Interior Design Books

Have you ever taken notes in class, which made perfect sense in the classroom setting watching the teacher demostrate a command, only to get home and try to recreate the steps to no avail?
This book is so helpful in that the commands are so clearly laid out in a visual, easy to understand manner. Since graduating from school, I have continued to pick this book up as a helpful resource to refresh my cad skills on numerous occasions. The answers have been there ever time.

Whether you're still in school or out in the work force, this book is a must-have resource for designers who may need a refresher course in CAD from time to time. The easy-to-read graphics, thorough index and step-by-step instructions allow both experienced users and/or newcomers to navigate successfully through the CAD program.

Great Book !!...no nonsense, step by step guide that uses conventional drafting methods and reference diagrams to explain what you NEED to know with out all of the ultra technical junk found in most CAD text. It provides the reader with the information needed to work in a REAL office in the REAL world.

Clear illustrations and easy to follow step-by-step instructions make it easy to master AutoCAD commands with this book. Often, a single page covers an entire command (in words and illustrations) which makes it easy to learn the first time or refresh my memory.

I'm glad I found an AutoCAD book that does not require me to be a programmer to learn this software. I'll keep this one next to my computer for quick reference.

AutoCAD is clearly the industry standard computer aided design software. If you type AutoCad into the search engine at Amazon you get 4,306 books about it. How do you possibly pick one out of this many. Or perhaps a better question is why pick this one.

First, this book is specifically oriented to architects and interior designers. That's what the examples show, that's the terminology used. You are not looking at gears or airplane wings.

Second, this book is aimed at the beginner. It starts with comparing AutoCad to conventional paper and T-Square drafting. It compares AutoCAD commands to common drafting implements like a pencil or compass.

Third, it is rather independent of the AutoCAD version. The concepts being taught here are the basic ones, so you can use the book with whatever version you have.

Fourth, it is a very visually oriented book. It has you quickly working on drawings, showing you in illustrations what you should be seeing on the screen.

Fifth, as a basis for starting your drawings the companion web site for the book has perhaps as much information as is contained in the book.

Conclusion. This is an excellent book to use to get started with AutoCAD, especially for architects and interior designers.

I come from a long line of fantastic cooks. I read and reread cookbooks all the time. This is my favorite cookbook. I have tried many recipes from here and even though I am usually a try-something-new-cook some of these have become staples. Also the recipes lend well to improvisation. Really I can't say enough about this cookbook, my family covets it.

I couldn't wait to dive into the Junior League of Pasadena's Dining by Design cookbook. In addition to delicious and easy sounding recipes, it is full of all kinds of interesting nuggets of information. Things that you've always wanted to know but could never put your finger on in other cookbooks. It is also a lovely looking book, almost too pretty to be a cookbook. Try it, I think you'll really, really like it!

I couldn't wait to dive into the Junior League of Pasadena's Dining by Design cookbook. In addition to delicious and easy sounding recipes, it is full of all kinds of interesting nuggets of information. Things that you've always wanted to know but could never put your finger on in other cookbooks. It is also a lovely looking book, almost too pretty to be a cookbook. Try it, I think you'll really, really like it!

i recommend this book to absolutely everyone. i have yet to have a bad experience with any one of the recipes found in this beautiful book. Not only does the book contain tasty recipes but it contains valuable tips for cooking, decorating, entertaining and the like. this is a must buy for family and friends as well as for yourself. i sure hope the junior league of Pasadena, inc. will publish another:)

As expected, I was not disappointed by the Junior League of Pasadena's newest edition in their series of cookbooks. I didn't think anything could top their last, "California Sizzles", but "Dining by Design" is even better! I have dozens of cookbooks that remain dusty on the shelves, but both my Junior League of Pasadena cookbooks are very well worn from all of the recipes I use. Way to go! I recommend these delicious, easy to understand, easy to prepare recipes to everyone!

