Book Description
-Aimed at the fastest-growing segment of the how-to market: gardening landscaping.
Customer Reviews:
The complete guide to creative landscape.......2007-05-14
This is a great book with so many very well illustrated projects. I have just built a new home and am beginning to landscape my 4 acres I find this book very useful. All the projects are described in great detail with lots of pictures. Thanks L. Rocha
It can't be replaced!!!.......2006-05-15
I bought this book over a year ago. I've read through each project a dozen times. I love about 94% of them. Our house sits on a lot that is ~ 100 feet x ~ 120 feet. I was going to get crazy this spring and summer with a new patio, arbor, and several garden areas.
Sometime a couple of months ago, my book disappeared. I have searched nearly every square inch of our attic and basement, in addition to every closet, underneath every bed, and even in the garage. My wife has looked as well, but to no avail.
I'm 32 years old, and losing this book has nearly made me cry on at least four occassions. It's that good.
Our library doesn't have it. None of the hardware stores in town have it. We have one bookstore in town - and they don't have it. Last weekend, I finally broke down and bought two other books, thinking that by doubling up it would somehow take away the pain of losing my B&D Creative Landscapes book.
It hasn't worked.
I'm purchasing another copy on line this afternoon. There are just too many things in the book that I can't find anywhere else. It's nothing that difficult, but they do such a great job of making things easy to follow, and each project gives you ideas for three more.
Buy the book. Buy two copies. And be sure to hide one in your drawer where no one can take it.
Great Book.......2002-05-12
This book is so well layed out. I give this book 5 stars because it has excellent descriptions and pictures. I built the terra cotta fountain in the book and I love it so much.
Not bad depending on what you are looking for.......2002-01-13
This book is great as general advice. There are SO MANY different projects though that there is not a great level of detail on any one. Just enough of an overview and "how-to" to make you feel comfortable about taking some of these projects on for yourself or answering those questions that always used to make you go "Hmmmmm." Still, for a first time homeowner it will give you a lot of ideas and confidence to start making plans.
great book!!.......2000-10-28
I have been in the search of a home for months now and the one thing I kept telling myself was that when I finally bought it, I would also buy this book. I looked at lots of books at Home Depot, B & N, etc. but this is one of the best and most creative landscaping books I have found. So today, knowing that I have a home and YARD that I can call my own, I am buying it!!
Book Description
The Complete Guide to Flooring is the only truly comprehensive flooring book available, combining information on using flooring as a design element with complete step-by-step instructions for installing virtually any type of flooring-classic standards to the newest materials. The book covers ceramic tile, terrazo, natural stone, terra cotta, hardwood, wood laminate, floating plank, carpet, vinyl sheet, resilient tiles, cork, carpet tiles, leather, and the new plastic laminates. In addition, readers will learn how to repair problems with all types of flooring, how to soundproof and insulate floors, how to refinish hardwood floors, and how to create decorative paint finishes on wood floors. Flooring is one of the most visible finish surfaces in a home, and serves to unify the entire interior design. With this in mind, The Complete Guide to Flooring opens with an exciting idea section that shows the many ways in which flooring can enhance the appearance and function of a home. Following this is a chapter that introduces all types of flooring, discussing their merits and limitations. Next, a planning section shows all the preliminary steps-measuring, removing old flooring, evaluating and repairing the subfloor, estimating and ordering flooring. Then comes the heart of the book-complete instructions on how to install all types of flooring, with complete, easy-to-understand, step-by-step details. With no aspect of home flooring left unexamined, The Complete Guide to Flooring is destined to become a home improvement classic.
Customer Reviews:
Too simplistic.......2007-07-27
I've bought this book for my laminate floor project. The book turned out to be a disappointment: it gives no more information than I found on a leaflet from a laminate crate. With great details and pictures it explains very basic things, like it targeted for a 6-years old doing his school science project. But it omits really important details and nuances: how to calculate a layout so you wouldn't end up with the 1-inch wide last row, where to use which molding and how to install it, and so on. And if some unexperienced and not technically-inclined person starts his project using only this book, he very quickly may find himself in the troubles, with lot of materials and time wasted.
