5 comments about Waverly Inspirations: Your Guide to Personal Style.

1. I love color, pattern, and wallpaper. (Have you ever tried to find a book that shows rooms decorated with wallpaper and tells you how to decorate with them? They don't exist.) Until I saw this book (by accident at the book store), I could not find a book that gave me this much information on how to decorate the way I like to. (I like to start a project at the wallpaper store). This is a breath of fresh air.



2. Other books in this category seem to take a sewing project approach. I never plan to sew anything, so that's not what I wanted. I'm glad I happened on this book, because it's about decorating with fabrics and wall coverings, not simply stitching up a pillow or slipcovers. Now I can plan my decorating scheme and leave the sewing to my seamstress.



3. The best and most helpful book--to date--on the subject of decorating; how to determine your personal style; how to discover your color preferences, etc. Exceptional!



4. I have always loved Waverly products. When I came across this book in the library I grabbed it out of curiosity and absolutely loved it! Finally, a book that takes you through the home decorating process step-by-step in with easy to understand details. Before you even learn about color, that authors ask that you take a few simple (and fun) quizzes that help you hone in on your style.

   The great thing about the quizzes is that they are actually personality profiles, meaning they revolve around your lifestyle...how you presently live and the daily choices you presently make. There is no discussion of what colors you like, whether you prefer country or contenporary, etc., until you have actually finished the personality profile. Besides, most people aren't aware of the fact that their home SHOULD be a reflection of how they live, they just want it to look nice!

   Then the discussion on basic decorating techniques (beginning with a great primer on the color wheel, complementary colors, colors that reflect mood, etc.) begins and you start the journey of developing your own personal style. The information is presented in an simple, entertaining manner and the photos are gorgeous!

   This book was a TREMENDOUS help for me when I became frustrated with my present decor and wanted a change (but I didn't know in which direction to go and I certainly didn't want to waste a lot of money). I highly recommend it, you'll refer to it often, even as you make the slightest changes around your own home.

   Enjoy.

   Cris




5. This book is LOADED with beautiful and inspiring pictures. It may be based on decorating with Waverly fabrics but you can get tons of other decorating ideas for indoors and out.

No comments about Sewing Made Easy.

No comments about Stenciling the Arts & Crafts Home.

2 comments about The Grown Up's Guide to Retiring Abroad (Grown-Up's Guide).

1. The author chose a sampling of places and categorized them nicely (eg English speaking, budget, etc). There's a list of contacts for further research for each place. I thought it raised some thoughtful general concerns especially the economic situations of the places and what your day would be like there. It also has helpful facts such as average housing prices and annual expenditures estimates. The book was a good starting point for someone like me who is just starting to think about retirement places.



2. It might have been that I expected something different from this book, but all this is is a collection of short chapters on various countries. Information on geography, currency, etc., with bits and pieces on the housing market, local customs, and a little bit on visa requirements.
   
   I don't know - but I always figured that if I wanted to retire abroad I'd already have a general idea where I would want to retire to. I would not need information on geography and currencies. What I'd rather want to know is: What implications does retiring abroad have on my U.S. retirement pays, taxes, medical insurance, to name just a few. How to best move my stuff, and what to look out for. Etc. Etc. Etc.
   
   The Grown-Up's Guide to Retiring Abroad is nothing more than a very, very generalized travel guide with a few sentences in every country chapter referring to the retirement aspects of it all.
   
   If you are still utterly clueless as to where you would like to retire to - Belize or the Czech Republic, Germany or Thailand, Greece or Honduras - then by all means get this book to get a very short and general overview of these countries, but for people who already know which country they'd prefer this book is really not too informative because they will probably know most of the information in here - from their travel guide books.

5 comments about A Place for Everything: Organizing the Stuff of Life.

1. This book is neither practical nor helpful. The authors made it easy on themselves by focusing on ideal circumstances from the start.For instance, they show a lot of "organizing" of all-white stuff, and their idea of "organizing" is simply stacking and displaying. It's easy to do that if everything you have is white. There also is the ridiculous situation of the big walk-in closet which they "make over" by adding a table and other stuff. If you have a big closet like that in the first place, you don't need much help. And who has a closet big enough for a table? If you live in the real world with regular closets and ordinary (anything but all-white!) stuff, you will not find any help here.



