Book Description
Decorating is about being creative-being bold, taking a risk, trying something new. There's no right or wrong, only what works for you and your home.
Decorating Idea Book is filled with over 500 approachable ideas for every room in the house. To spark your own creativity and to help you create a home that reflects your personality, you'll find information on everything from room arrangements and furniture placement to choosing the right window treatments and showcasing treasured collectibles. From the floor to the ceiling and every space in between, Decorating Idea Book is your guide to creating a home that you love more and more every time you walk through the front door. "Fabulous. It works like a reference manual for homeowners and professionals alike."
--Lynette Jennings, creator and host of Lynnette Jennings Design
Customer Reviews:
Fun Ideas You Can't Keep to Yourself.......2007-08-16
There are so many ideas in this book that I've dogeared nearly every page, and my friends and coworkers will have to buy their own copies because I'm tired of lending it out!
Helps to visualize and plan!.......2007-04-12
My Decorating Idea Book has given me many ideas and good tips. It's on loan right now to a friend who just bought a house and is moving in! I will hopefully build later in the year, but I want to know what I want before I begin. This book has the information and pictures I need to help me make decisions! I like it!
A Fantastic book, covers all areas!!.......2006-07-01
I am currently pursuing a correspondence course in interior decorating and thought this book would help to augment my course materials. Well, my expectations were far exceeded, this book takes you step by step through the elements of design i.e. pattern, texture, scale,color, etc. Next, it outlines each area of home decorating with examples and suggestions, including great photos. Next, it takes you through each type of room and explains the purpose and the main considerations for decorating it. Great suggestions, examples!! I do not regret this buy.
Pictures, Yes! But Also Great Description of What You See.......2006-01-11
I've never understood how people could look at a room, then look at the thousands of items available for sale at everywhere from thrift shops and Wal-Mart to the expensive Antique malls and put it all together in a way that makes an otherwise stark room look so much better. Then, of course, there's the little matter of color. And you mean that the color of the walls might change to reflect, or go with, or contrast with the color of the major bits of furniture -- what a concept.
This book is billed as an idea book. That is, filled with pictures that show you what can be done. And it is indeed that. But more than that, here is a description of why this particular item of furniture, why this particular color was chosen for this particular place, this particular theme.
Ms. Paper, what a name for an author, has degrees in both interior design and in jornalism. And since no photographer is credited, I presume she was also the photographer for the four or five hundred pictures in the book. She brings a great insite into explaining what she is showing in these rooms. This is a great coffee table book as well as a book of ideas of how you might want to make your home look.
A wealth of gorgeous and practical suggestions for adding that special touch of vibrancy to their personal living space.......2005-11-03
The Decorating Idea Book offers the enterprising homeowner or apartment dweller a wealth of gorgeous and practical suggestions for adding that special touch of vibrancy to their personal living space. Full-color photographs on every page showcase the themes and coordination suggestions spelled out at length by the detailed text. Packed from cover to cover with innovative ideas for color, furniture, windows, walls, floors, ceilings, lighting, and storage, the Decorating Idea Book is an ideal resource for the "do-it-yourself" inclined who eschew paying out big money to professional decorators.
Book Description
One of the first things you do when you remodel or move into a new home is change the curtains. After all, new window treatments easily, quickly, and inexpensively transform a room. They turn an outdated room into one you want to spend time in, and they make a cold space feel warm and inviting. In the style of the best-selling Idea Books, Window Treatments Idea Book offers the latest ideas for decorating all types of windows, from standard to custom. More than 350 photos provide inspiration for all rooms in the house, from the kitchen to the bathroom, bedroom to family room and study. Recognizing that consumers also want to make easy enhancements to readily available window treatments and hardware, the inspiration is peppered with practical advice on how to quickly modify off-the-shelf window treatments and design tricks for hanging them. The breadth of information makes this book the one source homeowners need when picking out window treatments.
The authors' combined years of experience have allowed them to select photos of the most popular window treatment styles as well as to provide ideas for dealing with challenging windows--bays, bows, and the like. Unique features of the book include showing one window treatment style in three different looks and quick and easy ideas for instant style.
