Interior Design Books

The cover alone will stop you in your tracks, a magnificent photograph of the Hofburg Library in Vienna. Open the cover and you will find page after page of amazingly detailed color photos of architecture, sculpture, and paintings. And to top it off, the text is generally interesting without any mindnumbing pedantic nose-in-the-air commentary. I have been an architect for 25 years and have never stopped searching for a reasonably priced book of Baroque with high quality pictures and text. This is it.

The cover alone will stop you in your tracks, a magnificent photograph of the Hofburg Library in Vienna. Open the cover and you will find page after page of amazingly detailed color photos of architecture, sculpture, and paintings. And to top it off, the text is generally interesting without any mindnumbing pedantic nose-in-the-air commentary. I have been an architect for 25 years and have never stopped searching for a reasonably priced book of Baroque with high quality pictures and text. This is it.

This magnificent book will help you formulate what you want, from a personal style perspective. Truly brilliant and at the very top of the design world - typical of Terence Conran!

I would give this book 10 stars if I could. We're in the process of building our home, and trying to complete 3 stylish, functional bathrooms on a very tight budget. This book arrived just in time for us. "Just Add Water" is jam-packed with practical ideas that cover a wide range of styles, bathroom sizes and budgets. It's important, however, to read the text in this book and not just look at the beautiful coffee table-worthy photographs - otherwise, you may come away with the impression that the bathrooms shown in the book are only for those with very deep pockets. With a little imagination, it's possible to translate the practical ideas in this book to solutions that work in your own home.

The book tells you everything you wanted to know about fashionable beds, and includes great photography. I highly recommend it as bedtime reading or as coffe table adornment.

The book tells you everything you wanted to know about a fashionable beds and includes great photography. I highly recommend it as bedtime reading or as coffe table adornment.

I liked this book alot it showed how a beautiful home should be designed and decorated, it gave me many helpful hints on how to correctly use and colaborate things in my everyday life with design.

I enjoyed the book. I've been struggled with how to decorate some space and more important how to communicate with my decorator; we sat dwn and went thru this book together and it helped clarify my vision for my personal/private space.

I am in the final stages of building my dream home and just purchased this book. I only wish I had bought it sooner! This book gives me the confidence to blend my antiques with new surroundings. Diane displays a variety of styles that will withstand the test of time.

If you feel stumped for ideas on how to design a bedroom, and you have a limited budget, Bedrooms will help release you from that in-the-box mentality that you get from strolling through one too many furniture showrooms that encourage you to buy a complete bedroom set. Do not be fooled by the "(California Design)" in the title, this is not a book of California-esque bedroom design, rather, it's a book of interior design for the bedroom by a collection of California designers. The designs covered range from minimalist, to grand, to traditional, to just plain homey. Certainly, the numerous color photographs throughout represent people who, in most cases, probably spent a lot of money to have their bedrooms designed as shown, but it is not at all hard to imagine how to apply the same methods to your create own dream bedroom even with things you buy at a flea market.

From this book I learned that I could mix and match furniture, not just in the bedroom, but elsewhere, and utilize the eclectic "stuff" I already own to create a comfortable atmosphere. You will not find a step-by-step guide in these pages, rather you will find lovely photos and frequently asked questions covered such as: Should a TV be in a bedroom and how? What can one do with a small room? How can I create a romantic bedroom? How can one design a room that will not look dated too soon? What paint colors are best for a bedroom?

Aside from the design-ideas aspect of Bedrooms, I just enjoy looking at the photos for relaxation.

This is in regards to the 1997 edition that I won't buy until you get it so I can save money. OUTSIDE Midsummernights Dreaming Page 203 It had great ideas and was very helpful. I was Very impressed with the color coordination of the rooms. Thank you! It planned a beautiful 4 season room for the house.

This book is full of ideas for any decorating style. It shares suggestions with several examples for each. It's a great book when you just don't know where to start or if you want to get ideas for redoing a "decorated" room

See my review for the 1972 edition with Forward by Cleveland Amory. This book is a Must-Have for everyone interested in residential design.

Billy Baldwin Decorates is more than a how-to decorating book, although it is a very good one. Baldwin mingled with the wealthy and famous, yet while he name drops, he does it in a matter of fact way rather than a "I'm so cool I can name drop" way. He talks about and shows the work he did for Cole Porter, for instance. Yet despite the name dropping, he was also realistic about mixing luxury and practical living. If you like white walls, spare furniture, and "great rooms", this book is not for you. If you want to decorate a room to be comfortable yet stylish, then it is. Baldwin shows photos of rooms he designed. While some seem period 1960's, and were, others hold up very well. Baldwin also championed using small space effectively. He was very adept at dividing rooms into zones, even small ones, and uses his own one room apartment in Manhattan as an example. Rather than the less-is-more of recent small space design, Baldwin was adept at making rooms so comfortable that the small size didn't matter. He also wasn't ashamed of using inexpensive materials if he felt they seved the purpose well. In many ways, this book, while dated at times, has more to recommend it than recent books on the subject.

Brick is, Sovinski writes, "the real thing". Its applications in the landscape are seemingly endless, and the author takes us far beyond Jefferson' seprentine walls at the University of Virginia. The properties, specifications, designs, and other technical aspects of using brick are all carefully detailed. A glossary of brick terms and a list of metric standards for brick masonry are also helpful.

A new book on brick landscaping is out and it looks to provide useful guidance to designers. Brick in the Landscape covers applications such as walls, pavements, piers and steps all in one place. It is filled with photos and details which are sure to be useful for the designer. The book draws heavily from BIA's Technical Notes.

Brick in the Landscape discusses why to use brick in its introduction. It then proceeds to give a brief history of brick with a concise description of the manufacturing process. Brick sizes, types and shapes are described with accompanying photos. Applications of brick are well covered with pertinent information included to aid the designer. Finally, design considerations such as bond patterns, joint design and other special techniques are explained. Within each section a handy feature called "The Busy Designer's Quick Reference Guide" provides a summary of the preceding chapter.

Author, Rob Sovinski is a landscape architecture professor at Purdue University. No stranger to the masonry industry, every year he puts on the Boiler Brick Bowl. This past year he had over 50 students designing and constructing brick planters. This gets landscape architecture students learning early what brick can do.

this is an excellent book for people with an intrest in the history of bridge construction and their design from the roman times to the modern bridge with lots of black and white illustrations.anybody who likes bridges will like this book.

This reprints a 1929 classic in an unabridged presentation covering the design and construction of spans around the world, from wooden landmarks and classic restored medieval structures to covered bridges, stone structures, and modern (up to early 1900s, that is) creations. Chapters pack in many vintage black and white photos and diagrams to accompany a technical survey of bridge advancements and construction.

Her books on each country are so wonderful-not just for viewing the photos for decorating ideas, but to get an all-around feel for that particular country's lifestyle and how to create it yourself. These are not just your average home decorating books, they make an excellent read as well. You won't be disappointed.

If you're into swedish country, you have to get this book! It's been my decorating bible! I love the beautiful photographs, but the text is even better. It explains the origins and purpose of the color palette, flooring, furniture, window treatments, room layouts, fabric and accessories used in ths style. It also discusses the influence of King Gustav, Carl Larsson and Josef Frank. The only part of this book I don't find useful is the recipe section. Other than that, I use this book constantly! It stays on my coffee table so I can browse through whenever I want.