Mary Emmerling's Smart Decorating : Inexpensive Projects for Every Room of the House

Rating:
Summary: Sticks and stones may not break my bones, but ...
Review: ... they make for lousy decorating. I like Mary Emmerling, and enjoyed her "American Country Cottages" book a lot. It was beautifully photographed, with lots of images of comfortable, lovely, livable rooms. But this book is all rusty wires and birds' nests and peeling lead paint, like a house decorated by the witch from "The Blair Witch Project." I recommend Mary Randolph Carter's "American Junk" for a truly charming book about decorating on the cheap.

Rating:
Summary: Sticks and stones may not break my bones, but ...
Review: ... they make for lousy decorating. I like Mary Emmerling, and enjoyed her "American Country Cottages" book a lot. It was beautifully photographed, with lots of images of comfortable, lovely, livable rooms. But this book is all rusty wires and birds' nests and peeling lead paint, like a house decorated by the witch from "The Blair Witch Project." I recommend Mary Randolph Carter's "American Junk" for a truly charming book about decorating on the cheap.

Rating:
Summary: But, this is how my house looks now!
Review: I could not believe the book I received is the same one I read about in the editorial and customer review. Both failed to mention that this book is for those who like rustic, primitive decorating with broken items, peeling and/or chipped paint, rusty metal, twigs and branches, torn wallpaper etc. You really should mention this in your review. I don't know anyone who decorates like this except maybe at their cabin in the mountains or cabin at the bay. Please do not compare her to Martha Stewart - this book has copied some of her ideas and quite poorly at that. This should be called junk shop decorating or flea market decorating so that those of us who think we are getting a book about decorating smartly with new things or fixed up items are not fooled. I sure hope I don't have to decorate like this just because I don't have much to spend on decorating. I would not even give it one star. This book goes back by return mail.

Rating:
Summary: Decorating with rust and chipped peeling paint
Review: I could not believe the book I received is the same one I read about in the editorial and customer review. Both failed to mention that this book is for those who like rustic, primitive decorating with broken items, peeling and/or chipped paint, rusty metal, twigs and branches, torn wallpaper etc. You really should mention this in your review. I don't know anyone who decorates like this except maybe at their cabin in the mountains or cabin at the bay. Please do not compare her to Martha Stewart - this book has copied some of her ideas and quite poorly at that. This should be called junk shop decorating or flea market decorating so that those of us who think we are getting a book about decorating smartly with new things or fixed up items are not fooled. I sure hope I don't have to decorate like this just because I don't have much to spend on decorating. I would not even give it one star. This book goes back by return mail.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: I FOUND THIS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST DECORATING BOOKS AROUND.I DO NOT HAVE ALOT OF MONEY BUT WITH THE IDEAS IN THIS BOOK YOU DON'T NEED ALOT OF MONEY -JUST TASTE AND SOME CREATIVE THINKING.IF YOU ARE A YUPPY WITH NO INDIVIDUALITY AND YOU WANT A HOUSE THAT LOOKS LIKE EVERYONE ELSES THAN SKIP THIS ONE.IF YOU WANT A CREATIVE,UNIQUELY BEAUTIFUL HOME AND ARE WILLING TO INVEST SOME TIME IN DECORATING THEN BUY THIS.AND YES THERE IS A SHABBY CHIC AIR TO SOME OF THIS,HOWEVER I THINK IT IS QUITE LOVELY AND VERY TASTEFULL.ONE OF THE BEST DECORATING BOOKS I'VE SEEN. IF YOUR'E A FREE THINKER AND LIKE TO MAKE YOUR OWN THINGS THEN IGNORE SOME OF THOSE REVIEWS.EVEN IF IT'S NOT YOUR'E STYLE THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: Is there anything she can't do?
Review: Mary Emmerling has done it again! Her impeccable eclectic tastes are for any budget, not just for people who just had their IPO. She seems to have an endless supply of easy, imaginative ideas for anyone's home. Always the arbiter of stunning home decor, she makes it possible for those of us without fat checks from K-mart to live with some beauty in our lives. So if you need toi know how to smoke a pheasant for the Clinton's next visit, check out Martha. But if you just want to live in an environment with a little more dignity and elegance, buy this book immediately. Other names in decorating may raise the bar for everyone, but Mary helps everyone reach it.

Rating:
Summary: But, this is how my house looks now!
Review: One simple word sums up this book: Yuck!