Floor guide.......2007-05-13
This is a great book for the do it yourself person. Great full color pictures. Complete step by step details on how to do a particular job. Have looked at several books like this and the Black and Decker book was tops. Not only does this book give you step by step instructions for a project, it also gives you a list of items needed prior to starting project. FYI I am fenmale and feel I can do any floor job with the aide of this book.
Helpful.......2007-01-05
I'm a novice DIYer and new homeowner of an old place, and I like to get all the help I can before talking to experts. This helped me get informed on some flooring options, and was certainly helpful with illustrating to my carpenter what I wanted in different areas of my current renovation project. I probably would rate it higher if I've had the chance to do the work myself, but that's for later.
Great flooring book.......2005-05-25
I've only helped a neighbour lay a wooden floor before so I needed all the help i could get. This book is informative with good pictures and ideas. It details everything from the tools you need to the different types of flooring and how to lay them
I now feel confident to embark on purchasing and laying my own wooden floor. Highly recommended for a beginner
Something To Stand On.......2004-04-28
I suspect that one of the most insane decisions in my life is deciding to redo my kitchen - on my own. This makes all kinds of practical sense, given what labor costs. But I am incorrigibly un-handy. But in a fit of pseudo-parsimony (you never really save any money doing something yourself - you just buy tools instead of labor) and a determination to recover my macho I have sailed into the unknown of plumbing, cabinetry, plastering, tiling, and, worst of all, flooring.
No sooner did it become obvious that replacing the floor was inevitable than I realized that I was completely clueless about what to use and how to go about it. Of course there is no lack of people who will tell you what they would do, but this is one of those things that you live with forever and it needed to be wholly what I wanted. At this point I scanned the shelf of the local handyman's heaven and found this little cheery volume.
For the most part it's quite practical. Chapters on planning, design, and preparation nurse you through the start up and dreaded removing of the old floor stages. Then there are chapters on hardwood floors, ceramic and stone floors, resilient flooring, and carpeting. More follows on finishing and repair. More than enough to answer the basic questions of how to close the knowledge gap and make a sensible decision about how to proceed.
There are countless photos, and the writing style is clear, even if it is a bit dull. Of course, dull is a good thing when making a major household change. One gets excited when the day is over and the job done, not by unexpected drama in the kitchen. This seems as good a reference as any I've seen, and covers far more than I ever wanted to know. I expect that someday soon my cats will be walking on something entirely new. Complaining as they go, of course.
Customer Reviews:
An interesting read that is VERY useful.......2006-08-11
I bought this book to help me decorate a house I recently purchased. It has given me several ideas that I hadn't thought of. I love the way Mary Gilliatt delves into a brief history of each room before sharing her thoughts on them. It helps put her ideas into perspective. This is a very well written book with some beautiful pictures and ideas. I recommend this book for anyone interested in decorating as well as any ammateur decorators out there!
Breathtaking ideas, styles and color schemes.......2003-09-15
Mary Gilliatt's Complete Room By Room Decorating Guide is a captivating interior decorations guide which offers both amateur and professional interior designers a wealth of tips, tricks, and techniques for sprucing up and adding unique individual touches to every corner of the home. Full-color photographs taken by Andreas von Einsiedel of breathtaking ideas, styles and color schemes fit well with Mary Gilliatt's thoughtful and inventive advice stressing balance and attention to detail. Mary Gilliatt's Complete Room By Room Decorating Guide is a thoughtful and thought-provoking contribution to Interior Design reference collections and reading lists.
Book Description
Instilling a cultivated taste for all authentically creative furniture! From ancient Greece and Rome, through medieval times, and up to the present day, domestic furniture has been an integral part of civilization, and its study reveals much about our history and culture. This classic guide to furniture styles discusses the development of domestic furniture in Europe, America, and China, detailing the great periods of French and English furniture from the Renaissance through the Empire and Regency periods. Furniture from every age is represented in over 600 photographs of pieces from major collections throughout the world. The book's highly readable style and extensive coverage make it a valuable resource for interior designers.
Customer Reviews:
Found book arrangement difficult.......2005-04-27
A College textbook or reference-type book. Comprehensive--fine print. Seemed a good read, but I didn't like the set-up. All text was in the front, and the examples and photos were grouped in the back. One would need to flip back and forth to view examples of the subject matter. Didn't work for me.
