores a very useful tool.

Nice, relaxed writing style. Good information for anyone interested in learning about veneering from the ground up.

This is the unquestionable first and last resource for the would-be veneerer wishing to cut their teeth. The layout is thoughtful and informative, and many different methods of veneer application are covered in wonderful detail. The author even makes the bold step of reserving a small portion of the book for the benefit of the retarded monkeys who sing the praises of vacuum veneering. The author gently walks you through each method step-by-step, and leaves nothing to chance. This is very much a beginner's book, however, and those hoping to be dazzled by fine woodworking skills will be bitterly disappointed. The last half of the book is taken up, alarmingly, by several yobbish veneering projects positively guaranteed to induce vomiting in all but the most steeliest of constitutions. This, then, constitutes the book's single fault, and the author/publisher's addition of these execrable projects serves as an anticlimax to a brilliant treatise on veneering.

I found this to be an exellent source of information on Veneering. I have been a woodworker for over 20 years but am just now getting into Veneering....

I bought this book because I have difficulty in two areas. One is in visualizing the construction details for a design I've sketched out. The other is in deciding what joints will be most appropriate. This book covers those two topics extremely well. In fact, better than any other book in my library.

The text is very well written. He says what he has to say in a concise and easy to read way.

I think it was written for intermediate and advanced level woodworkers, but I see a lot that would be of great value to beginners who want to try their hand at something a little more challenging.

This thick little book is filled with dimensional drawings of all kinds of furniture, including the very high-end furniture and some historical pieces. The author goes into great detail about every type of joint with some practical commentary on the pros and cons of each type. There are also detailed sections on legs and feet, table types, and drawer construction.

My only letdown, as an amateur furniture hobbyist, is that there is little or no talk about tool usage and how to make some of these pieces. The author favored information about origins, history, and aesthetics. However, the book makes up for this with its great perspective drawings on every page, complete with dimensions and names for each component. This will be a great resource down the road when I need to know how to construct a unique joint or when I just want to see something new to inspire me.

If you're looking for a book on how to build cabinets, this ain't it. This is a primer on how to build furniture (which is often referred to as cabinet-making) but references to building cabinets are brief and limited. It's really an overview of furniture building rather than a hands-on, how-to book.

I own probably a half dozen books on furniture construction and joinery and found this book to be the best source for joinery techniques period. From it's detailed explanations to numerous pictures and drawings it thoroughly covers all aspects of great cabinetry. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I am not a book reader. The chapters are laid out well and are written as though a beginner might be picking it up, but don't let that fool you, this is a book an experienced woodworker will enjoy as well. There are tons of ideas and explanatory plans, while these plans are not measured drawings or as detailed as some other book, I feel they provide enough information to develop your own set of plans from. Most of the plans cover height, width and depth only, but the joinery is covered and the general concepts are there.

As a professional finish carpenter by trade and a furniture builder for fun and profit I find this book a great reference tool as well, I use it often. I highly recommend it for any serious woodworkers library.

Definitely NOT for the beginning woodworker. This book does not give measured drawings or instructions on how to make pieces of furniture. It has a section which gives drawings of a large number of woodworking joints, BUT does not discuss how to make them. This part of the book has been done in many other books along with "how to" information. Thus, this part of the book could have been eliminated without losing any real value.

HOWEVER, the rest of the book is worth its weight in gold!!!! It takes virtually all types of "Case furniture" (cabinets, chests, tables, desks, etc) but not chairs, and it gives well-researched, thorough, easy to understand diagrams on how they were constructed -- that is, what types of joints were used throughout the piece. It also provides excellent references to more detailed sets of plans and descriptions of each piece. The beginning woodworker won't know what to do with this book. The professional furniture maker will not need the book, but the vast number of serious weekend warriors of woodworking will find this book to be invaluable.

The potential purchaser of this book should realize that it was published twice, under the same name. Rodale published it in 1998. Readers Digest published it in 2003. Today I examined both editions side-by-side. Except for their ISBN numbers, the two editions seem identical. I examined a number of pages side by side, and I could not find any differences. They have the same number of pages. The only differences I could detect were in the paper used. The original Rodale edition has a more glossy paper, and the print seems to be slightly darker. Both of these differences are insignificant.

