Interior Design Books

One of the best books in interiors design I've ever read. Beautifull photos that almost need no explanation and the feeling of not having enough of turning pages, waiting breathless to see what's next. Congratulations to his brother and to all who participated in this homage.

"Opulent Restraint" is THE book that you want to buy for all your friends or for anyone who truly loves and appreciates interior design. Arthur Dunnan is a true master! Additional information on Jed's/Arthur's unique style may be seen in "Designers on Designers."

Having recently read The Warhol Diaries and seeing pictures of the brothers Johnson in Scavullo's retrospective, I went in search of more information about them and found this title. First of all, the quality of the book is amazing, between the text, the photography, and the projects. Secondly, how incredible that Jed Johnson was self-taught. He clearly had a wonderful eye and an amazing talent to have created these dazzling spaces that function as homes while never seeming untouchable or cold. Opulent restraint, indeed. I never knew the man and yet, feel his loss keenly.

This masterful book is one of the very best design books out today. the fabulous photos give richly detailed images of how the mind of Montoya turns dreams into reality. Colorfully planned rooms evoke reverence for things past and present. Montoya's use of religious references inform us of his link with humanity. Indirect lighting mixed with many different kinds of stone, granite, marbles and limestone create theatrical yet uplifing interiors that make beckon us to linger. Always sensitive to his clients' desires and wishes, he incorporates scale, harmony and balance while implementing function with style. Montoya is a master of surprise, you'll go back to this collection of his work time and again.

He tenido la oportunidad de conocer trabajos de diferentes maestros del diseño de interiores contemporaneos, pero sencillamente Juan Montoya ocupa un sitial especial entre ellos. Montoya demuestra una retrospectiva de su trabajo muy interesante dejando siempre señal de su excelente trabajo. Es por eso que me atrevo afirmar que Montoya es sinonimo de buen gusto, el Mercedes-Benz del diseño.

This 400 page pictorial of Juan Montoya's work, past and present, is an engaging look at the designer's commitment to creating living spaces with flair, refinement,and cultural aesthetic.

Juan Montoya reveals the inspirations for his designs - both furniture and interior design - coming from a broad range of technology; to foreign cultural artifacts that are used to enrich and enhance spaces.

The spaces he creates are magnificent - a miriad of textures and colors that blend harmoniously into a defined living space - which the self titled book reveals quite well. Large color images enable you to study subtle details of the various rooms. This book also gives you a certain time line of his experience and influences during recent decades. Much of the text is reprinted from Architectural Digest, among other periodicals and books. Not to miss is the spread that displays the custom furniture designs that have been created, and used in various client's residences and office spaces.

This is a great addition to anyone's design collection. Definately a keeper, as well as a great design resource.

This book is a wonderful gift for young, new home owners to get inspiration from. Elaborate, cosmopolitan and eloquent.

My wife and I plan to remodel our place, so we were looking for how-to advice and inspiration. Kelly provided both and much more.

The book has 9 chapters that approach interior design from different angles. Each chapter is extremely clear and well organized, providing practical advice about the planning and process as well as many useful hints about details. There are 9 case studies (one being Kelly's own home in London), complete with a description of what the customer was asking about, what were the challenges, and how she went about meeting them. Each case study comes with a detailed floor plan, a room board that describes the fabrics and colors used, and many gorgeous pictures. These case studies form the backbone of the book and are used to illustrate how she successfully addresses a range of questions and challenges as diverse as fire places, spatial planning, windows, lighting, etc.

The book successfully avoids the common traps of design book and magazines, to either kill you with a never-ending list of boring details, or to fill up the pages with pretty pictures without practical use. Not only is it very educational and useful. It is also makes for a very exciting read.

A funny detail: The Chinese calligraphy on the wall of a sumptuous, custom built wine cellar shown on p. 161, hangs upside down. I sincerely hope that the owners will have a chance to turn it around before entertaining their first Chinese guests.