Whether you're looking to update an existing space or are starting from scratch in a new home or newly designed addition, you'll find all the inspiration and know-how you need to create the windows of your dreams.
Window Treatments Idea Book should be a goldmine for consumers because it shows so many styles of window treatments, particularly for large, odd-shaped, and custom windows so prevalent today, in photos. What the reader gets is a wide range of window treatments in the context of every room in the house. There is also a one-page reference in the front of the book that lists each room in the house with the page number of treatments that are shown in those room contexts.
Customer Reviews:
Great design idea source!.......2007-07-01
I am an aspiring interior decorator who has bought tons of window treatment idea books as well as countless magazines for window treatment inspiration. This book now ranks #1 among all my resources for design ideas! The pictures are gorgeous, the styles are numerous and the bonus is that not only do the pictures show great window treatment ideas, but the rooms themselves are equally stunning, giving lots of decorating ideas as well. And while this is not a how-to book, it does help you decide what type of treatmens are best for your particular window type. It also helps you decide, for example, how many pleats you should plan for a pleated valance based on your window size. The only caveat I would give is that it includes mostly traditional decor, including traditional window treatments. There are few examples of more modern, clean-lined treatments. But as my style runs mostly to traditional anyway, this does not bother me. Again, a great resource for design ideas for yourself and for your clients!
Your Window Treatment Resource.......2007-04-04
This book is full of ideas and great tips for time-saving steps when creating your new window treatments. Spectacular photography accompanies the brilliant ideas.
good idea book.......2007-02-12
I was hoping for more hands on advice, but it is a great book to get ideas for your windows, with lots of great pictures.
Great ideas, terrific photography.......2007-02-06
I first borrowed this book from our local library, and liked it so much I bought my own. The photos of window treatments in actual rooms make the styles more real than sketches of windows alone. Included are explanations of how the various styles are constructed, and also recommendations for when to use professional installation, 'store-bought' or easy 'do-it-yourself' steps. Practical advice for when to use and when not to use a particular window treatment is really valuable. Whether you like the full multi-layered luxurious treatments, or simple classic coverings, it's all here.
Superb Resource!.......2007-01-13
The treatments in your new book are fantastic! How on earth are you able to come up with such a large amount of photos that don't seem to repeat everything else out there? And I don't see a lot of treatments made from the same old patterns either. Bravo! Thank so much for a book that I can show to my clients without apology for outdated photos or chintzy styles.
Your photos are of quality treatments suitable for the best of homes!
Book Description
Tile has been transformed in the popular imagination from a pedestrian material to a sought-after design element. Home centers, specialty tile shops, and Internet sources offer the average homeowner an amazing range of mass-produced, handmade, and custom tile types made of materials including ceramics, natural stone, metal, and glass.
Organized by room, with chapters covering kitchens, bathrooms, living spaces, entries, and mudrooms, Tile Idea Book presents hundreds of photographs showing the effects created by all the major types of tile available today when installed in different settings: large rooms, such as kitchens, and small ones, such as bathrooms and entryways. It shows how color, pattern, and texture can be used to create special effects on floors and walls and provides specific information on how to recreate these effects. Also covered is the decorative use of tile in fireplaces and hearths, wainscoting, stairs, and halls, as well as in exterior settings such as terraces and patios.