I have seen this book referenced in many places as one of the best resources in the field of woodworking. It is a masterpiece. This fact is made obvious by the difficulty in finding copies of the book for sale in either new or used form. Last week (Aug 2006) I saw three copies for sale on Amazon from $79 to $129 and all sold quickly. PLEASE NOTE - I also saw three "for sale" listings for this book last week by using a FROOGLE search. Three different Electronic bookstores indicated they had a copy of the book in stock. I contacted all three and found that they weren't really "bookstores" but rather are organizers of individuals who sell books and use the electronic bookstores as a central clearinghouse. All three said to contact the actual individual sellers. I did. None of the three had a copy for sale, even though all three of the electronic bookstores had listings saying that they had copies in stock for sale. I found a number of negative comments about these electronic bookstores when I searched. To their credit, FROOGLE stated that you should check out a seller before making a purchase. I hope this information helps you. I am very happy that I was able to buy a copy of the book. If you really want to see this book and can't buy a copy, go to your library.

this book is recomended for the more advanced wood worker. it requires you to have a more skillfull knowledge of woodworking. a dove tail jig is a must and a clear knowledge of tools is highly recommended for many of these projects in this book.

This is one of those books I've never regretted buying. Norm Abram has this way of describing the operations that makes you feel like you can do it. He makes everything look easy.

One thing he does that gives me the willies is a lot of plunge cuts with the table saw, circular saw, and router table. Many of us wouldn't try it, but then again, many of us weren't professional carpenters first. ;) Be aware of that and consider alternate methods.

This book is refreshing because it was early enough in Norm's career that he didn't have big sponsorship, and he had a lot of more humble tools like the normal guy can afford. Most of it is old & worn, but of good quality. It gives us average guys hope that outstanding furniture can be made with a more modest budget.

The overall style of the furniture is old American; lots of Shaker stuff. (simple, but slim, boxy, tapered legs) If you don't like this style, be sure to find the book in the flesh before deciding whether to buy it or not.

As always and as expected if you have watched his shows, Norm Abram has done a really good job explaining how to put together really nice pieces of furniture.

I've built the blanket chest, bookshelf and chest of drawers. The only problem I had was with the chest of drawers. The dimensions allow for only an eigth inch overhang on each side of the drawer front. By adding one eigth to each side of the drawer width, you only get the width of the opening, not an overhang, and a lot of side-to-side play in the drawer. You need to make the drawer about 1/2" wider than the plan. Other than that (which should of been caught by Norm's general caveat of measure twice, cut once), I really like the book and the narratives that go along with the project. Compared to the measured drawings that you can buy directly, you are better off buying the book and interpolating a few measurements.

I think others have gone over this before. A few of the projects have some errors in the lay out. Kind of bad IMO, but is made up for in the very pleasing aesthetic of these items. I have made a few of them and all I can say is they look very nice when done. They have a clean Shaker style that works well in most homes and IMO is fun to make. Most items are not difficult to build and while they have some fun design elements that can make you work a bit, are not hard for the average woodworker to finish. As others have noted, Norm like the power tools. That is not a big deal, in that just because he uses them does not mean that you have to. I approached this book is like most "how to books". You look at the pictures, take what you like and discard the rest. How you put it together depends on the type of tools you have and what techniques you like to use in the shop. I do not think the average woodworker will have much problem with these projects and the beginner will have lots of fun building very respectable things that will look nice in the house.

I thought the book was good regarding the descriptions of how good furniture is made. So, I would recommend it for a person who would like to learn the basics of how furiture is constructed, and what to look for from a quality standpoint and what the difference in upholstry is. Ironically, the author then goes on to recommend buying from many low-end retailers who rip off the public with huge margins, which has been typical of the furniture for decades, I guess, maybe longer. He does make a very good explanation about what 'furniture sales' really are, and why they aren't usually a bargain. Given what he claimed was his favorite store in Chicago, I guess he hasn't shopped here in 15 years.

Maybe this is a little harsh, but I don't think a retailer deserves a 150% profit or more on goods that are never on a showroom floor or held in inventory. Furniture retailers do not add 150% to the value of the product. I think by accident, the author just pointed out, by protecting the retailer part of this supply chain, why so many good American furniture manufacturers have gone out of business; most furniture is overpriced due to the retailers.

Great resource if you are planning on purchasing furniture. Len catagorizes the major furniture manufactures by quality, what kind of quality cues to look for and what some of the best furniture stores are. He'll also answer your questions by email!

I knew nothing about the details of furniture construction before I read this book. I now feel confident in shopping for all types of furniture. I can now look for signs of quality construction and ask the right questions to let the salepeople know I'm not willing to buy just on looks. The details of how certain pieces are made is important for longevity. Highly recommended read!

