The Comfortable Home: Stylish Ideas for Living

Rating:
Summary: Yes indeed, do look elsewhere....
Review: I assume that the reviewer who called this book "superb" is a friend of the authors or works for the publisher. Like so many interior design books on the market, this one has lots of gorgeous pictures of gorgeous rooms, but little that is practical in terms of execution or upkeep by real people (e.g., an entire porch done in acres and acres of draped and shirred high-end fabric). The text is mostly descriptive and doesn't say what I really want to know, like "how did they do that?" "how much did it cost?" and "who keeps it clean?" In fact, the charming cover picture notwithstanding, the rooms shown are far more often opulent than they are comfortable-looking. Do real people actually live in them or are they just designer showcase rooms? Perhaps more egregiously, this also seems to be a hastily produced book. For example, somehow the editors and authors all failed to notice a glaringly misplaced caption within the first few pages. There are lots of imprecisions in the text: commonplaces like pitched-roof spaces in attics and stained-glass family crests in Tudor-style leaded windows are described by the authors as "unusual" or "unique." Crocheted textiles are called "woven" and marble slabs are called "large bricks." I know this kind of verbal carelessness is frequently to be found in design magazines, but shouldn't the standards be higher for writing books? If, like me, you enjoy looking at pictures of creatively done rooms to steal a design idea here or there, then go to the bookstore, flip through this book, then put it back on the shelf. Anyone with the financial resources to actually recreate and maintain such rooms can presumably also afford (and will absolutely need) their own design team; they don't need this book.

Rating:
Summary: Yes indeed, do look elsewhere....
Review: I assume that the reviewer who called this book "superb" is a friend of the authors or works for the publisher. Like so many interior design books on the market, this one has lots of gorgeous pictures of gorgeous rooms, but little that is practical in terms of execution or upkeep by real people (e.g., an entire porch done in acres and acres of draped and shirred high-end fabric). The text is mostly descriptive and doesn't say what I really want to know, like "how did they do that?" "how much did it cost?" and "who keeps it clean?" In fact, the charming cover picture notwithstanding, the rooms shown are far more often opulent than they are comfortable-looking. Do real people actually live in them or are they just designer showcase rooms? Perhaps more egregiously, this also seems to be a hastily produced book. For example, somehow the editors and authors all failed to notice a glaringly misplaced caption within the first few pages. There are lots of imprecisions in the text: commonplaces like pitched-roof spaces in attics and stained-glass family crests in Tudor-style leaded windows are described by the authors as "unusual" or "unique." Crocheted textiles are called "woven" and marble slabs are called "large bricks." I know this kind of verbal carelessness is frequently to be found in design magazines, but shouldn't the standards be higher for writing books? If, like me, you enjoy looking at pictures of creatively done rooms to steal a design idea here or there, then go to the bookstore, flip through this book, then put it back on the shelf. Anyone with the financial resources to actually recreate and maintain such rooms can presumably also afford (and will absolutely need) their own design team; they don't need this book.

Rating:
Summary: Look elsewhere for style and comfort
Review: I wonder if the other reviewer and I looked at the same book. I found the photos to be outdated. The style was a by way of the 80's and I'm not talking cool retro. So, I did not find the book to be very inspiring. I was hoping for it to have more of an Arts and Crafts feel, or be along the lines of the Not So Big House series, which I recommend instead of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Look elsewhere for style and comfort
Review: I wonder if the other reviewer and I looked at the same book. I found the photos to be outdated. The style was a by way of the 80's and I'm not talking cool retro. So, I did not find the book to be very inspiring. I was hoping for it to have more of an Arts and Crafts feel, or be along the lines of the Not So Big House series, which I recommend instead of this book.

Rating:
Summary: A superb addition to an interior design reference collection
Review: The Comfortable Home: Stylish Ideas For Living is a beautifully produced and illustrated, invaluable reference resource for interior decorators, redecorators, and do-it-yourself householders. With its accessible formate, stunning photography, and reader friendly text, The Comfortable Home offers hundreds of original ideas that will engender creativity and make home and apartment decorating fun, easy, and affordable. The Comfortable Home is organized into four main sections: Porches & Sunrooms; Family Rooms; Bedrooms; and Babies/Children Rooms. Highly recommended for personal, professional, and community library interior decoration and design reference collections..

Rating:
Summary: Lots of great ideas with beautiful photos!
Review: This book is wonderful! I checked it out from the local library, but now I've got to own it!

Rating:
Summary: Lots of great ideas with beautiful photos!
Review: This book is wonderful! I checked it out from the local library, but now I've got to own it!