Customer Reviews:
Great book for my customers!.......2006-04-10
The Tile Idea Book by Andrew Wormer is my favorite book to show to my customers when they're struggling with what they want to do design-wise for their next tile job. We flip through the pages and get great ideas for kitchens, bathrooms -- just about any space where tile is the answer. This book was a very good investment. Grout Girl
Amazon.com
As its name suggests, The Bathroom Idea Book is all about ideas. In fact, anyone who views the book's 400 color photos will have clearer ideas about what they absolutely love, simply appreciate and definitely detest in bathroom design. Andrew Wormer has done an excellent job of covering enough ground to make this book useful for both the do-it-yourselfer and the homeowner who wants to paint a clear picture for an architect or a builder. Just about every bathroom style and option is covered and beautifully photographed, from antique fixtures (pedestal sinks, clawfoot tubs), to modern luxuries (a shower with a bubbling footbath and eight adjustable body and hydromassage jets), to high-tech touches (a cascading waterfall shower digitally controlled by a thermostatic valve and 10 massaging body jets), to the low-frill and durable (installing an acrylic liner over your old, battered tub). The book would be even more useful if Wormer devoted additional space to the costs of the sometimes sensible, sometimes spacious and sometimes glorious bathrooms we see. He does offer a few paragraphs on general price ranges and helps the reader understand what drives up costs (moving fixtures and walls), but this book ultimately is about dreaming, not budgeting. Read it to imagine how your bathroom could look, then worry about the price. This is not to suggest that the book lacks helpful planning tips. Overhead drawings on many pages give you a sense of the rest of the bathroom that can't be captured in a photo. And Wormer offers options for one of the trickier challenges when trying to improve the most frequently remodeled room in the house--finding more space. Among his ideas is annexing space from an adjoining area, such as a closet or hallway. Readers of The Bathroom Idea Book will find that even if their dream bathroom isn't pictured, they will be able to mix-and-match and combine features from various photos to get a good idea of what they can do. --John Russell
Book Description
Today's bathrooms offer a quiet, private space in a hectic world. More money is being put into bathroom renovations, and this book, with a wealth of fresh ideas, shows how to rearrange bathroom components into a satisfying whole.
Customer Reviews:
Not Just a Picture Book.......2005-11-15
I enjoyed this book and felt it did provide good information, contrary to other comments and I felt it was well worth the money.
My mother is remodeling her bathroom and it gave us good ideas of what she liked and didn't like. I do agree with another writer that many of the most beautiful bathroom photographs were of "high-end" bathrooms, but I believe most anything can be modified to fit within a budget. The book was useful in providing the bones from which to work. I mean if marble is too expensive or is not your thing, then maybe travertine would be a less expensive option. I thought the book provided good info on things like sink placement, vanity and cabinet styles, flooring and even toilet options and shower head choices.
The only slight negative, is that the book I read was published in 1999 and did include some older style bathrooms, but I would expect that in a book that was six years old, so I didn't count off for that...just because I'm late in reading it. :-)
There were lots of informative sections in the book. On page 80, it talks about some of the differences in fiberglass vs acrylic showers/tubs. On page 95, there is some discussion about low flush toilets.
To me, the book title indicates exactly what this book provides "Bathroom Ideas", and I think the author delivered.
Even though most of the pictures don't have much detail about how to construct a particular type of bathroom or what foundation needs to already be in place, this book is not called Bathroom Construction and Remodeling. I think this book does a great job at explaining what you are looking at and includes corresponding numbering on the text and pictures. I found this book very useful and it provided just what I was looking for....ideas.
A Must See & Read for New Bathrooms or Bath Renovations!!!.......2003-05-11
An incredible amount of information with beautiful pictures of how to plan a new bath / shower OR how to update / remodel an existing bath....Hundreds of illustrations that can be incorporated into any bath depending on budget and desire...
great for the professional as well as the novice.......2002-12-06
This text has many wonderful photos to inspire the professional. It is also full of basic info homeowners can use. It is not too technical, but covers most of the features needed in a bathroom.
I gave it a star for every idea it gave me.......2002-09-29
That's why there are only two stars!
First idea, the shape of a single cupboard. The second idea, a way to add counter space over a toilet. That's it. I guess I could have gotten both from any other magazine on the shelf for a lot less than I paid for this silly picture book filled with pictures of _pieces_ of bathrooms. A more appropriate title would have been:
Bathroom Parts Picture Book
A guide to bathrooms for those who can't read.
The most I'll get from this book is the enjoyment my children will receive from cutting out the pictures for their paper dolls.
NO IDEAS.......2002-09-18
Being in the home improvement business, I felt odd needing ideas when it came time to upgrade the bathrooms in my own home. Perhaps making a living building the bathroom of everyone elses dreams helped to fog the picture of what I wanted my own to be. Taunton Publishing puts out a trade magazine that I swear by. So when I decided to purchase a book on bathrooms I thought I couldnt go wrong with this one. How wrong I was.
This book is little more than a collection of photographs of high end and ultra high end bathrooms. Here in my neck of the woods a complete bath renovation ranges in cost from between ten and fifteen thousand dollars for an average bath. Very few of the rooms displayed in this book would make that budget.
