5 comments about The Private House.

1. I waited a long time for a Western interior design book that speaks directly to me; it was worth the wait. Paul Goldberger says it best in his foreword: "Rose Tarlow's work celebrates the reality of living -- the way in which, out of a complex mist of memories, emotions, aspirations, and knowledge, each of us builds a life that is like none other. Her rooms are like no other, and they are marked by a natural grace." Her wonderful, delicate text and intensely satisfying photographs are to return to time and again; this is a treasure that is much more than an obsessive-compulsive personal summary of what antiquaire Rose Tarlow teaches in her UCLA master interior design class. As she also writes (and I've long agreed), "If I were forced to choose, I would much prefer to live surrounded by carefully selected and much loved books than by indifferent art" -- add the fabulous At Home With Books by Estelle Ellis to your purchase. A true connoisseur.



2. Rose Tarlow knows more about art history and interior design through the centuries than any living person. Unfortunately, she really isn't interested in teaching you a thing.

   I read the book carefully and then went through it a second time to see if there was a single design principle or piece of advice I could come away with. Amazingly there wasn't.

   Rose plays her card close to her chest.




3. As an interior designer, my library is bulging with design books. Yet, time and time again, I reach for "The Private House." Insightful and genuine, "The Private House" always provides me with a bit of stimulation, a bit of grounding, and a subtle reminder to always use the best and most unusual furniture, fabrics, and art available to a client's budget. The information provided within the pages of "The Private House," are worth the journey - constantly.



4. If you are ever in LA, treat yourself to a visit to this designer's showroom. It's like stepping into another world that has been completely removed from the hustle and smog of the city...find more of this type of inspiration in her book. A total pleasure to read and absorb...my only regret is that i never got a chance to take her class at UCLA...



5. Rose Tarlow's very beautifully illustrated book THE PRIVATE HOUSE will disappoint decorators, would-be decorators, and possibly students. This is not a textbook meant to offer 'how to' steps to force-feed the recipes for private spaces.
   
   Instead, this book is a gentle read of how the highly respected Tarlow has created beautiful rooms and homes with elements of furniture, art, antiquities, and memorabilia with choices in fabrics and wall and furniture treatments that make one's home a castle. She deftly demonstrates how to make use of available light, making hallways, niches, windows and rooms focal points for praising light as an art entity.
   
   The writing is simple and readable. The photography is elegant and descriptive and offers the eye many moods and examples of ideas of how each of us can make our own space uniquely ours. And that is a lot for a book on home enhancement to do! Grady Harp, October 05

2 comments about Curb Appeal Idea Book (Taunton Home Idea Books).

1. The Taunton Press has published some excellent books - I especially like "Built-Ins". But this books seems to have been thrown together with little thought or integrity. Featured are numerous pictures that can been seen in their other books; this recycling of images is an affront to the reader - I never forget a photograph, and feel ripped-off when I recognize it from a different book.
   The Taunton Press should re-think its strategy; re-hashing previous publications and slapping on a new title is lazy, unoriginal, and insulting to its readership.



2. Someone else said it was not great or original, but I disagree.
   Maybe because I do not have the other Taunton home books,
   so these images are all new to me. I am a designer and this has
   been an excellent resource for me. I use it a lot. I love the
   ideas and I turn to this book over and over for inspiration. I
   highly recommend it if you're looking for ideas to rejeuvinate your
   home's exterior or if you are sharing design ideas with your cleints,
   as a real estate agent or architectural design consultant.

2 comments about The Way We Live by the Sea (Way We Live (Rizzoli)).

1. This beautiful book will transport you to the sea of your dreams. The photographs are evocative and dreamlike. Whatever your sea dreams are, you will find them in this book.



2. This is a beautiful book for anyone who loves the sea. In looking at it I was immediately transported to ocean locations - very relaxing and pleasurable. There is a lot of variety in the book and I enjoyed the ideas for sea based furnishings which can be used as much in the city as by the ocean. The only additional thing I would suggest for future editions would be to incorporate images from a wider choice of countries.

2 comments about Authentic Color Schemes for Victorian Houses: Comstock's Modern House Painting, 1883.

1. Good for someone with a need for very basic color scheme for historic homes. No imagination needed. Colors are boring by our modern day standards, but give the old world look desired in the older victorian neighborhoods that despise the brighter californian look.