This is the only reason I gave it a low rating, and returned the book.
The Complete Guide to Furniture Styles.......2003-01-28
As a college educator in the history of architecture, furniture and the decorative arts I think the Boger is a very good overall text both to students and interested others. Information on furnitre prior to Gothic is the weakest, and would reccomend other texts to satisfy those needs. Photographic reproduction quality in some instances barely passable.
Great book for a history of furniture styles!.......2001-03-01
I have to disagree with the previous reviewer--this book is FILLED with pictures in the back half of the book. The pictures are disappointingly all black and white, but it keeps the cost down I suppose. This is the best resource for visual identification of styles from Egyptian through Twentieth Century that I have seen, and I have seen quite a lot of them. The front half of the book is very detailed information about each of the styles as well as specific pieces within each style. It's not something you can read from cover to cover, as the details would quickly overcome you. But it is a wonderful reference book for anyone who wants to be able to look up a particular style, read about it, and look at many pictures to visually understand general characteristics of the style.
Good written description of history and style.......2000-06-09
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO FURNITURE STYLES is a well written guide to the history of different periods of furniture. It states the history of the period and crucial pieces with a description of the piece. There are very few pictures, so if you are looking for a guide to train your eye to note characteristics of period pieces, this will not help you. If you are looking for a written description of the pieces, this book is for you.
Book Description
The complete guide to choosing and installing floors.
Wall-to-wall carpet is no longer the only option for cost-conscious or do-it-yourself home decorators.
The Flooring Handbook reveals the extensive variety of flooring options available today that can add function, beauty and comfort to any area of a home.
Packed with practical information,
The Flooring Handbook is a comprehensive reference that provides the latest in flooring materials and methods. This book describes the benefits of the basic flooring types in three broad categories: hard, semi-hard and soft, including:
- Hardwood
- Ceramic
- Tile
- Carpet
- Cork
- Linoleum (looking nothing like you remember it)
- Laminates
- Slate, stone and marble
- Leather, felt, rubber and steel
Detailed step-by-step instructions and illustrations show how to lay different types of flooring under various circumstances. Color photographs of finished rooms demonstrate how various materials work to the best effect in a home.
The Flooring Handbook is a comprehensive reference for designers, decorators and homeowners -- whether doing it themselves or hiring a professional.
Customer Reviews:
Good overview.......2007-01-17
This book provides a very good overview of the different types of flooring. It also provides some useful tricks. I recently installed 17'x17' hardwood bamboo floor for a friend whose house is on a slab. We had to install a vapor barrier and if you read this book you'll notice that the author and the references are generally from the UK. So if you walk into a flooring distributor and ask for some of the products Jeffries mentioned, you will get some weird looks. But the trick about using tape to hold the boards while the glue dried was invaluable.
An Excellent Resource.......2006-04-10
We're refinishing our hardwood flooring and adding laminate to the playroom downstairs, but I wanted to do some research before spending any money. I checked out several books on flooring from the library, and this was the only one that was so thorough I immediately went out and purchased my own copy. Not only does it cover hardwoods and laminates, it covers just about every flooring material you can imagine (leather, rubber, cork, bamboo, etc.). Every material gets a solid description, several pictures, a list of pros and cons, and installation instructions. Also, a big chart in the front tells you which floors can be installed yourself and which need professional installers. It also gives number ratings for the difficulty of the task (should you take it on yourself) and for how much you can expect to spend in comparison with other flooring materials.
This book is simply the definitive resource on the subject.
A comprehensive guide.......2005-10-10
This is an excellent book, by far the best I have ever bought on flooring maintenance and installation (I wish I had bought this one first). This book offers great comparisons of different types of materials, well written and simple instructions on how to install them and advice on when to get a professional if your an amatuer such as myself. This book is a great resource and will help you make an informed decision if your putting in a new floor, whether you do it yourself or not.
Book Description
Window top treatments - swags, valances, and cornices - are very popular DIY home-decor projects. Quick and easy to sew, they soften and finish off a window and often are combined with blinds, curtains, or drapes. The Complete Photo Guide to Window Top Treatments is the only book that tells how to choose the right style and construct it step by step. Color photographs show twenty top treatments in a variety of room settings, fabrics, and decorative hardware.
