The New Decorating Book (Better Homes and Gardens(R))

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the best
Review: This is absolutely the best decorating book I own. (I have the hardcover version.) I keep going back to this book for ideas and help, and I like just leafing through it to look at the pictures also. It covers all aspects of decorating, explaining interior design principles in everyday language. But more than that, what I like is that this book, unlike so many on the market, does not just show one author's view of what the world should look like. This book doesn't dictate style or mood but shows a broad range of styles and moods, encouraging me to make my own decisions. That seems to be an unusually helpful and generous approach these days.

Rating:
Summary: This is a bargain. A great holiday gift idea
Review: I can't believe this is out in paperback. I bought the hardback version for myself a couple of years ago and I use it all the time. I keep going back to it s I decorate. It is the best decorating book. I think it has over 400 pages, and I drool over all the photos. It also explains everything about decorating certain rooms or choosing colors or deciding on window treatments. Everything. Now that it's more affordable in paperback, I am getting three copies to give as holiday gifts and one for an upcoming wedding gift. The book is beautiful and helpful at the same time. It has something for everyone.

Rating:
Summary: A real bargain
Review: Thank you for offering this soft-cover edition of The New Decorating Book. Now I can give my daughter her own copy. (She keeps borrowing mine.) This is the best decorating book on the market, because it lets me do my own thing. The gorgeous photos cover lots of decorating styles. I like the quiz that helps you see why you decorate the way you do, because it doesn't focus on one style versus another but on what kind of person you are (formal versus casual, for example). The information (kind of a textbook on decorating) explains all the basics, such as how to arrange furniture, group collections, pick colors, work with fabrics, treat windows, and so forth. This book has everything.

Rating:
Summary: It's the best
Review: This is the best decorating book I've ever bought. I'm so glad that Better Homes and Gardens has come out with it in a softcover edition because now I can tuck it into wedding shower and first home gift baskets. The book covers all aspects of decorating. In fact, my neighbor's daughter is using it in a college class on design. But the book also has great photos of rooms in every style and color.

Rating:
Summary: Good reference
Review: I refer to this book everytime I am considering redecorating a room. There is a quiz to help identify what style you prefer. The pictures are great. I'm always referring to them for color, furniture placement and merchandising ideas. Overall a good book.

Rating:
Summary: Great book of ideas
Review: I liked this book very much - it has tons of pictures and makes for good reading as well. A good general decorating selection.

Rating:
Summary: A real find
Review: You know how you're so grateful when you finally find a product that actually helps you and does what it promises? This is one of those. After wasting money on several other decorating books, I finally found this one, which was being used to teach design in my daughter's home ec class. The book is outstanding. It has a quiz to help me understand more about how my personality plays out in my decorating style, and it's absolutely filled with great color photos of all rooms types and decorating styles. It's great just to look at. But the book explains and explains and explains design basics on every page from cover to cover. It's not like a textbook at all, because the writing is quick to read---it gets to the point quickly and in a way I can understand immediately. If you want lots of help, encouragement to do your own thing, and ideas, ideas, ideas, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Stands the test of time
Review: I wrote a review of this book a year or so ago and still love the book. (I logged on to order a copy for a friend's first-home housewarming.) I have to agree with a recent reviewer who said that she likes the fact that the book is filled with classic design. The book does have more cottage, country, and traditional rooms in it than contemporary ones, and that suits me (I am an early 30-something). My friends and I (local friends and college friends who now live in Connecticut, Chicago, Denver) are all much more traditional than my mother and her friends who grew up on contemporary design in the 1960s and 1970s.

Rating:
Summary: A book I use and use and use
Review: I've had this book for more than a year now, and I keep going back to it again and again for ideas.Like most people, I am not redoing rooms from scratch but always making little improvements and changes here and there, and this book is guiding me. I get so many ideas every time I open it up. I like the variety of styles and the sophisticated yet simple ideas. The book is empowering, because it helps me choose ideas that are right for me and then helps me carry those out. I mean, one week I got thet simplest little room arranging tip that made all the difference in our boxy living room. Another time, we just painted the dining room walls in a weekend and wrapped the chair seats with new fabric for a "new" room that cost very little money. This is a great book for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Handsome and educational
Review: As a designer, part of my job as we work out plans for customer's homes is to educate my customers about what good design is. I have found this book invaluable. It's like a boiled-down "Cliff's notes" of design, which is great for my customers and for me. It puts interior design precents into language anyone can understand. I use the book in my work and also give it to clients as gifts. I also use it for some of my own decorating inspiration. I highly recommend this.