Kelly Hoppen is a very talented decorator and in this book she provides not just beautiful photos (the staple of every design book) but very useful information on how to go about decorating your home, using different case studies, and exploring the challenges in each case, and how she went about to solving them. If you are starting a career as an interior designer, or are looking for ideas to decorate your home, you couldn't ask for a better book than Kelly Hoppen Home.

This book gives the true eclectic style of Key West. The photos are wonderful and give an accurate insight into the private homes and life style of this laid back, creative, elegant, charming community.....It gives one a look at the gracious stately old homes as well as the most impressive renovations of cottages in "old town". Book is filled with gorgeous full page photographs, beautifully, uniquely, Key West!

I think Key West had an appeal that you don't find in other parts of the country. It's the southern most point in America and there is the same feeling that you get in other special towns in the US, such as New Orleans, and SanFrancisco. Each has something unique about it.

This was a great book for capturing that feeling. It's also nice to see beyond the street view. I found the text interesting and very readable.

I hope if you decided to buy this book you will enjoy it as well.

It's hard to imagine how the natives, or the locals, live in places like Key West or New Orleans. These tropical outposts seem less mainstream than other parts of the USA; unique people put down roots in both of these sister cities. This lovely book gives a glimpse into homes of the poeple who live and work in Key West. It is just beautiful to see gracious living that is for real and not manufactured, but imagined and realized. Starting with the cover photo of the home of Michael Pelkey (and the ten pages of his home, and the ending photo of his kitchen countertop), you will be transported. The author writes with knowingness and sensitivity and respect for the inhabitants of, the history, and of present time Key West. This is a great inspiration book for your own lifestyle and decor, and a lovely arm chair vacation too. I would love the author Leslie Linsley, and the photographer Terry Pommett to come to New Orleans and do a sister book for us here (and bring Michael Pelkey along to lend his expert eye to the whole project).

The Landscape Lighting book, by Janet Moyer, provides both an academic and practical level of landscaping lighting knowledge. Another good book, if you can find it, is the Ortho's book of How to Design and Install Outdoor Lighting.

In comparison, the Ortho book has more colorful pictures and offers a very colorful education - I'd say, more or less at a good high school level. If you want more of college level introduction to landscape lighting - perhaps, to start a business or to broaden your knowledge, The Landscape Lighting book is the book for you.

Still the best book for the professional. Invaluable resource for architects, landscape architects and landscape lighting designers. Broad and deep with plenty of technical information. I purchased this book in 1992 and I bought it again today (an electrician friend "lost" my original copy). A second edition (if planned) should include better information about transformer regulation (the ability of a low voltage lighting transformer to maintain 12v under load) and voltage drop (the dreaded decrease in voltage through the main supply cable) which are presented as formulae rather than actual measurements. Great photographs mostly of large scale projects. This book should be in every outdoor lighting designer's library.

There is a second edition (Wiley 2005) of the book revised and updated by the author to reflect changes and improvements in techniques and equipment. The second edition is easily recognized by the illustrated four color cover; the original had an illustrated dust cover (missing from the last run of the first edition) by the cover itself was plain black.

I have both editions and consider them a bargain in terms of concentrated relevant information.

The second edition of Janet Lennox Moyer's THE LANDSCAPE LIGHTING BOOK is an absolute necessity for everybody who works in landscape lighting or who is seriously interested in creating their own garden lighting. Ms Moyer has greatly revised and expanded the color plates and Chapter 4, "The Design Process - Documenting and Installing Landscape Lighting" as well as writing an entirely new Chapter 5 "Follow-up Work - Record Documents and Project Maintenance." These changes and additions and the many other updates make the new edition well worth the purchase price.

First published in 1992, THE LANDSCAPE LIGHTING BOOK has served as the single and indispensable reference for the landscape lighting industry. It has offered all new landscape lighting practitioners guidance and provided an emerging industry the foundation necessary on which to build solid practice. While there is a wealth of other books that offer how-to help and publish pretty pictures, none of them even attempt to define and explain professional practice for the landscape lighting industry with Ms Moyer's authority and confidence.

