Interior Design Books

I have been one of Kurt Edward Fishback's students for the past year and have been looking forward to the publication of this book. It is truly an extraordinary and prodiqious work and should be of interest to everyone. It makes artists accessable to the public. Lonnie

This book is both very beautiful and informative. Kurt's images allow you to really see the artist and the surroundings that help them create their work. Kurt looks at both their outer body and their inner soul.

I highly recommend this book for any person who loves both Art and Photography

I met Kurt about 5 years ago. He was teaching a class at The Workshops in Rockport, Maine. I was immediately impressed with Kurt's work and his uncanny ability to capture the essence of his subject at the defining moment. Kurt's vision is timeless, and this work demonstrates his ability to make powerful images with only Tri-X and available light. This is an excellent book for the serious amateur photographer who wants to refine his own photographic vision. You won't be disappointed.

For those of us remodeling and looking to restore old bungalows to the arts and crafts style, this book came to us highly recommended as a good place to start.

How right this advice was. This is an excellent book which walks you through the history and philosophy, then on to regional variations, landscape, interior, furniture, lighting and accessories.

These are all supported by excellent photography, glossary and sources for everything from auctions to books to Interior Designers, etc. A must have for the Arts and Crafts rookie.

This is an excellant book for the layman enthuisist of the Arts & Crafts movement. Primarily covering the Arts & Crafts home (as the title suggests) it would be the perfect first book for the individual looking to build upon an Arts & crafts theme in their home. The frist chapters (all pages containing beautifull & well choosen photos) cover the Arts & Crafts philosophy for the uninitiated in order to develop an understanding with the reader of the concepts covered later in the book. All areas of the arts & crafts home are well covered from the house itself to gardens to interiors, lighting, artwork etc. If you were looking to decorate or restore your home in the arts & crafts style this is definately a great place to start. If, after gleaming it's pages you are thirsty for more, the index at the back has a very comprehensive list of further reading, arts & crafts reproduction furniture etc manufacturers, tours, resources etc. Full marks to the authors for a well conceived & executed publication.

I thought I would check out what the Arts & Crafts Home movement was all about so I got this book based on it's great reviews. It is full of history, and photos, enough to either satisfy your curiosity, or like me, it will cause a hunger in you for more books on the subject.

I found this book by chance on my last trip to NY.

I am an argentinian living in Buenos Aires, and I love my city. I think the book shows it in a wonderful way, through the text and pictures, which I found really beautiful.

It's good value for money too.

This pictorial review of Buenos Aires is a stunning display of photos of the city, its homes and its people. Coupled with a descriptive narrative, the photographs, all in color, trace the history of the city and describe modern day Buenos Aires. It is awesome to see the turn of the century architecture of the various buildings and at the same time to be allowed into the private homes of the city's residents. As an American visitor to Bs.As., I found that this book allowed me to see areas that otherwise would be unavailable to view. In later chapters of the book, the writer and photographer take the reader to the city's suburbs and then on to the world famous Argentine estancias (ranches).I would recommend this book to those who have traveled to the city who now wish to be reminded of its beauty as well as to the Argentines who may now live outside the country yet long for a reminder of what awaits their return. For those who have yet to visit Bs. As., this book is a fine substitute.

As an argentinian expatriate, this book is a wonderful reminder of my beloved Buenos Aires. But if you were not born in Argentina, you will not find only a turistic guide, a political essay or a historical vision of the city, but all that and more.

The description of the society is really accurate, and it is made with the objective point of view of a foreigner. And the research about the History of the city is precise as well. As an architect, I find the photographs excellent, and they show the reality and the contrasts of this wonderful city.

So, if you are planning a trip to Buenos Aires or just want to know more about the city, this book will give you an excellent vision of what you will find there.

This little book is not only packed with good ideas but it is filled with beautiful illustrations on each page.

It would be a very nice book to put in a basket for a bridal shower or to add to a teenage girl's hopechest.

Take the previous review with a grain of salt- the woman advertises this book on her interior decorating web site and most probably gets a percentage from each sale. She has the same review, word for word, on her web site.

