Interior Design Books

Many books explain feng shui and tell how to apply it to your home. This one approaches it differently. The reader chooses from topics such as: ways to reduce stress or overcome the emotional trauma of death and divorce or support parenting. Then the book provides feng shui tips for issues in that category.
In the parenting section, it tells how to deal with a child's fear of monsters and overactivity in children.
There are sections that might not apply to you, but everyone is sure to find some help for problems in their home layout, colors, etc. that feng shui can improve.

I bought this book as a present for a friend who renovates homes, but I had to buy another as I didn't want to give it away.
The photography in this book is simply amazing, and the designs are stunning. Most of the houses are contemporary in design, and the fitouts are superb. The architects names are also included if you want to contact them, a very nice touch indeed.

There is something for every person interested in design in this book.

A compilation of projects ranging from the creation of glittery vases, unique button-made handbags, blue jean rugs, and flat pebble chess boards, to fancy stools, personalized jewelry, creative frames, and original lampshades, "200 Creative Crafts For You & Your Home" is a cornucopia of fun and easy do-it-yourself projects, each of which is illustrated by full-color photography, step-by-step instructions, and drawn from experts throughout the field of craft hobbies. The projects range from needle felting, sewing, crocheting, beading, and painting, to collage, paper crafting, boondoggling, and more. "200 Creative Crafts For You & Your Home" is enhanced with extra tips, a variety of techniques, and thoroughly 'user friendly' examples. Offering a wealth of imaginative ideas for using readily found items from around the home and/or easy-to-find objects from craft stories and the internet, these are projects that will appeal to teens and adults alike, "200 Creative Crafts For You & Your Home" is enthusiastically recommended for personal and community library Crafts & Hobbies reference collections.

I bought this book for decorating ideas, and it was really useful. But what I really love most about this book is the old pictures. It's got all these old bathroom ads of what what spiffy in bathroom design way back when. The pastels of the early years. Then the wild avocado green and tiger lily yellow. Outrageous!

The thirty seven hotels featured in this book have been selected to illustrate the exciting trend that has come about in recent years to build hotels that stretch beyond the utilitarian hotels of old to reach new heights of style. Most of these new hotels have been designed for a close, harmonious fit to their surroundings. This is particularly striking in some of the hotels built in mountain or desert locations.

Other hotels built in cities for instance, do not have unduely striking exteriors but make up for it by the attention paid to the design of the interior areas both public and in the individual rooms.

The selected hotels are scattered widely around the world, showing that such design is not restricted to one locale or even to one continent.

Seven of the hotels might be considered to be the design experiments, where the basic structure or use of the building stretches design to the limits. These are not your basic Motel 6 designs.

25 Tropical Houses In Indonesia showcases architecture adapted not only to the needs of the user, but also the environmental and climate issues of daily life in the tropics. Full-color photography on virtually every page as well as black-and-white diagrams reveal structural and visual approaches, while the text describes at length the details of each house's unique features for lay readers and professional architects alike. Houses range in size and appearance from lofty to neo-cubist to resembling a cathedral. A majestic coffee-table book that wondrously captures the spirit of Indonesian architecture.

Start with three basic rules:
1. Get your background colors and wall and window treatments in place
2. Next, add the large ticket furniture items.
3. Finally, throw in a few (emphasis on FEW) key accessories.
Okay, so that's the basic premise and you really can't go wrong if you stay focused on these key features. After that, you can "tinker" with the rules to fit your own style.
What makes this book work so well are several things: color photos that show how the basics can be varied, depending on room and designer, updated styles and a solid premise. A lot of bang for the buck!

500 Colour Ideas for Small Spaces is a very good book, I really recommend it for those who are decorating their own houses. For every color the book brings thousands of home ideas, in great images.

For professionals, the book brings good ideas, but it's not technical enough. It's more about images.

Ruth Hanisch's ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! ARCHITECTURE AND FASHION draws designers and architects under one cover to survey their influences on retail merchandising. Fashion stores are the focus here, with pages of interior color photos accompanied by essays delving into the new functions - and new display requirements - of modern buildings, which often houses fashion showroom, haute couture salon, and design studios alike. Fashion manufacturing can be dirty and need special surroundings, too: fashion's varying and changing needs are the focus.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book contains plenty of examples related to the authors standpoint on Universal Design. While most books on Universal Design are about the accessibility in the space, this books is dealing with lot about the things. On top of everything, the authors use easy, straightforward vocabulary, so the book is helpful not only for the experts but novices, too. Strongly recommend to the students who study universal design as well as design professionals who actually perform their ability to designing 'something for the world'