Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: After getting this book and being very disappointed-it offers nothing new and doesn't do as good a job of explaining design as some other books I have-I realized that all those positive and detailed reviews must have been written by the author or the author's friends. I feel cheated.
Rating: 
Summary: Love the Book!
Review: For the first time in the several years I have been "reading" books on interior design and decorating, Sheila Bridges writes a book I actually took time to read and enjoyed. She is humorous, down to earth, no nonsense, as well as practical. She writes as though she were sitting right there with you developing the client/designer relationship, walking the client through each step guiding and advising you on the simple yet elegant ways to decorate your home. Incorporating beautiful photography while defining the different styles of design such as modernism, eclectic, simple, country, classic,comfortable/casual is a unique touch. Anna Williams is an awesome photographer. As a team the book is dynamic! Sheila'a ability to demonstrate her diverse decorating styles makes her the designer of the century!Great book! Great job to both the author and photographer!
Rating:
Summary: Furnishing Forward
Review: Great book! I can see why Time magazine named Ms. Bridges #1 Designer for 2001. This is the first design book that I have enjoyed reading. Usually I just look at the pictures. The writing in most design books is normally so distant and professorial...while Furnishing Forward is very personal and funny, yet also practical and relevant. The pictures, which are beautiful, are used to show examples of the writer's point...rather than to just "show off" beautifully designed homes. I believe the book is is a must read for people who are transitioning from temporary apartment living to a real home. It takes a lot of the mystery out of design...in an unusually upfront and truthful way. Due to my personal transition from "black-leather-sofa apartment living" to "a mix of antiques and country furnishings in a real home", I can relate to many of the issues and solutions provided by this book...and since this transition is never over, as the book points out, I will continue to use it as a reference.
Rating:
Summary: Bridges Hits Home Run
Review: I jsut finished reading Bridges first full length book on design and I was amazed. Her advice about selecting and building a comfortable home enviornment hit the spot for me. I am in the market for a major living space overhaul to accomodate my new in home office and her advice was so practical. I have always been afraid to use colors and was inspired by the vaiety shown in the book. I could totally relate to her antedotes about our furniture life cycles. I think it is about time I get rid of my shag carpet and particle board furniture. The reading was light and easy, but very informative. The pictures are so great, the book qualifies for my coffee table.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, Practical Advise on Decorating
Review: I just finished Furnishing Forward. Sheila Bridges' advice on decorating is so straight forward and reasonable; she makes a novice decorator feel confident about the daunting task of furnishing a home. I also really liked the way the photos of the home in the book included many Afrocentric touches. Without ever mentioning it, she makes it clear that one can decorate a home expressing one's ethnic heritage without losing sight of the basic elements of design and good taste. Bravo!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: No Frills Advice
Review: I opened Furnishing Forward to the author's advice on dealing with "emotional-attachment" issues between married couples. It might have fended off some nasty arguments if both my wife and I had read it before we crossed swords over a matter as small as which constitutes the ideal trash can. "If compromise can get us out of the Cuban Missile Crisis," writes Bridges, "surely it can get us out of decorating disagreements." There's solid, ever so practical advice like that throughout this truly helpful book.
Rating: 
Summary: Looking for more.....
Review: I've seen many of Sheila's works in magazines so I anxiously bought the book for what I thought would be a more comprehensive analysis, interpretation and implimentation of her style. Instead I found myself reading thoughts and views but no real process to achieving the style. As an apprentice and in the process of implementing what I have learned in my own home, I would not recommend this book as a tool for learning more for understanding a person's views.
Rating:
Summary: Looking for more.....
Review: I've seen many of Sheila's works in magazines so I anxiously bought the book for what I thought would be a more comprehensive analysis, interpretation and implimentation of her style. Instead I found myself reading thoughts and views but no real process to achieving the style. As an apprentice and in the process of implementing what I have learned in my own home, I would not recommend this book as a tool for learning more for understanding a person's views.
Rating:
Summary: Good insight. Great advice. Engaging pictures: What a Book!
Review: Sheila Bridges, the self-described "walking, talking, fabric-wielding designer-decorator-stylist-psychologist-florist-accountant-collection agent publicist-attorney-trucker-analyst with a Stanley Powerlock twenty-five-foot tape measure", obviously knows the business and art of decorating inside and out. Great!-but the clincher is that she is able to convey this immense knowledge in such a straightforward and totally non-intimidating way. Her very use of familiar and enlightening quotations coupled with the witty chapter titles helps comfort the readers yet piques their curiosity with each turn of the page.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Fantastic
Review: This book is awesome! The author/designer has very practical advice for decorating. It felt as if I was actually talking with the author instead of reading. The photography is great too! Ms Bridges' style evokes a classic and understated elegance that I am trying to adopt. I am anxious to get started on my next projects using what I've learned from this book.
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