THE LANDSCAPE LIGHTING BOOK is not an easy book to read but it is well worth the effort. Once you understand the theory behind the short cuts and rules-of-thumb that other how to books offer, you are free to create your own. With the freedom you gain when you understand and can apply those fundamental principals and concepts to your landscape lighting, you become like the cook who ignores the printed recipe and creates a masterpiece of culinary art.

The author speaks to lay people such as myself. He illustrates and compares through photographs different effects of lighting upon the same scene, so you not only read, but get the visual idea. Through reading this book, I am able to plan a lighting scheme that works for my environment and have become my own lighting designer!

A really great book. Very charming and great photos.

Most lighting books show you lots of pictures and tell you what was done. They hardly help clueless DIY's like myself. Kevin's approach to lighting, however, is systematic and understandable. His ideas and methods are innovative yet simple. You'll be surprised at how much your room or house can be transformed with the proper lighting. Absolute must-get for new or renovating home owners.

I would love to get touch with Lina or someone who can direct me in the right direction on how to start a bussniess in interrior decorating or even work under someone in my errior i'm very interrested in becoming a home decorater. Please contact me on my email or reach me by phone (860)2258902. Thank you,

Thelma Mc David

Very reader-friendly and user-friendly book for those of us who do not have a lot of money to spend to decorate. Because it is written in first person, Linda Dano, explains all facets of decorating wonderfully. Tips are very easy to follow. Visually, the book is very attractive.

I believe this book is very useful. We are looking for our first house now, so I've gone through a great amount of decorating books and magazines, and I was quite naive thinking that I know the subject pretty well. I was so mistaken! It's turned out I had no idea about basic principles of home decorating (though my friends find my home very cozy, yes, they really do!). I could never imagine before, that a book with few illustrations (but rich and great looking) may be so useful. But it isn't illustrations that count. This book is a must to read before you'll take any other book filled with pictures, because it tells you what's behind the scene and instead of copying someone's else idea, it teaches you to create you own. Also, it's written with a great style and humor, very easy and interesting to read (I even put away my detective story!)

This is a good book for the person wanting to know more about the Arts and Craft movement and wanting to remodel, decorate, etc in that style.

This book helped kick off our interest in the Arts and Crafts style. It has a good smattering of examples showing everything from textiles to metalwork, furnishing to wallpapers. It also throws in brief bits of information about the Arts and Crafts movement and some of the "Who's Who" in the movement that were the leaders in the field. The author displays traditional rooms, modern rooms heavily decorated with the style and rooms featuring current adaptations of the style into modern settings. A great beginning book or for quick basic reference. Definitely recommended. If you like this book and want more information about the Arts and Crafts style, I'd also recommend "The Arts and Crafts Movement" (Sommer/Rago), "The Arts and Crafts Companion" (Todd) and "The Beautiful Necessity" (Smith/Yamamoto).

The Arts and Crafts style reached its zenith in the early twentieth century, just about the time the bungalow house style was spreading across the country. Today we are seeing a lot of bungalow houses built about that time being 'gentrified' into more modern residences as people are moving back into the urban areas and avoiding the commute.

This book is a guide to the styles in which these bungalows may well have been furnished when they were new. It shows furnishings that fit with the built in things like doors, light fixtures, fireplaces. The furnishings feature straight lines, beautiful materials, and honest craftmanship. They just seem to fit well into the bungalow.


This book shows the essence of the style, including both original furniture and modern derivations. It also spends a good bit of time talking about the colors that go with the movement. It's an inexpensive book that illustrates a timliness style.

