Rating: 
Summary: just ok
Review: Price was definately great, but book was just ok. I was disappointed because I expected more 'real living' ideas. Most of the ideas look like you would need an interior designer to help you out. I needed something slightly more practical.
Rating: 
Summary: Unique
Review: There isn't another book like this except for the newer edition of this book which came out recently. I felt this sense of relief when I found this book the first time because I thought finally here is the help I need. So many books have pictures but no information to help me. This book has all the great photographs but adds the information so I learn something more than just what I see in the photographs. I just bought another copy for a friend. This is the best decorating book on the market. It has made a big difference to me. I started out redoing our entrance hall using ideas from the book, and that looked so great and got such a good reaction from my friends that I then moved on to redoing the living room. I just keep using the book and going one room at a time through our home. I learned that sometimes it only takes a little thing like re-hanging pictures or re-arranging the couch and chairs to make a room look great. I love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring yet practical. Very empowering.
Review: Because this is my favorite decorating book, I take exception to a reviewer who said it wasn't worth it and to buy the Better Homes and Gardens magazine instead. There is nothing in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine like this. I love this book. I like the photos but I also like learning something on every page. If I want to copy something I see in a photo, I can, but if I want to decorate in my own way, the "decorating 101" information is there so I can learn the design "principle" and apply it to my own place. This is a great bargain. I'm always learning something new when I pick it up. Unlike this book, the magazine does not teach me about design in this way. I kept buying the magazine at the grocery store and gave up because it doesn't have very much to say when it comes to helping me decorate my own place.
Rating: 
Summary: New Decorating book
Review: On the surface, the book is nicely done. But, in making my way through the book, the pictures look similar to those in magazines I already have from Better Homes & Garden. Best advice, save your pennies.
Rating:
Summary: A superior interior design guide...
Review: It may have had seven predecessors, but as of the eighth iteration (as designer guides go) I would say that Better Homes and Gardens' "New Decorating Book" has reached the state of the art. No weekend home transformation warrior's library would be complete without this guide.Lovely to look at and overflowing with fashion forward advice, "New Design Book" combines several design help books into one. Advertising itself as a "4-in-1" deal, this authoritative tome features: 1. A Dream Book - How can you not dream with hundreds of envy-inspiring photos ripe with a variety of styles of that will set your mind a-wanderin'? 2. A Workbook - Tired of just dreaming? This guide will help you put it all into play. 3. A Room-by-Room Decorating Planner - The layout features one section of the typical house at a time, focusing your projects. Step-by-step instructions get you up and going. 4. A Design Primer - Don't know tan from taupe? The design primer give you the basics that every interior designer knows by heart. Color, harmony, symmetry - it's all here. At well over four hundred pages and plenty of advice amid the numerous pictures, this is one of those books that will takes weeks to go through. The text isn't lost in the graphics, though. The book is jammed full of helpful instructions. There are "Do's and Don't's", side-by-side before and after pictures, comparison shots of multiple interpretations of themes, and the latest advice on textures, do-it-yourself projects, and even URLs to the leading edge designs updated daily at Better Homes and Gardens' website. Better Homes and Gardens not only excelled with their advice, but the quality of the book itself makes it practically worthy of coffee table book status. A few of the best aspects of the book's own design are: * A thoughtful and well conceived layout.
* An excellent graphic design that highlights rather than distracts from text and images.
* A superb use of color throughout the text focuses the readers attention on details. I recently reviewed Michael Payne's first design book and I must say that it pales in comparison to this one. Simply loaded with information, "New Design Book" sets a high mark that other books would be hard pressed to match. No single review can do justice to the outstanding quality, sheer helpfulness, and up-to-date stylings found in this guide. After spending several days engrossed in it, I'm not certain it has any real weaknesses. A must have. This one deservedly gets five stars.
Rating:
Summary: the best
Review: I have worn out my copy of this book and given it to all my friends on birthdays, for weddings, for college graduations, and on and on. It's a classic. I found that there is another edition of this out now too. Did not see it on amazon but found it at a bookstore and just got a copy. It looks great also. Timeless information plus hundreds of color photos of real homes.
Rating:
Summary: BHG New Decorating Book - 8TH EDITION
Review: If anyone is reading this review, I recommend the current 8th edition, ISBN 0-696-21401-6. The 7th edition is a few years old (still a worthy addition to your library if you are a I.D. book collector). I held off purchasing the new 8th edition of the New Decorating Book by Better Homes & Garden, thinking it was the same book with rehashed photos.... was I wrong! 3 or 4 excellent photos made their way back, but the rest of the 400+ pages of photos in this edition are brand new. I guarantee interior design enthusiasts will spend many hours poring over the hundreds of inspirational and beautiful photographs. What attracted my attention are the wonderful glimpses into a design sensibility that leans toward a less formal style. For want of a better description, the "Past Perfect" meets "Town and Country" look comes to mind. Lots of (not exclusively however) toile, ticking, checks, collections. The collections are what fascinated me - one spends more time looking at the owner's collections than the actual furniture. So if you have collections of books, sculpture, frames, pillows, pottery, plants, fabrics etc but don't know what to do, you will be inspired to apply it once you have had a chance with this book. Use of the new bold colors for 2003 (apricot, lime, indigo) are also highlighted. There is a resource of interior designers in the back of the book should you need to track down a specific fabric shown in the book. Many of them are simply stunning and beautifully contrasted. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful inspiring book
Review: I love this book. It is truly inspirational, with photos of the most gorgeous rooms.
Rating:
Summary: Full of fantastic ideas....
Review: This book is full of great ideas and wonderful photographs. The book introduces a few styles and offers a quiz to help assist you in what is most likely your style. It doesn't however, pin you down in giving you only one perspective but sets out the facts and how to's to help you decide what you want. The directions are simple and easy to read, and not overly time consuming. The book is even divided into 2 parts, the first half focusing on the rooms themselves, and the second half focusing on a design topic so you can go about learning in the manner you would prefer. A great design book for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: I also love the new edition
Review: Thanks to the customer reviewers who said there is a new edition of this book out. This has been my favorite decorating book, and I have almost worn it out. I just got my copy of the new 2003 edition, and it's great. I can't stop looking at all the new pictures. If it hadn't been for the customer reviews, I would not have known that the new edition was even out there.
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