This book is so wonderful, now everyone an see how fresh flowers can enhance your life and your surroundings.

Thanks Elton for allowing us into your home.

Magnolia Village Florist
Seattle, WA

This book has awesome pictures of Elton John's homes, it focuses on the flowers in his houses. This book would be great to put on a coffe table, and a must for an Elton fan. I highly recommend it!

Excellent pictorial of an extravagant livestyle! Hard to belive, though, that there is a gross misprint on page 16-- the lyrics from "Your Song" are attributed to "Mona Lisa & Mad Hatters"! Oops!

Wow ... "amazing" is the best word I can come up with! I have been looking at decorating books for about a year since I bought my dream house. I stumbled upon this book, and have since bought copies for my Mom, my in-laws, my best friend, my gardeners, my designer, ...! I guess I am now their best customer! I plan to give a copy to my designer and say "Here, do this!"

Need I say more?

Elton John is an aristocrat, not only because the Queen said so. He demonstrates this in every day life, in the way he admits his weaknesses, in his involvement for beautiful causes. His house on French Riviera is a jewell. It's almost "too much". But "too much" is never enough for Elton. Thanks to the great pictures from this book you will discover a yellow castle between blue sky, deep blue sea and green grass. White structure of the house creates a contrast with blue, green and yellow. These colours could have been chosen by David Hockney. Original style of this house was respected. Flowers are every where. Furniture is on line with the overall "villegiature" style. Don't dream "too much", this "Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat" life-style has a price. But who talked about money, here? Not Elton, for sure. This is, again, a demonstration of the noble qualities of that man. Never in the whole book, you will find any decoration detail that could make you think it is here to impress people or to demonstrate power. What a paradox! this modern excentric, in the tradition on XVIIIth century english excentricity, never looks arrogant. None of his crazy demonstrations of "luxe" make you feel bad. The Atlanta house is more interesting because of the beautiful furniture and made to order closets for collections of ... everything. This book is a tribute to pleasure, good taste (yes!) and high-life. I learned this word from Johnny Weissmuller in Acapulco (pie de la cuesta beach), just before he died. I think it is quite appropriate to describe what these houses are made for.

I love these photographs---great ideas for wallpapers, paint, chintz and other fabrics, bookcases, displaying art, etc. Each photo is accompanied by a bit of text, e.g. "The center of an informal living room plays host to an oversized tufted settee with a rolled back. Upholstered in pale floral cotton chintz with a twisted silk cord, the settee adds romantic quirkiness to the rural interior."
The book has four chapters:
House and Garden, pp 14-27;
Rooms For Comfortable Living, pp 28-51;
Kitchens and Dining Rooms, pp 52-67;
Bedrooms, Nurseries, and Bathrooms, pp 68-95.
The final page has a short index, and photo credits.

I received this wonderful book as a gift and highly recommend it to those who, like me, love the comfortable, slightly rough but homey feel of a cottage. This has inspired many projects as well as many farther-off dreams for our own home. It's great to look through again and again!

This is my favorite little book which captures the beauty and comfort of English style. The pictures are wonderful! I refer to this often...more often than any other design book. It is an inspiration to me.

A wonderful book. I constantly refer back to it, more than any other of it's type. Beautiful pictures and text.

Have you seen the remains of the day? Do you love pastel colors, a relaxed atmosphere, antiques and softly printed fabrics? Then this is a book you might like. The choice of pictures is excellent and even after 6 years I still keep looking into this book. Every page is illustrated and the photos are sooo lovely. It is mostly about fabrics and colors though. If you are interested in HOW to decorate I recommend "decorating with antiques", which explains the structure of a well balanced room and furniture better. Nonetheless, this book will make you contemptuos of other people's homes. I hope you are not arrogant.....

Berliner's book is delightful and packed with useful knowledge. I have read this book twice and used what I learned; it really made changes in my home and office. I highly recommed it.