Shakespeare's words define the extraordinary structures in this elegant Rizzoli book MAGNIFICENT ITALIAN VILLAS AND PALACES. This is one of those massive tomes to spread on the table or before a nightlight fire and enter another far more beautiful time. Massimo Listri is the gifted photographer who captured the exteriors, landscapes, interiors and art of these places of wonder throughout Italy. With an informative and entertaining text by Cesare Cunaccia, who in addition to being an architectural historian is a frequent contributor to Architectural Digest, this sampler of some of the various interesting villas and palaces found in Italy is one of the finest books of its kind.

The sights and environments of the areas in which these estates exist are captured as aperitifs for the actual examination of each building. The two creators of this book spread their travel from the Villa Borghese in Rome to the Doge's Palace in Venice, including Tuscany for the Medici Villas and the Pitti Palace in Florence and the stops in Siena, to Lombardy (Lake Como and Lake Garda) and Naples, and even Sicily. Each structure is examined for its architectural details, its history, its gardens, and art treasures.

Rarely has a book on architecture felt so comfortable to read and view. The flow is a fine mix between word and image and both Cunacci and Listri are exemplary in their presentation. A magnificent coffee table volume, this. 'We are such stuff as dreams are made on...' Grady Harp, November 05

This book has a fabulous collection of Villas in Italy. The photography is wonderful.

Great Pictures. If you really enjoy old world architect, you'll love this book.

The book is based on several years of research; fresh and insightful. Dr. Ellis introduces the reader to the development of the New Testament Canon. He argues forcefully that, from the beginning, the early church accepted the books of the NT as Scriptures. The NT Documents were widely circulated in various Christian circles in the first century. For instance, Jesus' teachings were likely accepted at an earlier period. For, "They were of necessity used by his apostles in their 'kingdom of God' missions since it was his message and not their own that they preached" (34).

Prof. Ellis insists that from the earliest time, apostolic traditions were orally communicated, written, and transmitted by the apostles themselves. Such elements contribute heavily to the formation of the New Testament Corpus; particularly the four Gospels. The authenticity and authority of such documents were no doubt accepted as the "Word of God" by the earliest Church. (1)" Both the Gospels and the New Testament letters are attributed to persons in the same or related apostolic circles. (2) Both are, in part, products of a corporate enterprise in which an apostolic figure as the leading contributor and overseer is aided by and uses traditions composed by others. (3) Both give indications that their traditions were composed by the same or related circles of highly gifted pneumatics, that is, apostles, prophets and teachers" (Ellis, 33).

We can comfortably trust the New Testament and embrace it as the Word of God; not because scholars declare it to be so. God inspired fallible men to write "The Infallible Word." It has God for its origin and Author. The providence of God guided and preserved the entire process. That is, the formation, development, and transmission of the NT Documents.

E. Earle Ellis, in this comprehensive volume, sets forth criteria for finding "Pre-formed traditions" in the New Testament. This is merely the logical outworking of twentieth-century NT scholarship. He follows Jeremias, Brown and a host of others in identifying "hymns" and other pre-formed pieces in the NT, which as Ellis claims stems from four missions. This book is another in Ellis' small collection of essays/books which focus upon literary criticism. His views on Midrash have been rightfully dismissed by many scholars. There is very little new in this book (he even reprints a few older essays) but I suppose it is a good synthesis of conservative NT scholarship. It must be read critically.

Dr. Ellis, research professor of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, is outstanding in this volume. He has brought more credit back to American theologians. He is well respected in Europe (mostly Germany where he studied) as well he should be. This work is the total sum of important background as to the formation (author, date, recipients, and purpose) of ALL of the New Testament Books. A must for any pastor, preacher, teacher, or general student of the Bible. A word of warning, this is not for the casual reader of the Bible. Have a background in formal theological education (such as Greek, Hebrew, Theology, etc. . .) or have a very good ability to look up words in a dictionary. This book is nothing less than stupendous. If you care at all about academic study of the Word, this book is cheap! You must buy it. Sell any books you have to get it! Also, buy his book "Christ and the Future" it is less money, barely, but a good buy too!