Aside from the introduction there is almost no text to assist the "reader" in understanding requirements or even necessaties pryor to planning a bath remodel. Perhaps the fact that I am in this line of work colors my opinion of the book, but if photos qualify as ideas, Id recomend picking up a few magazines on bath remodeling and get a fuller picture.
Book Description
The kitchen is the true heart of the home, and homeowners are spending a lot of time and money to make their old kitchens less utilitarian and more creative, a place where people can congregate as well as cook and enjoy good food. This book helps readers figure out what they really want and how to get it, whether its a contemporary, brushed-stainless workroom worthy of an upscale restaurant; a rustic, farmhouse-style great room with wood flooring and a couch; or an elegant, streamlined space for a small city apartment. For every style, for every budget, it's all here: new appliance technology and cabinetry, fixtures and faucets, doors and counter materials, sinks, pulls, built-ins, and bookcases. By using Taunton's New Kitchen Idea Book, homeowners can create the kitchen of their dreams - regardless of style or budget.
Customer Reviews:
A very good resource to show your designer.......2004-06-01
We bought this when we started thinking about a new kitchen and dining addition. It really was a big help to narrow down our choices. THere's nothing worse than feeling as if you know what you want but you can't explain it or you haven't seen a picture of it anywhere. This book has many photos of lots of different types of kitchens, not just one style or size. It isn't arranged kitchen by kitchen, and there aren't any floor plans. PHotos are shown part by part, cabinets, sinks, pantries, etc, so its handy to see all the sinks together. We have not started work on the kitchen yet but I can't wait!!
Book Description
Finally, the ultimate answer to But what will I do with this? Turn second-hand treasures into artful, eclectic design elements with Flea Market Finds: Instant Ideas and Weekend Wonders, the first book in a new series by Leisure Arts. Garage sale enthusiasts, thrift store devotees, consignment shop regularsanyone who loves the thrill of the hunt will discover new ways to creatively transform random finds into todays popular shabby chic dcor. With very little effort and a variety of found items, these simple ideas and unusual approaches will help flea market aficionados define a style that conveys their unique personality and enhances every room in the house.
Customer Reviews:
Ideas, Ideas, Ideas.......2003-01-29
I found a few ideas to try that I never would have tried prior. Not everything is for everyone, but most should be able to pick out one or two projects that pay in themselves for the cost of the book. I would have, however, appreciated more step - wise pictures and having the instructions with the item, instead of in the back of the book.
Wish I Had Thought of That.......2003-01-24
I have to admit, I actually borrowed this book from the library first to see if it was worth purchasing and it definitely is!! Great ideas on fairly easy projects that I can't wait to try. I'm no Martha Stewart, but I think I could actually DO most of the projects in this book. Very inspirational and the projects actually look NICE, not like grade school crafts. I recommend it!
Flea Market Finds: Instant Ideas & Weekend Wonders.......2003-01-22
On the positive side, the photographs are excellent. That's the only good news. This book does nothing but tell you how to make ... out of ... I'd return it if I could. The directions are sparse and usually say, use according to manufacturer's directions. Oh yea, I paid for that little tidbit. You have to be a moron not to have come up with anything in this publication.
Book Description
For scrapbookers looking to expand their craft, this guide is the perfect find, opening up new avenues to spark their creative drive. They'll find:
* Ways to use scrapbooking supplies to create amazing handcrafted cards for every occasion, from a new baby to the holidays
* A diverse spectrum of cards, appealing to a wide audience of tastes
* Projects utilizing common scrapbooking techniques, such as paper tearing, embossing, embellishing, and more
* Lists of necessary tools and materials for easy organization and planning
With 200 fun examples, along with step-by-step instructions for re-creating them, this book will have scrapbookers growing their skills and passions in new and exciting ways.
Customer Reviews:
love to craft.......2006-09-06
I am pleased I bought this book to add to my collection. The ideas are good and offers interesting suggestions to break our of your routine of making your usual cards. I have made and adapted a number of the cards and constanstly received rave reviews from the reciptants of my cards. Great buy, worth the money, have no problem recommending this book!