A must-read for anyone interested in how powerfully design influences our lives. I hope the author will follow up with another book illustrated by many examples and plenty of before-and-after photos.

A must-read for anyone interested in how powerfully design influences our lives. I hope the author will follow up with another book illustrated by many examples and plenty of before-and-after photos.

"The easy and exhilarating emphasis of the text explains how to realign your home with the basic forces of nature: heaven and earth, the four directions, and elemental energies.... It's a book feng shui has been waiting for." Dennis Fairchild. Feng Shui for Modern Living magazine, UK

Enlightened By Design is great. I have another on Feng Shui but it's too esoteric -- this one is much more accessible. I like the way she incorporates many different traditions. Just very happy to have it.

Some people will buy this for the camp value, but there is a surprisingly large amount of tips and info that are perfectly current, in fact timeless. Like this book.

What a wonderful book. I enjoy looking at it again and again. Great ideas from years ago that can still be used today!

Dorothy Draper was known for her sense of style in both decorating and entertaining. Although this book was written in the mid-1900s the entertaining suggestions are timeless. The book itself is fun with its typical 1950s illustrations and speech. This is a book that is fun to use to while away an afternoon.

Not as important or famous as Draper's "Decorating is Fun," but her 1941 "Entertaining" book is still amusing, deserving a spot on your coffee table next to an old 1940s Emily Post Etiquette book (when is somone gonna get wise and issue reprints of THOSE?).

Among the highlights is a full list of what every well-appointed home cannot do without, just in case an unexpected guest drops by ("a charming tea set," "a good hall mirror," and "a big metal bell with a lovely tone, to call people in from the garden for games or meals..."), and how to throw a dinner party--1940s style.

Fascinating book. In no time you'll be providing crisp stationery, fresh flowers, 700-thread-count sheets and a luggage stand for your weekend guests...and really, aren't those the "family values" that matter most?

This book is wonderful. I just love Draper's tone and conversational way of writing. She offers ideas for all budgets and lifestyles. Charmingly retro, with plenty of good advice for today's hostesses. I could not put it down.

If you have any quetitons about interior decorating, this book will give you the answers. Some of the pictures seem a little outdated, but all in all it's a great book. There are wonderful examples and explanations of the "technical" part of decorating. I'm very pleased to have this book in my personal library and will refer to it often.

This is the most informative decorating book I've come across. It tells you how to do and make everything you could possibly need for your home with easy to follow instructions. It's inspirational!

I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone who intends to decorate or remodel their home. As the slipcase states, it is an unrivaled visual sourcebook with almost 1,000 color photos and illustrations.

It is not just full of prety pictures of someone else's house decorated by experts, but full of projects you can do yourself as you are led through the steps, details and directories of where you can obtain the materials.

I've had this book since it came out and have shown it to many friends who have gone out and bought their own copies. An indespensible book for anyonew thinking of undertaking a project themselves, or to afford them the ideas and knowledge to have others do the work for them.

I tell you this is one of the best books about interior design I've ever seen! Just grab it and be inspired of all the ideas!

The book covers just about everything but I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.

I purchased this book as a gift for someone who recently returned from a trip to Japan. The book is absolutely beautiful and for those interested in Japanese Flower Arranging, this is one of the greatest books available for high quality color photos of some lovely interiors. Great book for the decorator looking for ideas in a Japanese theme setting.

I bought a few of these as gifts.
Makes a great coffee table book.
This book exceeded my expectations.

This book is outstanding! It makes this beautiful art accessible to everyone. I have used it to introduce Ikebana to my students. If I were to own only one book on Ikebana, this would be it!

I bought this book because I love having flowers in my home, but I'm not very good at arranging them. I also bought the book because I like the spareness, the openness of Ikebana. What I especially like about this book is its simple illustrations that explain the various concepts, and that are easy to follow. I also like that it presents arrangements for each of the seasons. This book has definitely been worth the money. I highly recommend it!

