Victorian Chic

Rating:
Summary: Victorian Chic was neither victorian nor chic.........
Review: I buy all the home decor and design books that come out. I am especially drawn to the books that encompass the flea market, antiques, and shabby chic styles. I was prematurely excited at the idea of Victorian Chic. This book failed to deliever. In fact, it quickly became the most dissatifying home decor book that I had purchased in the past 10 years. The author seemed to totally miss her objective. The book really did not address adding victorian items into your decor. Instead, it appeared to be discount store items that were added to the rooms shown.
There was very little to no victorian influences noted and there was certainly nothing chic about any of the decors. It appears that the author attempted to take from Rachell Ashwell and make a buck by targeting Victorian Chic, but missed. It was simply a very bad imitation of the ideas of Shabby Chic.

Rating:
Summary: Victorian Chic is Victorian but not Very Chic
Review: The book showed mostly a display of lace and linens, layered and arranged everywhere.
The bedroom seemed the best place to carry out this scheme of
antique linens and numerous laces. The living rooms were a bit
overdone,especially having lace doilies on the backs of furni-
ture. In Victorian times, it was a means of protecting or
keeping your chairs clean from hair oils.In our modern times
it looks absurd with our daily regimen of a shampoo and
shower.
The Christmas decorating was superb. It makes you yearn for
thr days before noisy toys with batteries and all the glitz
Christmas has become.
Another part at the end, the outdoor Victorian scenes made
a serene picture at the end of a long day.To sit and reflect
and enjoy the wildflowers around a porch made more pleasant
by the comfortable seating, was carefully accomplished.
I gave this a four star because in parts the rooms were
overblown.However, there are many artistic arrangements of a
teapot collection and floral arrangments that reflect the
author's talent.

Rating:
Summary: Victorian Chic is Shabby
Review: This is the book for those who believe that Victorian style is described best in the Shabby Chic manner. If white is your color and if Victorian means old lace, roses, vintage pottery, tarnished silverplate, and quilts, you will love this book. Personally, I like my Victorian more in the stle of the Grand Epoch. Give me rich jewel tones, heavy furniture, a plethora of good silver, beautiful china, heavy draperies and everything over the top. If you agree with my taste, I fear you will find this book insipid and worse. Yet, as the French say, Vive le difference!

Rating:
Summary: Victorian Chic, A "Must-Have"
Review: Victorian Chic is a "must-have" for collectors like me wondering what to do with odds-and-ends. Every time I browse the pages of Anita Crane's book, I get new ideas. Especially exciting is the concept of mixing and matching items from different eras in order to achieve a mood.

No longer are my closets filled with boxes of garage-sale finds. Using many of Anita's suggestions, my bargain "treasures" are now placed where they can be seen and enjoyed. Perhaps even more important, Anita's book serves as a springboard for my own ideas, encouraging me to explore with confidence new possibilities for old pieces. I can see a teapot as a vase, an empty frame as a work of art, a piece of antique lace as an elegant runner. With the masterful eye of an artist, Anita transforms her world to a gentle era of lace and primitives, soft lights and flowers. Victorian Chic invites us to enjoy it with her, and to create our own worlds using the treasures around us.

Rating:
Summary: Victorian Chic, A "Must-Have"
Review: Victorian Chic is a "must-have" for collectors like me wondering what to do with odds-and-ends. Every time I browse the pages of Anita Crane's book, I get new ideas. Especially exciting is the concept of mixing and matching items from different eras in order to achieve a mood.

No longer are my closets filled with boxes of garage-sale finds. Using many of Anita's suggestions, my bargain "treasures" are now placed where they can be seen and enjoyed. Perhaps even more important, Anita's book serves as a springboard for my own ideas, encouraging me to explore with confidence new possibilities for old pieces. I can see a teapot as a vase, an empty frame as a work of art, a piece of antique lace as an elegant runner. With the masterful eye of an artist, Anita transforms her world to a gentle era of lace and primitives, soft lights and flowers. Victorian Chic invites us to enjoy it with her, and to create our own worlds using the treasures around us.

Rating:
Summary: A Delight
Review: Victorian Chic was a delightful revelation of a guide. Characteristic of the lace and linen era, I discovered new and clever ways to display my treasures. I'm inspired to add to my collections knowing how to blend them into our home decor. Ms. Crane makes it all look so easy.