I haven't read the book, so I can't rate it, but I thought those who would be influenced to buy the book based on reading that review should know that the reviewer is not simply "a reader", but someone who may stand to profit if the book sells.

This is a wonderful little book that's packed with great ideas that won't break your budget. The authors suggest using what you have and list good places to find bargains. But they also help you re-think a room and get clear on your tastes before you start. Unlike most decorating magazines and books, this one doesn't leave you feeling poor and envious - it cheers you on and encourages you, even if you have very little money to spend.

BTW, I have no connection to these authors - perhaps the authors put my review on their website. I haven't been to the site.

In the midst of a big arts and crafts kick I decided to bring home a bunch of books on the subject from my library. The Beautiful Necessity is the third such work I have reviewed recently, and I have to recommend it as a wonderful book. I really like the arrangement and presentation of the chapters, and the color photographs are well selected and beautiful. One of my bigger pet peeves with books like this is their tendency to be too regional in scope. Often a book purporting to cover a subject like arts and crafts interiors will focus too narrowly on just California Greene and Greene houses or just on New York Stickley houses. This book is great because it gives equal effort to showcasing interiors from Eastern, Midwestern, and Western examples of arts and crafts homes. I also commend the authors on their excellent resource guide in the back of the book. One can use this guide to find 10 sources each for everything from architects to antiques dealers, and carpeting to metalwork. There is even an extensive list of historic a&c homes that are open for public tours.

If you enjoy and/or collect books on this topic, I highly recommend this title as a "must have". You won't be disappointed.

We've had this book in our pile of Arts and Crafts reference material for a while and it still gets picked up once in a while for ideas of just to look at all the great photographs. As a previous reviewer mentions (and I agree completely with the assessment!) this book doesn't cover just one region. Too many Arts and Crafts book authors waste time writing a book about the style and then spend the entire book looking at one or two homes. If I see one more book naming itself in such a manner to lead the reader to believe that it is contains broad information about the style yet features nothing but pictures of the Greene and Greene "Gamble House" I'm going to scream! (authors take note!)

One thing I would mention to readers about this book is that it covers predominantly the American style of Arts and Crafts. While it does contain information about the individuals that began the movement in Europe and the reflections of those influences in the American version, it does not cover all of the style. The authors have done a great job presenting the information they have concentrated on, though. The book covers East Coast to West Coast, shows some of the influences that Japanese or Art Nouveau styles had in the movement and presents examples of the work done by several designers well known in the American Arts and Crafts movement such as Stickley, Wright and Greene & Greene. They cover funishings, decorative items such as pottery, leaded glass windows and lighting; along with the overall fit, finish, and philosophy behind building in the Arts and Crafts style. Definitely would recommend this book for your arts and crafts collection. Also recommend "The Arts and Crafts Companion", by Todd, for a bigger picture and more historical information.

This book was a pleasant surprise. Purchasing what I thought would be a good idea book for an upcoming remodel of my basement, I ended up with a general schooling of the driving forces behind the Arts & Crafts movement. The illustrations exposed the styles of many of the great names of the era. I now have a more thorough understanding of this revolt against the machine and can better appreciate the efforts of Morris, Stickley, Hubbard, and others to save the craftsman. The resources at the end of the book are a treasure trove of suppliers for all things Arts & Crafts.

The Bible in Africa covers a rich tapestry of topics, related to the Bible and how it is read and interpreted in Africa. There are over 30 essays written by scholars from all parts of Africa. The essays deal with diverse such topics as Bible Translation in Africa, The reading of the Bible in African Indigenous Churches and particular issues relating to various African peoples and their reception of the Bible. Of particular interest are a number of review essays which cover Biblical Studies in Afica in the Twentieth Century and a comprehensive Bibliography of all known Publications on the Bible produced in or about Africa.

The Bible in Africa covers a rich tapestry of topics, related to the Bible and how it is read and interpreted in Africa. There are over 30 essays written by scholars from all parts of Africa. The essays deal with diverse such topics as Bible Translation in Africa, The reading of the Bible in African Indigenous Churches and particular issues relating to various African peoples and their reception of the Bible. Of particular interest are a number of review essays which cover Biblical Studies in Afica in the Twentieth Century and a comprehensive Bibliography of all known Publications on the Bible produced in or about Africa.

