Customer Reviews

Country Living Irish Country Decorating: Decorating with Pottery, Fabric & Furniture

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I enjoy most Country Living books and Irish Country was an intriguing topic. This treatment unfortunately is a very shallow look at a very limited amount of examples of pottery, fabric, and furniture. Many of the items are obscure and one doesn't get a real feel for the richness of the topics. Its not really a decorating book either - its focus is substantially on replicating the look of some of the material (pottery, fabrics, etc) through do-it-yourself crafts. For example, I didn't learn anything about the variety of Irish furniture and how to decorate with it. Hate to be so negative but I felt like the title and book cover were false advertising.

This book, lovingly created by Nicholas Mosse of Kilkenny, gives the reader many suggestions and tips on adding a touch of Irish style to ones home. The section on pottery gives a wonderful narrative on Irish pottery, and has three projects: decorating a ceramic jug, a ceramic bowl and a plate. The next section discuses fabrics, their history and significance, and has four projects: making and decorating stenciled curtains, a shamrock tablecloth (I loved this one!), a tweed throw, a patchwork quilt, and a sheep pillow panel. The furniture section deals mainly with stools, chairs, benches and tables, and has two projects: making and decorating a wall-mounted mug rack, and a small scumbled cupboard (very nice!). The final section is on "Elements", and mainly revolves around baskets and glass.

Well, you can't please all the people all the time. As for myself, I was quite pleased with this book. I am something of a do-it-yourselfer, and I liked the author's hints on decorating, and the small, easy-to-make projects. If you like decorating by hand, then I highly recommend this book to you.