Interior Design Books

I am an intermediate sewer (my projects include curtains, roman shades, pillows). I needed step by step instructions for creating professional looking, interlined, silk, pinch pleated drapes for my living room. I went to the library and checked out every book on the subject -- and this was far superior to the rest. I would highly recommend.

This covers all the details of measuring the window and deciding on style, fabric, etc. Learn to make standard drapes, swags, Austrian and Roman blinds, tie-backs and rosettes to dress your windows. The big color photos show lush room setting with handsome curtains.
I used the book mostly to look at styles and fabrics, but for a sewer, this book has all the how-to you could want.

This covers all the details of measuring the window and deciding on style, fabric, etc. Learn to make standard drapes, swags, Austrian and Roman blinds, tie-backs and rosettes to dress your windows. The big color photos show lush room setting with handsome curtains.
I used the book mostly to look at styles and fabrics, but for a sewer, this book has all the how-to you could want.

This book features the home kitchens of professional chefs and other cooking aficionados. Contains great ideas and inspiration for kitchens that emphasize the joy of cooking and eating (not fussy or extravagant).

This is a wonderful book showing a wide range of kitchen styles from modern to country and blue and white to classical. It explains design secrets that help you create a beautiful, yet practical cooking space.

The book starts out with a short quiz that helps you determine your cooking lifestyle needs. It then discuses backsplashes, flooring, cabinets, storage and ventilation. In addition there are several cook's stories telling all about their history and about their dream kitchens.

I like the way the kitchens selected for the book combine aesthetics and ergonomics. The emphasis is on kitchens that work rather than on the latest technological gadgets. There are tons of ideas that can make any kitchen more functional.

There is a great resource list in the back, including website addresses, for finding accessories, appliance manufactures, lighting and hardware. Whether you are a professional chef or want to use your kitchen as a social gathering place, this book can be a great help to you.

Remodeling our cottage we wanted a book that would show us as much information as possible and this the book. If you are interested in reading how to go about a project and where to get information on everything from the wall coverings, appliances, contractors and even alas the kitchen sink, check this book out.

This is a great book with tons of wonderful pictures. There are many antiques and vintage items in the pictures, (which I LOVE), and the ideas are very short and simple. A great book to just open, get some ideas easily, and be inspired. If you like collecting, or like Vintage style decor, this book would be a great addition to your collection.

Large formate hardback with full page photos color each page, minimal captions, how to sections for creating your own unique interpretations of what you see. Compilation of photos from previous issues of Country Living Magazine condensed and available in one book. Abundant creative stimulation for moments when I just want to relax and allow myself some visual candy, snuggled comfortably listening to Miles Davis. Jazz and country? you bet!

Everything what you want to know about the country style decoration, collectibles, cooking, and gardening is included in this book. It's perfect !

I am rereading this right now and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in cottage, country style. It is very inspirational...you will love it!

Employs use of different color hues from brilliant to subtle. Teaches you how to use the colors together so that anyone can learn to utilize color as an interesting decorating tool. Beautiful pictures, well written!

I received this book as a gift from a friend that knew I love fabric and love color. I have spent hours (literally) thumbing through this book, enjoying the colors and enjoying the different decorating styles. My friends and I pulled it out at one of our Girls Only slumber parties (I'm 39) and spent 2 hours looking, and ooing and ahhing over it! I also got the nerve to paint my living room sage green, and I love it! Fun, fun, fun book!

One of the things I like best about this book - besides it being by ME! - is that the completed projects are shown in 3 different color schemes. It makes it easier for me to envision how a project might look in my sister's Victorian home, my mother's very country home, my brother's Southwest-style decor, and my own bright cottage style. Gift making and giving is now much easier for me!

I love the cottage look, and this book is giving me lots of projects I can create to give my home that feeling. I highly recommend teaming this book with a decorating book that I got from amazon called Cottage Style, which gives you over-all decorating help.

Mary Engelbreit's "Crafts to Decorate Your Home" contains six chapters of great crafts. It has crafts for every part of your home: kitchen, living room, garden, and front porch. The majority of the crafts are fun and easy. Their are a few difficult crafts for the more advanced craftsmen. Mary Engelbreit's artwork can come to life through your own hands. I recently finished painting a footstool and it turned out so good that I am going to paint another for a gift. It is worth the cost and your time. Also, check out Mary Engelbreit Cross-Stitch book.

I took a beginners' sewing class that taught me the basics of sewing, and as my first solo project, I decided to make curtains for my living room and kitchen. I got practically every book that the library had on the topic of curtain-making, and I can tell you that this was the best one for an extreme novice.

The authors make very few assumptions about the reader's sewing ability. They expect that you know how to operate a sewing machine, that you know what a seam is, and that's just about it. Everything else is explained in easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. And, they cover a variety of different treatments, which is nice if you want to do something simple that doesn't just involve flat sheets of fabric hanging from your curtain rod.

I decided finally to buy this one, because I wound up checking it out from the library so often. Definitely worthwhile for any beginner sewer who wants to make curtains.

This book was easy to follow, and the results look great....we saved hundreds by doing this ourselves.

Beginners should be VERY encouraged after purchasing this book. The directions are written in plain english and the photographs are terrific step-by-step guides. Every project was presented in an easy-to-learn fashion, and they tell you exactly what you'll learn and what you'll need. A must for anyone who wants to learn and is frustrated by the lack of true beginner sewing books.

Enjoy.

Renaissance Scholarship needed such a critical edition of this work. For deep study on the matter. Undoubtedly, the best edition in the market.