The Bible in Africa covers a rich tapestry of topics, related to the Bible and how it is read and interpreted in Africa. There are over 30 essays written by scholars from all parts of Africa. The essays deal with such diverse topics as Bible Translation in Africa, The reading of the Bible in African Indigenous Churches and particular issues relating to various African peoples and their reception of the Bible. Of particular interest are a number of review essays which cover Biblical Studies in Afica in the Twentieth Century and a comprehensive Bibliography of Publications on the Bible produced in or about Africa.

Mary Randolph Carter, aka "Carter", is Queen of all things Junk! Others may use that title, but Carter owns it. The fourth (!) book in her "American Junk" series, "Big City Junk", finds our heroine Carter trapsing through the junk yards, stores and flea-markets of more cosmopolitan outposts. As usual, Carter's unique gift is her ability to photograph junk in its "natural state", and giving the discarded, outdated and seemingly unimportant the artistic presence it deserves. Subconciously, every compulsive junker has always understood the "power of junk", and Carter's "Big City Junk" is a celebration of that understanding. Particularly poignent in "Big City Junk" are Carter's photographs of various paintings, sketches and souvenirs of New York and The World Trade Center. Odd and touching how a few photos of humble junk express that which cannot be said in a million words.

BIG CITY JUNK, which was probably in production on September 11, 2001 (it arrived in bookstores a couple of months later), carries a special resonance because of the events of that day. What would otherwise be a lark of a style book appealing to the collectibles crowd becomes a small shrine as well for a piece of the New York lifestyle and psyche. In the course of celebrating the cast aside and disposable, Mary Randolph Carter, the author and photographer caught a lasting, brave, prophetic comment about fear and city living rendered in the temporal medium of a sidewalk chalk message. But she is also onto something else that is so very much a part of the economy and ecology of the city: the cycle of "stuff" in a population intensive, small place. The sociological angle raises this volume in Carter's Junk series above the others.

This is not to say the book isn't fun. It is fun. And it is very fair: Carter gives very specific information about how much things cost (or don't) and where they were found. She provides lists of flea markets and thrift shops in the major metropolitan areas she covers. Her method is to focus on individual collectors in locales like New York, San Francisco and LA, profiling how they find their stuff and what they do with it.

Like a novelist who succeeds in creating a world and staying true to it, Carter has established a vision that makes junk matter. I need open, less cluttered surfaces in my own environment, but when I read the Junk series, I can certainly enjoy that collectible urge.

I love this book, and I will admit, I am the subject of one of the chapters in the book (Lost and Found). But I was a big fan of
Carter's books before I met her 2 years ago. I remember the excitement I felt when I saw "American Junk" for the first time.
A woman after my own heart! (I have been making art from junk for the last 6 years.) Thank you Carter (she prefers to be called that), for helping us to see so many fun ways to decorate inexpensively and recylce, reuse, and clean up the environment.
Carter writes in an inviting, cozy manner that makes you feel like an old friend. And I really enjoyed watching her photograph
for my chapter, no fussy rearranging of things, she captures the
images as she sees them and moves on. Packed full of inspiration!

This is a truly wonderful book. Todd describes the homes of many of the people who participated in the Bloomsbury group, in addition to the complex interrelationships of the people involved, their parties and their artwork. She is one of the most focused biographers I have read: always interesting, always to the point. Considering the number of people she has to write about, it is amazing that she never strays from her focus. The book is beautifully designed and illustrated. It is a book that I will go back to over and over.