I bought this book for the pleasure of viewing, rather than of flower-arranging. The book does a very concise explaining of What is ikebana? and of The Techniques. The picture instructions are simple and easy to follow.

What I love most about the book is the careful and thoughtful planning and presentation of ikebana through the seasons.

I've compared this book to other books at the bookstore, and this by far the only one that lived up to the philosophy and practice of Japanese aesthetics. From what I've read on Zen and its philosophy, there is a concept of "ma" and "wa" - one of which is about enough "blank space" around the art form, that helps the eye to appreciate the quality and beauty of lines / texture / forms / space. This book complies to that philosophy.

I am pleased with the quality of paper, and the general layout of the photos, and there is enough text to support each selected flower-arrangement which is helpful to someone who does not know much about the specific aesthetic discipline that is ikebana.

Thanks.

(On a minor note, the book I bought was printed in 2003, and the cover is different from what is shown on Amazon.com)

Alexandra Stoddard is a breath of fresh air for me. Any time I am feeling down or blue I pick up this book "Living a beautiful life", and I instantly smile. Everyone should have this book.

I first read this book in 1988, when I had been married only one year. The grace notes helped me realize that, even on a meager budget, I could love my surroundings. A friend and I went through the entire book and did every single thing we could afford to do - and it was a blast! I passed the book around to my mom, and sisters who each ended up with a "beautiful life" too. It's nearly twenty years later, and I still recommend this book to anyone who wants to add a little flair to every space in their life - even the inside of the fridge! I will have fun reading this to my daughters in the coming years. If I could, I'd thank Ms. Stoddard myself!

I bought this book years ago when the cover was different, and it cost only $12.95 in paperback, and I still use it for ideas, although some of them are a little off-the wall or even impractical for me. It's the kind of book where there is a culture clash with some of the things she suggests: "Put strawberries in a bowl and leave two, with stems on, on the table next to the bowl.." Why? Or "Put eggs in an old wire basket." Well, I'm afraid they won't last too long like that, and with the organic eggs I buy costing over $2,00 a dozen, it's the height of impracticality for me. Then there's "Make lobster, avocado, and wild rice salad for a picnic." Two problems: a) tell me how, and b) maybe this is no problem for a New Yorker or Connecticut resident, but for a landlocked Oklahoman that's a mighty pricey picnic! Statements like these make her seem very Martha Stewart, like she's from another world. Certainly not mine, anyway.Still, there are many, many parts of her book where she makes perfect sense, such as buying in season, and that people buy too much food, and taking the television out of the bedroom is a great idea I've completely taken to heart! So to sum up, this book that gives you food for thought, if you don't choke on some of the grace notes!

I felt obligated to post my review because, as cheesy as it may sound, Alexandra Stoddard's book, Living A Beautiful Life, actually changed my life -- for the better. I'll agree that all of the Grace Notes are not for everyone -- they are merely suggestions. Neither do I try and do everything that she recommends. But she did succeed at getting me to look at life and its daily routine in a different way. She's also introduced me to wonderful authors, such as Madeleine L'Engle. Alexandra's writing has helped me to live a more beautiful life "in the moment" by appreciating every blessing and using every moment to add more beauty to it. Now I try and celebrate every little aspect of life, if possible, by not keeping anything mundane. My life greatly reflects my passion for life and I am now more aware of the beauty involved in simple existence. Alexandra has written other great books (which have helped me tremendously) on relationships, family, interior decorating, the lost art of letter writing, etc. Remember, it's all about what works for you. I'm currently collecting Alexandra's books and highly recommend them all. Alexandra, thank you very much. By sharing your passion, you give a wonderful gift. :)

As a former working mother (working outside the home, I mean), I am grateful for books like these. Having been raised by one of the first working mothers in the 1970s, I didn't learn all the skills of homecaring, or the little niceties that make like more enjoyable and beautiful for myself and my family. Like one of the guys, I was sent out into the world of business and expected to compete there. I did, but I was miserable and felt something was missing from life.