If you don't know who Agrippa was, you shouldn't be reading this review, unless you're a librarian who's been asked to buy the volume. Do an author search for "Agrippa occult" and start there.

Now, assuming that you know who Agrippa (1486-1535) was, and roughly what his Occult Philosophy was, let's talk about this volume.

This is a scholarly critical edition. The copious annotations do not so much explain the text as tell you what Agrippa is quoting or referring to, so you can look up more texts. The introduction is functional, but not terribly helpful to the nonspecialist. On the other hand, when I wrote my book on Agrippa, this thing was a constant and trusty companion; boy am I ever glad I shelled out for this!

Agrippa's book itself is obscure and difficult, but at the same time it is the seminal attempt to develop a philosophical framework for magic as a practice. If you just want to read the book, read it in English (buy the Llewellyn edition) unless your Latin is stunningly good. So if you don't already know the book well, you shouldn't be spending money on this.

The editing is meticulous, including constant explications of Agrippa's many references and sources. There is a wonderful index and bibliography, making the volume exceptionally useful -- Agrippa himself is deliberately confusing and at times seems disorganized. On top of everything else, the editor has included angle braces and further notes so that we get a complete edition of the Juvenile Draft (1510) woven into the final edition (1531/33). I can't say enough good things about the edition.

Every library with a serious early modern collection should have this. Brill's books are extremely expensive, of course, but they are permanent. The paper is acid-free, the binding is very toughly stitched, and so forth. If you shell out for this text, you will still have it a long time from now. If you are not in control of a library's budget, though, you'd better try to get your librarian to order this.

In short, this is a volume for a library, a specialist, or a wealthy Latinist. If you are wealthy enough to afford this and just want a cool edition, bear in mind that you can sometimes find Agrippa's _Opera_ in early 17th C editions for about what this volume costs --- no critical material, of course, but pretty. If you have good reason to want a critical edition, though, this one is not likely to be superseded.

This book should be at the top of the reading list for anyone interested in Western occultism or magic.

The original Latin text of Agrippa's classic is presented along with critical apparatus clearly showing variant readings in the editions. Includes a great introduction (in English) with a detailed analysis of Agrippa's sources and as well as an insightful and in-depth analysis of Agrippa's extensive 1533 expansion and revision of the text. Complete with helpful bibliographies and indices.

The only disappointment I had was the fact that this edition does not include Agrippa's lengthy recantation, which was included in the 1533 edition.

This is one of the most expensive books I've ever bought, but worth the price, especially for those with a command of Renaissance Latin.

I am so glad I ordered this book! While a few formal gardens are presented, most of the garden ideas are whimsical and very personalized. It includes how-to instructions for projects that I will immediately incorporate. But mostly, it inspires me to add my own ideas and my own collectibles into my outside rooms. Why plan for more storage when you can plan for outside niches that will display what I cherish. Its inspired me to find a space for my red Sedona stones, the shells I've collected on my walks along the beach, the empty planters awaiting seedlings and baskets awaiting cargo.

Continually get inspired by the awesome ideas presented in this book. I should reorder a new book as mine is really getting a little ragged from use. Definitely recommend this book. Ideas abound.

The Decorated Garden Room is an inspirational foray through the beauties of the old, worn and commonplace brought together in beautiful harmony and mingled with flowers. It is food for the spirit, a lovely adventure in masterful photography. The project ideas presented are anywhere from simple to moderately labor-intensive, but in my opinion the main value of the book lies in its inspirational value. It is a real motivator for those who wish to live surrounded by beauty, but lack the vast sums necessary to create palatial gardens. The style is whimsical and eclectic, appealing to children as well as adults. I highly recommend this book as a starting point for gathering decorating ideas, both for the interior and the garden. Those with an interest in English, cottage and country gardens, and those who enjoy unusual outdoor family projects will enjoy this book.

This book is full of tips that cover choosing colors, painting, wallpaper, faux finishes, tiling, decorating woodwork, painting furniture, covering floors, window treatments, lighting and much more.

Each section has a divider line that makes it easy to find the topic for which you are looking. Every section/paragraph is a tip and there is no space wasted with useless hints or repetitive words.

Highly recommend.

This book will inspire you to go buy paints, fabrics and get started! Great instructions for the beginner on how to wallpaper, install tile, hang curtains and various painting techniques. Lots of tips to go with each section. The book begins with an overview of colors and decorating basics.

. . . I really like this decorating guide. It's simple and easy to use - has some great tips and gave me several ideas just from flipping through the pages, reading the quick hints and looking at the pictures.
Includes sections on painting, tiling & covering walls, window treatments, covering floors, decorating woodwork and shows some great finishing touches.
The index at the back makes finding what you need simple and the numerous pictures and illustrations gives you an easy reference to follow.

If you want a book to help you get started - this is it.

There's a reason why Carl Dair's book has been continuously in print since it was first published in the '50s. It's one of the best introductions to the idea of contrast in design: contrast of size, contrast of weight, contrast of position, and so on. And it's visually inspiring itself, despite being a small, square, one- and two-color volume. Recent printings have unpleasantly tight bindings, but it's still a classic, and one of the best available tools for typographic design.

Unlike other books I have come across, this title is worthy of being on the shelf. More visual examples could have been shown but I say this because I enjoy looking at pictures. The text in this book is definately valuable. $25 is a fair price I'd say.

For some reason Canada seems to produce spectacular typographic writers. I'd never read this book before, but encountering it for CDN5.00 a few years back, I figured I may as well pick it up. Good decision. It's a very well-written book indeed.