2. To quote the book, "Those of our readers who expect to find lists comprising all the various scales of color, giving definite information as to what particular color should be used to harmonize with this or that shade, and telling just what combinations are allowable, and just what are to be condemned, will, therefore, be disappointed." This book covers how to prime wood and mix colors (reddish brown color is achieved by mixing Indian red and burnt umber) and does give specific color schemes. This is a reprint from 1883, and the authors mentioned that the printer could not replicate most of the color schemes they envisioned (maybe I need to get watercolor paint and mix the suggested colors to see what they intended). We are building a Victorian home, and I was looking for ideas of what worked well in the past, but the rust red, dark mustard yellow, greens and browns they showed did not inspire me as I had hoped. It does have helpful information about color selection, but it is fairly generic in nature. Most of the plates are house exteriors, but there are a few interior plates as well.

5 comments about History of Interior Design.

1. History of Interior Design is great. I study interior design and, without John Pile's books, this wide-ranging subject would have been far more difficult. Studying the subject "history of interior design" would have been such a struggle for me without having this book at my side. I just couldn't find all I needed on the internet. Apart from the high quality paper and excellent images, John Pile has a writing style that gets his point across very clearly. That makes for rapid reading and faster absorption of information.



2. If you're bored with historical overviews of a discipline, you're in for a surprise. Pile brings interior design to life with vibrant examples, wonderful background detail, and the kind of information that will help you understand this arena with much more depth.



3. I really do enjoy the book except that on some important topics in the class I am taking with this book there is little information. Nonetheless on the topics it greatly expands upon the book shows impressive and accurate knowledge. The pictures also aid in examples and are for the msot part the best picture examples that any book could offer.



4. It's a very interesting book, it offers a vew over design from ancient times to ower days. We can follow the developement of design over time. The book is recomended especialy for professional designers.



5. WOW! beautifully organized and articulated. thoughtful and well-rounded discussion of the variation and evolution of interior design. it was purchased to use as a course resource (on 20th century American consumer culture), but am now tempted to buy my OWN copy.

1 comments about The Pillow Book: Over 25 Simple-to-Sew Patterns for Every Room and Every Mood.

1. Very good directions, simple and easy to follow. The pillows on the cover of the book are sitting on a wicker-back chair, which makes the pillows appear to have "handles" in them. Not the case. Nice photographs inside the book. Good value for a "how to" book.

No comments about Diccionario Sigmar: Sinonimos Antonimos Paronimos.

2 comments about London Style: Streets, Interiors, Details (Icon (Taschen)).

1. This book is an excellent viewbook if you want to get a taste of contemporary London interiors. It has very modern, a bit more classic and very simple interiors as well. There is very little text in the book, but the photos are all full page and very well made, high quality. A fun book to flip through and get inspiration from!



2. Artsy black & white pics show London street scenes in the first (small) section. Then the large sections of excellent color photography illustrate a variety of interiors, then decorating details.
   
   Most of the space is given to the pictorial, as befits a book on how things look; what little trilingual (English-French-German) text exists is poetically descriptive.
   
   Styles represented tend toward the spare and eclectic - we're not talking about conspicuous consumption or Martha wannabes here - probably "urban bohemian" is the general trend. Architectural details are proudly and blatantly incorporated into the overall scheme of things... It's a work well worth inclusion in your library

1 comments about Mexico Style (Icon (Taschen)).

1. The book is very nice to take an inspiration for a mexican party decoration, with real ambients and true colors.

5 comments about Jessie Walker's Country Decorating.

1. I thought this book to be very colorful and informative book, Jessie covers the many styles of country living interiors - whether it's country cottage or rustic or primitive she has captured it all. Very attractive design - anyone into Country Style will love this book.



2. This is a great book for anyone who wants a old world country feel to their home. The illustrations are beautiful and the decorating advice is thoughtfully planned out.



3. Jessie Walker's Country Decorating
   This book was everything I hoped for; it is awesome. My husband and I are planning to buy an older farmhouse and wanted decor ideas, this book has given us several really good and easily done ideas. Thank you!



4. I loved the book and the price is great for all the ideas that is in the book. She gives you great inspiration with the many different country styles. I would recommend this book to any novice home decorator.......



5. Understanding that opinions are subjective, my opinion is that this is a wonderful book. The pictures draw me in and put me in a primitive, mellow mood. It is also inspiring in that when I'm finished with the book, I want to get started on a decorating project. The pictures are just so enjoyable.