Card Making Review.......2006-03-20
This book is a great book with lots of colourful pictures to help you on your way or to help you mix and match. Paper sizes for the cards would have been a helpful addition for some of the cards. But all in all, a good book.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Decorating Ideas.......2007-05-13
This is a beautiful book that provides decorating ideas for many rooms in one's home.
Excellent SW decorating book.......2006-11-06
I have enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to others who are interested in the SW style.
Excellent Book.......2006-02-25
The photo's are wonderful especially if you're looking for ideas to decorate your house in southwestern style. That's what I am doing and I actually got some great inspiration from many of the photo's. I'll be honest, I bought it for the great photos and decorating ideas and I haven't actually read any of the text!
Wonderful inspirations.......2006-02-05
Moving from Florida to New Mexico is a learning experience. Styles of homes and furnishings are very different as one might expect in leaving the tropics for the desert.
This book gave me beautiful pictures to help in the transition and build a home with style. I highly recommend it for beautiful concepts in decorating and design and those who desire pictures to get creative juices flowing!
A wonderful book!.......2006-01-11
I love other people's homes because I get decorating tips, art suggestions, perhaps color ideas and room layout pointers for furniture. I also like other people's homes because I'm curious and I want to see where they live.
Shortly after our departure from Minnesota for the long, cold winter and our arrival in Arizona for the balmy sunshine, The New Southwest Home by Suzanne Picket Martinson arrived for review. It couldn't have been a more fortuitous arrival since, after five years in our current home, we are considering a move.
The New Southwest Home is a simply scrumptious book packed with room-by-room tours of stunning and uniquely innovative contemporary and traditional homes that marry style with environment. Whether you're looking for larger windows, unencumbered by coverings, to view the mountains, monastery front doors that signify strength and durability, or a traditional beehive fireplace for cozy warmth, there is something for everyone.
And since the Southwest conjures up visions of warm, neutral earth and desert colors there are many ideas, using that color palette, for the reader to experiment with. From the entryway where guests are invited in, to the heart of the home, the kitchen, and all rooms in between, there is beauty, ideas galore and a sense that Southwest living is a collaboration of beauty and function. The photographs are exceptional and add to the flavor and enjoyment of paging through the book, just for fun or for ideas for your own home.
Armchair Interviews says: The southwest style can be transported anywhere. It's not just for the southwest. Isn't that a fun thought?
Book Description
House Beautiful gives us an inside look at how interior designers create their magic. It's savvy, elegant, inspiring, and sure to equal the success of 750 Decorating & Design Ideas, which has sold nearly 65,000 copies.
Even those of us with great taste and a natural talent for decorating know that there are certain insider design skills and secrets accessible only to professionals with years of experience. House Beautiful: 750 Designer Secrets gives everyone access to this precious knowledge. This spectacular, expansive collection of more than 400 photographs leaves no doorknob unturned, as some of the country's most creative decorators reveal their design know-how. They'll help amateurs understand scale and proportion, as well as how to decorate with color and pattern, add atmospheric lighting, shape the shell, hang and showcase art, and fix up small spaces. There is ample advice on creating family-friendly areas, bedroom basics, smart storage, and outdoor rooms. Take advantage of House Beautiful's unrestricted pass to the world of interior design! A Main Selection of the Homestyle Book Club.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty pics, not much else.......2007-09-04
The book is lovely, but it could've been so much better if it had more desciptions of what you're looking at. Instead, it's full of little phrases that may be helpful, but they are also somewhat pithy. I wish I had purchased a couple of magazine subscriptions instead.
Informative and Inspirational.......2006-07-28
I love looking at House Beautiful books. I find the pictures to be inspirational. However, I usually don't think the text is very informative. I was pleasantly surprised to find House Beautiful 750 Designer Secrets to be an exception to the rule. It does contain beautiful photographs, but the "secrets" are useful and/or inspirational comments by designers. I have to admit I don't recognize the names of most of them, but I find the information to be consistent with other interior design/decoration books I have read. The quotes may not always be particulary earthshattering, but there were enough good ones to justify giving House Beautiful 750 Designer Secrets a 5. Out of 750 quotes you are bound to find something that is useful to you!