Bloomsbury at Home is a welcome addition to the bibliography of titles about the very interesting, influential and eccentric group of artists who flourished in England and France during the early part of the twentieth century. These multitalented poets, writers, painters and thinkers lived life enthusiastically and shared ideas, activities and loves with each other and the world. Pamela Todd's extended essay on the Bloomsburyites, including Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey and Duncan Grant captures their individuality, and sometimes irrationality, while celebrating their devotion to freedom of thought. The really spectacular and original contribution of Bloomsbury at Home, however, comes with the reproduction of a number of paintings and drawings by the Bloomsbury group, which are otherwise difficult to find gathered in one place. This book is a treasured and inexpensive addition to my library of literary and artistic movements, and I highly recommend it to others interested in the relationship of the visual and literary arts to modern society before the Second World War.

Bloomsbury at Home is a welcome addition to the bibliography of titles about the very interesting, influential and eccentric group of artists who flourished in England and France during the early part of the twentieth century. These multitalented poets, writers, painters and thinkers lived life enthusiastically and shared ideas, activities and loves with each other and the world. Pamela Todd's extended essay on the Bloomsburyites, including Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey and Duncan Grant captures their individuality, and sometimes irrationality, while celebrating their devotion to freedom of thought. The really spectacular and original contribution of Bloomsbury at Home, however, comes with the reproduction of a number of paintings and drawings by the Bloomsbury group, which are otherwise difficult to find gathered in one place. This book is a treasured and inexpensive addition to my library of literary and artistic movements, and I highly recommend it to others interested in the relationship of the visual and literary arts to modern society before the Second World War.

This book gives a very good insight into the history of Brunschwig & Fils and a very good addition to the library of anyone interested in Interior Design and decoration. There are some very good pictures with descriptions. There is also an interesting chapter on the making of fabric. I buy many books on interior decoration and one this was definitely worth buying for me. Heather Szczepanski

Murray Douglas is a scholar of historical design. She is keenly aware of the importance of using contempory trends to compliment culturally historic design. The book becomes a resource not only of the history of Brunschwig & Fils and its textiles, trims and wall coverings, but of how well-known designers have integrated the Brunschwig line with their own flair and client's needs. She gives a useful history of the manufacture and use of textiles, trims and wallpapers. Douglas and Irvine tell the story of McLean's photographs as they create a pallette of comfort and style with color and sophistication. I use the book as a text and photo resource for all of my design projects!

Murray Douglas is a scholar of historical design. She is keenly aware of the importance of using contempory trends to compliment culturally historic design. The book becomes a resource not only of the history of Brunschwig & Fils and its textiles, trims and wall coverings, but of how well-known designers have integrated the Brunschwig line with their own flair and client's needs. She gives a useful history of the manufacture and use of textiles, trims and wallpapers. Douglas and Irvine tell the story of McLean's photographs as they create a pallette of comfort and style with color and sophistication. I use the book as a text and photo resource for all of my design projects!

Casa Adobe depicts homes, haciendas and holiday getaways that have blended handcrafted details, natural materials, and cross-cultural furnishings to express the elegant simplicity of adobe homes, from their humble beginnings to their current renaissance.
--Natural Home Magazine, December 2001

Casa Adobe is a terrific source book for those contemplating living in an adobe or any other earthen style home. Photographs with informaive descriptions tease the casual reader, while those already familiar with Mexico, Arizona, and the Southwest immediately jump head first into the well-written, beautifully illustrated text. Joe P. Carr and Karen Witynski take you to Sante Fe and the surrounding areas with early photographs of adobe structures. Then you are taken to country and contempory homes and structures that best reflect what Casa Adobe is all about. The last chapter of the book is especially helpful foranyone interested in adobe, stucco, or rammed earth homes. It gives sources and individuals to contact as well as galleries and suppliers. My next purchas will be Casa Yucatan, written and photographed by the same collaborative authors.

Many people find the lines and textures of an adobe building at once seductive and compelling. This book is all about the unique aesthetic of houses made of mud. Third in a series of four books on popular residential design in Mexico and the Southwest, this book contains photos of spectacular adobe homes, inside and out, in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and various places in Mexico.

The book documents the evolution of adobe from its historic past to its most modern applications, including interior details and architectural elements. The authors chose well the buildings they use as examples for their premise that "adobe is an old tradition with a new future," the recurring theme of the book.
--New Mexico Magazine, May 2002