Rating: 
Summary: A Katie Brown Letdown
Review: As a huge Katie Brown fan, I was disappointed with this book. As a truly eclectic decorator, I am open to any possible source for design...scrap yard, junk yard, garden, etc. But, come on, a coffee table with a base made of coiled up garden hoses? A hard-cast clay sandcastle? Not to be totally negative, a few crafts, and that's what this book majors in, are cool. The corseted pillow, for instance, or the bright lights, big city illuminated table. This book is a good choice for newlyweds or students, first-time apartment dwellers on tight budgets. And for truly hip urban cats, I would recommend Pad: The Guide to Ultra Living. If we could give half marks, I would give this book two and a half stars for effort. Save this book for a library check-out item and not as your decorating guide.
Rating:
Summary: A Katie Brown Letdown
Review: As a huge Katie Brown fan, I was disappointed with this book. As a truly eclectic decorator, I am open to any possible source for design...scrap yard, junk yard, garden, etc. But, come on, a coffee table with a base made of coiled up garden hoses? A hard-cast clay sandcastle? Not to be totally negative, a few crafts, and that's what this book majors in, are cool. The corseted pillow, for instance, or the bright lights, big city illuminated table. This book is a good choice for newlyweds or students, first-time apartment dwellers on tight budgets. And for truly hip urban cats, I would recommend Pad: The Guide to Ultra Living. If we could give half marks, I would give this book two and a half stars for effort. Save this book for a library check-out item and not as your decorating guide.
Rating: 
Summary: An adventurous book for adventurous decorators
Review: Don't be put off by the other poor reviews, IF you:1) are bored to death by 99% of the other decorating books
2) have an open mind
3) have a taste for the visually witty and whimsical OK, this book isn't for everyone. I almost didn't pick it up because I thought Katie Brown was one of those ubiquitous TV stylemeisters. YAWN! But I looked at the book anyway, and was delighted by the original, daring and economical projects. A Wok for a lamp? Hooray! Washboards into a modern art shelving unit? By jiminy, what a great idea. So--perhaps this book isn't so good for those with traditional tastes. But ye gods, aren't we drowning in the same-old decorating advice? Repackaged and spewed forth by the publishers to make another buck? Sweet mother of pearl, this highly original book will wake up your optic nerve! I only took off one star because I would have liked the rooms to be even more offbeat. In fact my only complaint was that some of them looked a bit too traditional for my tastes. And as for the cost effectiveness of the projects--I rejoice! I find looking at the 'dream home' pictures very depressing these days. This IS the Bush economy, after all. So here's a book of possibilities that people of almost any economic bracket can afford. A book that will help, with some creativity and imagination, a room like no one else has in Pleasantville. I say, bring on the chandelier made of flashlights!
Rating: 
Summary: Melissa in Bakersfield
Review: Great Book! Great Projects!! Clear instructions and tips. Absolutly the best style out there! Loved it and I'm not selling my copy!
Rating: 
Summary: KATIE BROWN DECORATES
Review: Great Book! Great Projects!! Clear instructions and tips. Absolutly the best style out there! Loved it and I'm not selling my copy!
Rating:
Summary: Melissa in Bakersfield
Review: I AM A BIG FAN OF KATIE BROWN SO WHEN SHE CAME OUT WITH HER FIRST BOOK, I BOUGHT IT EVEN THOUGH I WAS NOT REALLY INTO MOST OF HER ENTERTAINING IDEAS. WHEN I FOUND OUT ABOUT HER DECORATING BOOK, I WAS EXCITED TO SEE WHAT SHE HAD COME UP WITH. WELL, I WAS COMPLETED DISAPPOINTED BY IT. I PUT THE BOOK BACK ON THE SHELF AND A FEW DAYS LATER, I CHECKED IT OUT JUST TO GIVE HER THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT AND MAYBE SEE IF IT WAS REALLY THAT BAD. WELL, NOTHING CHANGED. I COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW COMPLETELY OUTLANDISH THE MAJORITY OD HER IDEAS WERE. I WOULDN'T DECORATE MY GARAGE WITH SOME THOSE IDEAS. CHECK IT OUT FIRST BECAUSE YOU ARE REALLY IN FOR SOMETHING IF YOU DON'T AND IT WON'T BE GOOD.
Rating:
Summary: Really disappointing
Review: I assumed I would get a book filled with great style and decorating ideas but what I got was a ditsy, crafts project book. Not at all what I wanted. This should be sold in the crafts section, not the decorating one.
Rating:
Summary: A home should be a home...not a theme park
Review: I have to be honest here: I had high hopes for this book. The first problem with Katie Brown's book is that embraces a really [odd], artsy crafty approach....like turning a wok into a light fixture. Just because something can become something else doesn't make it right. It just looks tacky. The projects are strange, the decor is way too thematic (like a theme park..I swear), and it just seem soooo off...
Rating:
Summary: I don't understand....
Review: I'd seen magazine articles that featured Katie Brown's own homes, which are designed with a creative mix of antiques and modern pieces and somehow manage to look both edgy and cozy. But, this book was really disappointing. Full of ideas that are overly trendy and that I would quickly tire of, if I even liked any of them enough to attempt them. Somehow her personal style is not translating well to her books. Is her publisher encouraging her to aim for a less sophisticated look?
Rating:
Summary: katie brown decorates
Review: not very helpful, at least nothing real people would put in there home. REally, a pinned together slipcover - maybe good for a college dorm room, but not real life.
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