Each window treatment has detailed, step-by-step instructions for measuring the window, calculating yardage, cutting, sewing, and installing.
Following in the tradition of CPi's Windows with Style and Creative Window Treatments, The Complete Photo Guide to Window Top Treatments launches a new how-to series of window decor books.
Customer Reviews:
A How To Book.......2007-07-15
I combined several books for both ideas and how to guides. Window Top Treatments is an excellent resource for a nice variety of ideas, many of which are classic window treatments, but the how to instructions are definitely worth the purchase.
To Treatments.......2006-07-28
Very nice book with easy to follow instructions. Great photos. I haven't made anything yet, but I have looked through the book. I can't wait to get started.
Book Description
No matter how beautifully decorated a room is, it doesn't matter if no one can see it. Interior designers know the importance of good lighting placement, because it is the key that can literally transform a home. Although correct lighting placement is this book's central theme, it goes much further to discuss everything from basic lighting principles and practices to new technologies, issues of energy efficiency, and new trends in computer automation, followed by a practical guide for analysis and planning, execution, and installation, offering creative solutions to a wide range of illumination issues.
While the information is oriented to a professional design audience, the practical information and advice is just as useful to do-it-yourselfers and homeowners who take on their own lighting projects.
Each topic includes a visual guide and the author even includes room-by-room lighting strategies. Full-color photographs of interiors and drawings illustrate detail and specifics of placements and design features.
Customer Reviews:
Basic Principles... Advanced Application.......2007-01-15
While this book is less How-To and more Inspiration, it is a great book for both the home owner and the home planner. It focuses on basic lighting principles (which are useful for anyone trying to properly light their home) illustrated through advanced lighting applications (architectural elements and features incorporated during the planning, building, or renovating of a home).
It illustrates lighting techniques for each room in the home with emphasis on different areas of the room that require different kinds of lighting. Lighting for both day and night, and a special section on exteriors, are explored.
The examples and illustrations in this book are from homes where lighting design was considered in the initial construction, and money and resources were apparently not an object. While unattainable, they are inspirational.
For those of us who don't own our home, or cannot remodel (due to financial, zoning or other restrictions) this book provides some basic lighting principles that are still useful and applicable when lighting a home. In general, there are three levels of lighting to complete any room:
1. Ambient lighting-an indirect light that provides overall illumination
2. Task Lighting-focused light for work spaces (ie-kitchen counters, desk-tops, bedsides, reading chairs, etc.)
3. Accent lighting-any light used to draw attention to a featured object (art, sculpture, architectural elements)
Thought the examples are not really anything you could achieve in your own home, it gives you ideas on how to incorporate these types of lighting for both day and night, and interior and exterior.
The book title really says it all.......2007-01-06
With this book, there is truth in advertising. I'm an architect and I do a lot of resdential design. I've found this book to be quite useful and would recommend it to archtects and contractors that build on spec.
Book Description
With 15 easy to follow, fabulously illustrated step-by-step projects, this is just what the beginning upholsterer needs. The first eight items--including a drop-in-bottom chair, overstuffed seat, and box cushion--teach the fundamental techniques required to tackle any upholstery task that might arise. After that, it's time to get more creative, with a beautiful Art Deco armchair, chaise longue, leather chesterfield, and more. Each project includes a list of tools and materials, a quick overview of the key skills, and tip boxes to make the work go more smoothly.
Customer Reviews:
Love this book!.......2007-09-23
This is an excellent resource for beginners and experts alike! Great photos and step by step instructions.
Beautifully photographed step-by-step instructions.......2006-12-04
This book directs the reader through several projects, beginning with a very simple one to one that is quite complicated. Covers a wide range of techniques, and displays each step quite clearly with many good photographs. The book is particulary valuable for upholstering antique pieces with materials similar to what would have been original to the piece. There is not a piece of foam used in any of the projects. Some upholsterers find that the vegetable fiber is more difficult to smooth out than foam, particularly for the inexperienced student. But if you want to see traditional techniques beautifully illustrated, this is the book for you.