Locate furniture which fits into budget and home and understand the basics of its construction and marketing using the second updated edition of Shopping For Furniture: A Consumer's Guide as your personal advisory. Leonard Bruce Lewin has sold furniture to stores and consumers for over 35 years: his background provides insider's advice on everything from distinguishing sales prices from daily prices to understanding newspaper ads and big-store sales approaches. Now in a fully updated second addition, Shopping For Furniture promises lasting library reference value, with its clear tips on judging value and prices.

I wish I could give this book more than five stars. I have made lots of furniture mistakes over the years, and now I can begin to see why. The next best thing to this book would be having Leonard Lewin by your side when you shop for furniture! He takes you through the basics (wood, wood veneer, wood finishing, shopping for wood, basic furniture construction and pieces, upholstery, leather, personal style, going to stores, dealing with sales personnel and designers, interpreting advertising). What's more, he lists brands and stores to think about and visit, by area, name and volume). This book will be extremely useful to me, and I plan to reread several of the chapters before buying any furniture. The tone of the book is easygoing and informative, never dull. Most of all, his philosophy that while being an expert helps, all of us can do enough homework to understand what we need to bring to the furniture buying experience. I highly recommend this book, and plan to go back to it in the future (maybe even keep it in the car, since I wouldn't be able to hide it in the store).

This book truly helps to understand why we have sugar cravings, how to curb those cravings and in the end result end up losing weight. I appreciate the information.

I bought this book because I was looking for a cookbook that stressed nutrition. I purchased a few other cookbooks at the same time and this is by far my favorite. The book has a wide variety of delicious meals that have all been surprisingly quick and easy to prepare. Unlike many "health food" cook books, this book did not sacrifice taste to nutrition. Instead the recipies use nutritious ingredients in such a way that the flavors are enhanced and compliment each other.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to focus on conforming to a healthy diet but still wants to enjoy their food!

What I especially love about this cookbook, is you don't have to go search for unusual ingredients (like digging up buckwheat flour, or some other substitute). It works with commonly available ingredients in your grocery store.

There are good and practical hints/sugestions in this book. We have not had the time yet to fully test out methods yet.

I am extremely happy with this cookbook. This is I think the third book I have bought for my family and friends. I have really lost weight with this book and I have not felt hungry. I love all the spices it uses and I don't miss the sugar and butter from my old way of cooking.

This dictionary is exactly what I was looking for! It is the perfect transition between a children's dictionary and an adult dictionary. It has many wonderful, student friendly features, including lots of color photos, sample sentences, and a pronunciation guide on every pair of facing pages. I'm sure this will prove to be an invaluable resource to our homeschool in the coming years.

Great layout, well illustrated for information and interest. My second grader is using it for her homework which involves looking up definitions of spelling/vocab words. This was much more student-friendly than the large classic Webster's edition, easier to find an understandable definition that a second-grader could read. Most (all?)of her words have had an example sentence that helps understand how the word might be used in context. My only suggestion...our old dictionary had those thumb-cut-out tab sorts of things that let you easily thumb to a particular letter quickly...no such help here, and it can be painfully slow for her to find where a particular letter starts. We actually used the post-it mini tabs to make our own landmarks to turn to.
Overall a great choice and I am sure it will be suitable through junior high and beyond.

This book gives children excellent instructions to get the most out of each entry. My eight and nine year-olds find it very easy to use and refer to it regularly.

I bought the dictionary and thesaurus for our homeschool library. I love them both. They are easy to use and include pictures of selected entries. Some entries have a full page dedicated to them, like geologic time, and solar system. The book also includes biographical information. At the front of the book a lesson in dictionary use, as well as parts of speech and other helpful language arts tid bits can be found. My six year old can use this dictionary, and she will continue to use it for quite some time. It is NOT one of those kids' dictionaries full of pictures. It is quite helpful and user friendly!

This is a decent student dictionary. I had thought it would have more pictures, and the reviews led me to believe there were sentence examples and synonyms for ALL words. There aren't. Still, it's a decent dictionary for upper elementary and middle school kids. It's not as costly as the really great ones so if you want to pay under $30 for a student dictionary, this is your best bet.