Now, just to give you a clear picture of what the book does and does not have to offer: no where is there a set of explicit instructions for how to incoporate the comments dirtectly to your home, but that is not the intention of the book. It is suppose to make you think for yourself how to add your own sense of style to your house. The book is set up so that there is a picture or two on a page and quotes by several different designers. The pictures illustrate the comments. I choose the following quotes because I thought that they are good advice and/or they made me rethink how I decorate my rooms.
"The most important thing is what you feel when you walk into a room." Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz
"Not interfering with views is decorating 101." Scott Salvator
"You don't need a lot of elements to create a dynamic effect." Jeffrey Marks
"Anchor a large room with a sense of symmetry." (quote from the author).
"I edit rigourously for scale, form, and color." Celeste Cooper
"Incorporate a common thread-such as a neutral color-to unify electric furnishings." Kelly Harmon
The one drawback to the book for some people might be that the pictures portray a similar style of decoration. If you like a mix of modern and antique, you will probably like the book, but those who like other styles, may or may not enjoy the pictures in the book. However, I think that the information given by the designers applies to any style.
Top designer secrets revealed.......2006-03-19
House Beautiful Magazine specializes in award-winning interior design presentations, so you know that when they lend their name to a collection, professionals are involved. Their top designers reveal secrets, provide room makeovers, and pack in over four hundred color photos from selected superior interiors. Utility blends with art in 750 DESIGNER SECRETS: EXCLUSIVE DESIGN IDEAS FROM THE PROS, which tells how to shape and tailor a design project for maximum efficiency and best visual results.
Book Description
More than 300 big, full-color photographs of stunning kitchens provide an encyclopedic resource of design ideas for homeowners, designers, and contractors. The kitchen designs presented here include award winning designs and fancy product showcases designed for many of the nation's leading manufacturers of cabinetry, countertops, windows, appliances, and floors. Many styles of kitchens are covered, from contemporary and country, to classic European looks, early American, retro, and art deco designs. Special needs are addressed for elderly and handicapped users, as well as design issues faced by families with young children. There are designs for people who entertain frequently, and for those who need the kitchen to serve every purpose--from home office to dining room, to laundry room. The book is designed as a reference library for the do-it-yourselfer, or as a bank of illustrations to share with a designer or contractor when seeking the right look for your old or new home. A reference guide at the back of the book lists manufacturers and designers ready and eager to help you on your way to creating the perfect heart for your home.
Customer Reviews:
are you thinking about remodeling your kitchen???.......2007-07-04
This book is provides a comprehensive view of dozens of kitchens, giving ideas and suggestions to apply to your environment. It was helpful in my final design of our new kitchen.
Full color up to date kitchen ideas!!!.......2001-08-13
This is the book we were searching for! It's loaded with pictures of up to date kitchen ideas. We are planning on redoing our kitchen and this book will be very helpful! I think it is well worth the price!
Books:
- Decorating with Books (House Beautiful)
- Design and Equipment for Restaurants and Foodservice: A Management View
- Dessert University: More Than 300 Spectacular Recipes and Essential Lessons from White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier
- Digital Color Management: Encoding Solutions
- Eames Design
- East Coast Rooms: Contemporary Portfolios from 40 north American Interior Designers
- Estimating in Building Construction (6th Edition)
- Family Houses by the Sea
- French by Design
- Furniture 2000: Modern Classics and New Designs in Production (Schiffer Design Book)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
- Lean on Me: 10 Powerful Steps to Moving Beyond Your Diagnosis and Taking Back Your Life
- 1000 Record Covers
- Business Agility: Strategies For Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Mobile Business Solutions
- E-Myth Mastery: The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company
- History: Fiction or Science
- Greek Islands
- 2001 Miller Compilations & Reviews
- Born to Belonging: Writings on Spirit and Justice
- Tears of the Giraffe: More from The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
General
| Interior Design
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
The New Smart Approach to Home Decorating (New Smart Approach)
Color Schemes Made Easy (Better Homes & Gardens)
Trim Idea Book
Use What You Have Decorating : Transform Your Home in One Hour With Ten Simple Design Principles -- Using the Space You Have, the Things You Like, the Budget You Choose
The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors
