4 comments about The Pocket Renovator: Kitchens, Bathrooms, and Home Renovation.

1. Written by a mother and daughter team, this like their earlier book, The Pocket Decorator, was born out of necessity. Leslie was totally remodeling her condo and wanted to know and use the correct terms when talking with the various craftsman.
   
   Designed for anyone remodeling, renovating or building, this book is a tremendous resource. The terms are listed alphabetically to allow easy access.
   
   I loved their tips for "smooth sailing" when working with construction people. Their suggestion is to work as a team as much as possible with architect, builder and designer. They suggest you learn the symbols used on a design plan so you understand what is being done and where.
   
   Not only do we learn a term, each has an illustration-and when relevant, we can read about its history and how the word was derived.
   
   Do you know the different between undermounted and drop-in sinks? I do now. Each has a different look and demands certain know-how when being installed. What do you know about toilet heights, shapes and flush/water efficiency?
   
   The chapters cover construction issues like cabinetry and built-in furniture, interior layouts, kitchen, baths and vital systems like heating, cooling, etc.
   
   The authors also added four newly important areas: green design, safe and healthy home, financing and real estate transactions.
   
   I found the safe and healthy house interesting as it covered the toxic things in our homes like lead, carbon monoxide, asbestos, mold and radon, as well as smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
   
   This writing team is very thorough. If it isn't in this book, I wonder if the average homeowner really needs it.
   
   The Pocket Renovator would make a great gift for yourself and anyone who is buying their first home, building a new one or remodeling/renovating. Carry the book with you in case someone uses an unfamiliar building term.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: With The Pocket Renovator, you will have the answer at your fingertips.



2. First off, do not buy this book if you are looking for a how to book. This guide is not intended to show you how to complete a project. It is intended to show you, the average homeowner, with little or no construction experience what materials and techniques are available to do projects around the home. The authors cover a broad range of subjects, but not in depth. This book will enable you to communicate more effectively with your architect, builder or home improvement contractor.They cover alot in 200 pages, however there is so much to know in this field, that you could spend 200 pages alone on one subject such as fireplace techniques. However, for its intended purpose I rate it 5 stars.



3. An extremely useful reference guide for navigating the jargon of renovation and construction. A visual dictionary, the book helps you figure out what it is you're looking for by matching illustrations with terminology. Now, when your contractor asks whether you want your new sink to be drop-in or undermount, you'll understand what he means. The entries frequently contain useful guidance points and tips, though that's not the primary point of this book. I really enjoyed the Pocket Decorator, this team's previous book, and am glad to see they've pulled off another success.



4. This is a wonderful resource to have on hand when experiencing all aspects of a home renovation. To be able to speak the same language as your contractor is priceless, and to understand what he is talking about makes all of the difference. Built-ins, cabinetry, bathroom and kitchen projects, etc. are all addressed in this handy book. The book includes all sorts of vocabulary previously foreign to me, and is written in a refreshing, accesible style. Would be a great gift too.

No comments about Mexican Architects: A Contemporary Vision (Mexican Architects).

1 comments about Empire Stylebook of Interior Design: All 72 Plates from the "Recueil De Decorations Interieures" with New English Text (Dover Books on Architecture).

1. The authors, who lived from the 1760s `til the mid-1800s, met in or after art school, and created what came to be known as the First Empire Style of design. It's described as neoclassical, influenced by Greek, Roman, and most especially Egyptian elements. The book covers the gamut of design elements, from elegant chandeliers to whole room treatments. After a brief introduction to the Dover edition, and an essay by the authors, the book is all line drawings with explanatory notes at the end.
   
   There's nothing here that would be useful in anything smaller than a palace, and only then if you would be comfortable living on a movie set from an early talkie version of Cleopatra. If you like to use Empire style elements in your furniture design - which is why I bought the book - this won't help you. The target audience here would be a small niche of historical architecture buffs or museum staffs.

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5 comments about The Provencal House: Architecture and Interiors.

1. Wow, what a gorgeous book. We look at it again and again for indoor and outdoor inspiration. You will be completely delighted by this book which captures golden light!



2. Pure and simple, for most of us PROVENÇAL HOUSE is a coffee table book filled with exquisite detail found in several dozen homes in the south of France. Author, Joanna Thornycroft, has classified the structures Andreas Von Einsiedel photographed into `Town', `Manor' or `Country' houses. Short on text and long on photos, the premise of this publication seems to be a picure is worth a thousand words. Beginning with houses in the French Rivera and ending with Le Murier in hameau das Auvis, the author takes you on a trip through the land painted by Van Gogh and Pagnol.
   
   Some of the homes are "simple" cottages, others the more ornate domains of the landed gentry or super-rich movie star. My favorite shots were taken in gardens, and show flowers, pots and rustic gates across cobblestone walkways that lead to the lane or another room of the garden. Small details such as a decorative window latch covered with several centuries of paint, delft-like kitchen tiles, and a rooster weather vane, remind me of the land of the Cathars-those God-fearing people who lived in this land that once harbored them as heretics who may or may not have been far from God but who must have understood how blessed life can be when the sun shines.
   
   Architects may get some ideas from the recessed windows, the red tiled roofs, the stucco blue walls, and the marble bathroom fixtures, but the fabric-lined antique china cabinets, and nifty little accent touches in the various rooms depicted so lovingly make this book a must for interior designers and others seeking the "look" of Provence.



3. I can be critical of design and house books after seeing so many, so it's a relief to finally be able to give a book five stars. The photographs are authentic and detail everything from interior to exterior, including gardens. The essence of French provincal style is captured and distilled here. The writing is clever and concise, although you'll hardly notice it because the pictures are so brilliant. This is an essential book if you're trying to capture the French provencal look in house design or interior design. This book gives you an authentic source reference.



4. I'm an architect with the task of designing a "French" style home. This is one of several books I ordered to use as references. The appeal of this book for me is that it includes exterior architecture, interior design/decor, & gardens/landscapes. It is extensively illustrated with color photos & captions (my kind of book...). I can't critique the text because I have not yet had time to read it. But I can't get enough of the pictures!



5. I picked this book up from the table of new releases at a local bookstore, sat in a chair, and didn't move except to turn the pages for the next 90 minutes. In more than 200 color photographs, The Provencal House explores the beauty of 16 Provencal homes - interior and exterior details, uses of color playing off the landscape, curves and arches and doorways. It's a beautiful celebration of an architectural way of life rooted in the land and its traditions.

2 comments about Living Spaces: A Complete Home Decorating Sourcebook.

1. Loved this book. Very helpful and found some good ideas. Photographs are well done and well chosen.



2. Offers clean crisp ideas for people like myself who are clueless to decorating. I believe the ideas are easy to emulate. Have gotten and used some decorating tips. Plan to make it a permanent issue on the night stand reading collection.

5 comments about Paris Interiors (Midi).

1. Of all of my interior design and style books this is one of my VERY favorites... I sink into my favorite chair with this book again and again. I just love it! Wether you prefer old world style or sleek modern this book has it all (but far from ordinary!)... lots of inspiration with LOTS of gorgeous photos. A treat for your eyes whatever your taste!



2. I own this book, Morroccan Interiors, Provance Interiors and Seaside Interiors. I will eventually own the whole lot of them. Why-- the books are a marvelous look into the interiors of people who are most rarely interior designers. They are artists, old people, young people, even gypsy caravans are given their due. I have gleaned better decorating ideas from these books than any "decorating" magazine or book. There was a story about letting the person who just moved from your apartment help you place your furniture as you move it- they know what fits where from their expericance. This and these books are great for "just making sense" in a vairety of gorgeous settings documented in gorgeous full color photos.



3. If you are looking for a picture book of Parisian interiors to inspire your decorating, this will work very well. I am constantly searching for books like this--which are full of illustations of those interior details which seem to be uniquely Parisian. Every page is illustrated with photographs and includes just enough commentary to keep it interesting without getting descriptively heavy. This is definitely a pictoral reference/beautiful parlour table book.



4. I don't actually own this book; I found it by chance in my college's art library. Instantly, I fell in love with it's straight-forward photography. I have been renewing it for two months, and it has given me boundless inspiration for decorating my new apartment. This book is a jewelbox of decor and interior style. The full-page spreads offer tantilizing shots of the personal apartments of Parisian society-- both of the known and unknown; of large dimensions and of miniscule-- expousing beautiful decor that only a Parisian could pull off. Junk shop havens, classical boudoirs, catch-all collecting dens, and the odd moderne loft-- each interior is a true joy to see. Read, view, and enjoy and be inspired.



5. As a creative director, I've found this book to be very inspiring. Great photographic studies of Paris' most stylish homes (some owned by the famous, some are not) drip from these pages. Huge full-page and sometimes double-page images, printed on nice thick semi-matte stock, draw you right in. Like her book on Provence, its a great escape into another world. If you are a student of the esthetic, you will love it! PS. The cover is coffee-table ready too.

2 comments about Design Thinking.

1. I read this book as a precursor to a lecture I was giving to a group of undergraduate architecture students on 'design thinking'. At this point you may be asking yourself, "what is design thinking"? Exactly. My understanding had more to do with how we identify and balance the multitude of issues that surround any architectural or urban design problem. I see it as our ability to distill from all the forces and influences on a site, the project's essence. Rowe sees it in a slightly different manner; a very scientific one. Which in this publication, for me at least, made for a somewhat dry read. There are stretches of scientific analysis of human problem solving skills that I imagine many will find fascinating. However, as an architect I was interested in understanding in a more tangible way, what informs our intuitive decisions related to site, place, space, movement, program, structure, etc.
   
   Additionally, I would have liked to see the design and thought processes of the three initial case studies investigated more thoroughly. They were largely abandoned after their introduction with just a few references back to those examples in the text.
   
   The writing can be a bit verbose at times and when blended with the frequent scientific jargon, a bit taxing. At times the book appears to be collecting and synthesizing all critical writing completed on the topic over the last century, frequently quoting and referencing other works. This is a serious read and if you approach it with the right mindset, you will find some real gems and well constructed thoughts.



2. I am an architecture student and this book was assigned in my studio class. Although the reading can be difficult to follow, it is highly informative about the design process and challenges you to do further research to expand your knowledge. If you are buying this, don't be afraid to take that extra step while reading. Knowledge is power, Are you up to the challenge?

No comments about Wadia Associates New Classicists: Distinguished Residential & Interior Design.

No comments about Berlin Style: Scenes, Interiors, Details (Icons) (German Edition).