A good friend gave me this book as a gift -- and what a perfect gift it was, at the time I most needed it. Yes, the ideas are simple, and perhaps, to some, this whole domestic goddess thing can be "syrupy" as one reviewer put it. So sue me -- but I love being at home, love rediscovering what it's like to live like a human being, not a "human doing", and to make my home a place of beauty. I love this book, and plan to give it to other women like myself, and I will be looking for more like it!

Mood Indigo, like the song of the same name, is smoky, sensuous, and quite beautiful.

If you love rich colors, you'll love this book.

If you're afraid strong color won't work in your spaces, one look at these rooms will change your mind.

Showcasing interiors using browns, blacks and grays, purples and reds, blues and greens `Mood Indigo' works with all shades from the strongest, darkest of the hues to the lightest.

There are tips on how to use strong colors, discussions about rooms size, light needs, finishes, textures, a short history of paint, pigments, and color trends.

Color is used not only on walls but in accessories, on fabric, floor coverings, lampshades ... well, just about anything you can think of.

Room designs run the gamut from country to traditional to eclectic to rustic. You'll see color used in hallways and kitchens as well as the more usual bedrooms, dining rooms, and living rooms.

Inspiration abounds. Add the fact that this is a great coffee table book, if nothing else, and you'll be happy you bought it. Everything about this book is quality.

This book was exactly what I've been looking for. Lots of color without being garish. If you want some ideas on home decorating, and you are weary of the tried and tired neutral schemes, but don't want to feel like you are living in a day-glo home or a Fisher Price retail outlet, I definitly recomend this book. It's also not just about paint, but also mentions flooring, trim, wallpapering, accesories and furniture.

This is a beautiful interior design coffee table book. It is packed with large photos of exquisite interiors that use strong colors including blues, greens, reds, purples, browns, grays and blacks. The wonderful photos are printed on high-quality glossy paper making them appear even more vivid.

In additional to the gorgeous pictures there is also advice on color, texture and light. Color scheme basics are covered with a discussion of tone, shade, balance and the moods each color creates. There are also suggestions for sources of inspiration for each color in nature, history and various cultures.

The interiors shown are simply fantastic and filled with rich, dark colors. There are no large rooms of empty white here. I loved a relaxing bathroom with shades of plum and a cabinet decorated with multiple hues of green, blue and yellow. I also enjoyed a Japanese style bedroom with red walls, a wood chest and a huge hanging white kimono. A dark blue living room with nude outlines on the wall and an artistic cozy brown couch is another of my favorites.

I really appreciated a great list of suppliers and helpful index included in the back. This is a great book of useful ideas as well as being a wonderful display piece or gift.

I passed by this book and just by accident, the word "Indigo" caught my eye. As I love all things purple, I just had to pick it up and flip through it. WOW. Finally, I found a book on home decorating that didn't include lots of *beige*. I absolutely love the pictures in the book, which range from some very interesting country motifs, to Victorian, to post-modern. The book's divided into sections describing the treatments of different shades; a chapter on reds and purples, blue and greens, browns and so forth. Pick your favorite color, find the chapter, and browse.

I have to admit I haven't even read the text, and still feel the money I paid for this book was more than made up for in the quality of the full-color, gloss-page plates... It really goes to show that with a little inventive color selection, you can create a really outstanding, comfortable environment.

Now I just have to find a house to buy and redecorate. :)

I had been looking at design books for months now and was bored out of my mind seeing page after page of white-on-white color schemes (most of which were heralded as 'fantastically innovative' -- how innovative can they be when they're filling every single book?!) I knew that wasn't what I wanted, but I needed some ideas to spark my creativity.

And then I found this book! It's big, it's beautiful, and as other reviewers have pointed out, it does an excellent job of showing different styles of rooms. (Yes, dark colors don't have to be baroque or ultra-modern! Although those are pictured here too.)