2. This book is our bible as we build a cottage style home. Thank you to the Wolfman/Gold team for the inspirations that create comfort, warmth and organization.



3. I was in need of serious clutter management, but instead, I got plenty of glossy photos, showing off their plates, china, etc., in addition to many "Shabby Chic" display set ups. It didn't have any examples I found usable in my "real" situation.



4. This book reminds me of that Phil Hartman (sad...) character on Saturday
   Night Live, the Anal-Retentive Carpenter. He would have loved
   this book. Especially the photos of the "sheds" and "basements",
   with all their tools lined up and hanging on perfect little hooks.

   I agree with the other reviewers that bemoan the lack of practical
   ideas and the abundance of country cottagey "distressed"
   furniture, cutesy style. This is mostly a book for people who
   buy everything from J. Crew and Pottery Barn and need just a
   couple more "inspirations" to attain the ultimate catalog lifestyle
   they've always dreamed of.

   On the other hand, there are a smattering of photos that could give
   you some ideas for your own, real-world home. I liked the idea
   of a shelf above the bathroom door for storing towels (good
   use of unused space). And some of the kitchen storage ideas
   are reasonable (or can be made reasonable). But you could
   probably get all that's useful from this book by just flipping
   through it at a bookstore some day. That's what I'd recommend.




5. I love to pick this book up and just flip through the pages. The photos are beautiful. I find the storage ideas inside to be creative and lovely to look at, I especially like the photos of odd collections of things and how people have arranged them. On the other hand, this is not a "how to" book. It does not have weekend projects nor does it discuss how to get the clutter out of your life. It's just a lovely, inspirational book.

No comments about Do-It-Yourself: The Home DIY Handbook: How To Fix Every Part Of Your Home: Floors, Ceilings, Walls, Windows, Doors, Stairs, Sinks, Drains, Gutters, Roofs, ... Brickwork And Pipework (Do-It-Yourself).

1 comments about 501 Ways to Boost Your Child's Self-Esteem.

1. Beware: How could anyone in life remember 501 ways to do anything? If there's ever that many ways to do anything, then this to say anyone can do anything and achieve the same results. If there's 501 one choices, the chances of you doing just about anything should succeed.

No comments about Maintaining A Vacation Home: A Practical Guide to Your Seasonal Home.

No comments about Crying (National Childbirth Trust Guides).

2 comments about The Electroplater's Handbook.

1. "The Electroplater's Handbook" by C.W. Ammen is a decent book, which may be a good starting point. It's kind of the quality of book that you would expect to have the title "___[fill in the blank] for fun and profit". It has some good descriptions of plating at the molecular level. It's over 200 pages, and the chapter that covers the actual plating baths is only about 25 of those. Some of the bath descriptions are nothing more than recipes.

   Ammen covers the basics pretty well, including a bit of chemistry, safety, work areas, and equipment. It is written such that a 14 yr old could understand it (maybe not ALL of the chemistry parts, though, but maybe), and it has a lot of theory. Even so, you may want a slightly more advanced book after starting. Ammen does a good job of getting the chemicals into the tub, then sort of walks away. One example: His chapter on cleaning is longer than the one that covers about 27 different baths!

   This book doesn't cover a lot of pros/cons to the different baths. I worked in a plating plant for a year, plating nickel, chrome, gold, and a few other obscure metals. None of the plating baths we used were discussed, some of which were extremely common in the plating industry. (Maybe common baths are just a lot different for a hobbyist, either because of cost or EPA issues.)

   I've used some electroless tin plating that I got from Gateway Electronics, a hobbyists electronic shop in San Diego, several times with success. The last time, it not only didn't plate, but it ate away some of my copper, too! This book had no information aside from a recipe for the bath. It is greatly lacking in the troubleshooting area.

   If you want a very general book that will get you started, with a good introduction to plating, then I would strongly recommend this book. Based upon the coverage that Ammen offers the total beginner, I would rate this at 5 stars. However, if you are looking for a very specific bath, or need help troubleshooting, then this probably isn't the book you want. After you have a bath, this book is little help. Because of that, I've downgraded "Electroplater's Handbook" to 3 stars.




2. This book was like so totally cool. I really loved all that stuff about metal. It was so informational. thank you C.W. Ammen.