I have built Arts and Crafts style furniture for many years and have always loved the Greene and Greene style. This book gives some history and background on the style but it's real value is in the very detailed explanations of how to execute the details Greene and Greene. It's practical and well written. Where jigs are necessary they are described and photographed in detail. I have now purchased the plans for the author's bedside table and plan on making that when I get the half dozen pieces I am working on now finished. A fun book even if you never build anything.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to doing a piece in the Greene & Greene style. Peart makes gorgeous furniture, and his treatment of design and construction of G&G stuff is clear, intelligent, and sensitive.
The first section, on the history of Greene and Greene, is perhaps less compelling. I read it with interest, because it's the first book I've read on G&G, but Peart's strengths as a writer are more in the direction of design and technique than in biography. Readers most interested in biography and history might want to look elsewhere.
This is not a serious drawback: the book delivers what the title promises--design elements for the workshop. It does this so well that I ask, with another reviewer, when volume two is coming out.

Before I bought this book, I owned another book call In Craftman's Style. It was such a great book that I thought this book was just going to be another great book. However, soon I realized that my expectation was unrealistic. First of all, this book did not offer me with any new information. Most of what it talked about in the book was already covered in the other book. The other book also offered many useful project plans. This one offered no such thing. It may seem unfair to judge one book base on another one. However, this book came out several year after In Craftman's Style repeated half of the materials. So even if I don't consider being cheated by buying this book, I was truly very disappointed at best.

An outstanding book which combines history with practical techniques for creating your own G&G style furniture. Peart is truly an outstanding craftsman and now an author/historian. Excellent photos and ideas...and some plans.

A very good book on how the many design elements used in the manufacture of Greene & Greene furniture come together. The color illustrations and accompaning text are easy to understand and easily guide any interested woodworker or patron of this arts & crafts furniture builder. The only small comment would be - when's the next add on edition coming?

This is a truly excellent book that should be on the shelves of all who work with wood, even those of you who, like myself, are not particularly keen on shaker furniture.

The first part of the book overviews the Shakers and their attitudes to working with wood, their seeking of elegant simplistic functional beauty and their enjoyment of the process of working with wood - these are an inspiration to the modern woodworker, all of whom I suspect share the same enjoyment of the process and attention to detail, regardless of their chosen style. The Shakers themselves are quite interesting, and their attitudes of constantly improving and making work easier, more joyful and freeing time for better pursuits than toil are a mantra we all should live by, perhaps. Although the Shakers were very minimalist, I believe many other great craftsmen of the past shared their attitudes and enjoyment of the process of making furniture.

The second part of the book details many fine examples of Shaker furniture. These are great items, well made, well designed, and even if the style is not your preferred one, they still may inspire you.

Note that it is NOT a "how-to" book as another reviewer pointed out, although if you have some skill you could easily reproduce the items in it ? more importantly, be inspired by them.

I have an extraordinary library of woodworking and furniture books covering all styles and all ages and I would definetely recommend this one as being in the top 10% - but I have to stress, it is not a how-to book, look elsewhere if you are looking for that.

Finally, thanks to all the other reviewers here who convinced me to purchase it, I had seen it in the shops before but passed it over (not preferring Shaker style). I will now go tick all your reviews as being helpful.

Did I mention it is absolutely full of colour photos, sidebars of interesting information and very readable and interesting?

This book is an interesting and pleasant blending of American history, philosophy, furniture design, and woodworking.
I have read/studied several other books concerning Shaker furniture. This hardcover printing of Mr. Becksvoort's book has, by far, the finest and clearest photography and printing.

Aways had an interest in making Shaker Furniture;and it's origin .Found this Book very formative and informational;enjoyed.

I have many books, new and old, on various styles of furniture, their designers, and construction techniques. This was a great addition to my library. I have learned much from it. I appreciate the detail the author went to in this work. It is not your typical lightweight coffee table book, but shows an understanding of, and respect for, the various Shaker communities and their many contributions to our way of life, not the least of which is their beautiful furniture.

" author Christian Becksvoort, a contributing editor of Fine Woodworking magazine and an experienced custom furniture maker and restorer who's worked for the last remaining Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake, Maine, examines the Shakers' faith in relation to their furniture." ~Amazon review
This attractive volume does not attempt to give directions on how to build Shaker style furniture. What it does do, and does it very well, is to describe the philosophy of the Shakers in relation to their work. The book has as its focus the Shaker's most visible and well-known product - their furniture. Each piece in the book was carefully examined by Mr. Becksvoort and photographed by Mr. Sheldon. Some pieces are not available to the public. Construction, finish, and accurate description of each piece distinguish this work. Mr. Becksvoort knows what he is looking at, he has had the privilege of restoring and closely examining the furniture of the Sabbathday Lake, Maine, Shaker Village. What he does not do is tell you how to build each piece. But if you are a clever and intelligent woodworker, perhaps you will be inspired to design your own project with an eye to the timeless design of the Shakers. Take the challenge, inspire yourself!