Great book, with great photographs. .......2006-05-24
I have an old leather chesterfield couch that needs to be repaired in sections. I have no doubt that this is going to be a great help. The projects are all step by step with great color photographs. It also goes over all the tools needed. If my project turns out half as nice as the pictures I will be thrilled.
Book Description
Like its predecessor, Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking-containing Finishing, Sharpening, and Using Woodworking Tools-is a broad, general reference for shop practices and proven know-how. With over 2,400 photographs, it is a complete resource that will appeal to all woodworkers.
Customer Reviews:
Lots of information.......2007-01-26
Taunton has a knack of putting a lot of information in a nice format. These books are NOT for taking to the shop and following along but they are good books for reference in the shop.
Book Description
Homeowners spend hours staring at color swatches at their local paint stores. How can they make sure that colors that look great on a 2 x 2 square of paper will also look great on the walls of their favorite rooms?
This is the book for every home decorator who's never painted before and for those who swore they'd never paint again. Written by professional paint color consultant Bonnie Rosser Krims, this is the foolproof guide to choosing the best color scheme for every room, the first time, every time.
Krims unveils 40 new color recipes, all chosen from top manufacturers and tested in the homes of real clients. She walks readers through rooms painted bright, neutral, and everywhere in between, and provides tools and tips for getting exactly the look you want.
Like having a professional paint consultant in your home, this user-friendly guide can make anyone an instant color expert—and every room a showcase by offering simple, no-nonsense decorating guidelines that will help you reevaluate, reorganize, and revitalize every room in your home.
Customer Reviews:
indeed helpful.......2006-11-06
This is a very nice book. It gives you ideas of shades and colors. It also gives various scheme options of how you would want to color each room.
Helpful book.......2006-05-25
I found the book to be helpful, but I would have liked more "color recipes". There were ideas for all types of rooms.
Vibrantly Colored Rooms.......2006-02-04
This book has good, clear photos and include the paint brand (Glidden, Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams) and color number. Always helpful when you are trying to match colors. Most of the rooms are very vibrant in color and the rooms are decorated in a mostly traditional style. Very nice book if you like vibrant colors, but my taste leans to a more subdued color palette.
THIS BOOK GIVES OUT THE COLOR NUMBERS!.......2005-01-08
I have looked at a lot of home decorating books for help with my paint colors. Many have lovely photographs, but not a one of them gives you the paint color numbers that you see on the walls of the photographed rooms, EXCEPT THIS ONE. I couldn't believe it. I was still nervous going into the paint phase, not knowing whether the colors would look as good on my walls as they do in the book. Well, let me tell you, they look even better! I am as pleased as punch. If you don't want to look through paint chips, try this book.
Disappointing.......2004-10-06
This book was a disappointment to me. Ms. Krims is certainly talented--but in a sort of loud and juvenile way, at least for my tastes. My wife said it best, after flipping through the book: This looks like what you do when you are in college, trying to disguise an ugly room. The book lacks subtlety. Her color palettes for the most part are too loud for my tastes--and I like color (I have a mango kitchen and apple green office). I agree with my wife: most of her color schemes would work best to disguise an ugly space or to distract the viewer from cheap furniture or some other bad feature in the room. I can't imagine using many of her color palettes in designing a room with great architectural features or a room that will be filled with beautiful furniture. Also, if you are looking for theory, this book has scant if any of it. This was not what I was looking for.
Books:
- The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair: With 350 Projects and 2300 Photos (Black & Decker)
- The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492 (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation) (Lockert Library of Poetry in ... (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation)
- The English Room
- The Fashion Book
- The Mermaid Chair
- The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life
- The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't
- The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live
- The Paint Effects Bible: 100 Recipes for Faux Finishes
- The Rose That Grew From Concrete
Books Index
Books Home
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General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Black & Decker: The Complete Guide to Home Masonry (Black & Decker Home Improvement Library)
The Complete Guide to Kitchens: Design, Plan & Install a Dream Kitchen (Black & Decker)
The Complete Guide to Landscape Construction: 60 Step-by-step Projects for Creating a Perfect Landscape (Black & Decker)
The Complete Outdoor Builder: From Arbors to Walkways: 150 DIY Projects (Black & Decker)
The Complete Photo Guide to Outdoor Home Improvement (Black & Decker Outdoor Home)
