Customer Reviews

Creating Great Guest Rooms

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4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful book for anyone looking for beautiful, unique and sensible ways to make guests feel at home in any type of space you call a guest room. It includes clever techniques to create office/guest room combinations. There are cozy guest rooms created in small attic spaces. And of course there are dozens of simply gorgeous bedrooms that are entirely dedicated to guests, whether they be grandparents, grandchildren, or friends from your college days. This decorating book is beautifully written with professional photography that clearly illustrates the points the author is making--well worth its price!

I recently purchased 3 books on decorating guest rooms and this one is by far the best of the bunch. The photos are just beautiful and I will use many of the ideas found here.

This book will become a favorite on my shelf and I would recommend it.

Completely setting aside my dislike for the author's decorating style (too poofy, too theme-y, at times too busy and crowded), there simply is not enough information here to be worth the cost of the book. It is basically a coffee table book. Large photographs of rooms dotted with text.

I have mixed feelings about this book. First, I somehow totally missed the fact that it's a Decorating Den publication. I think I was paying more attention to the amazing nearly-free price I got it for! Had I paid the $25 Amazon is asking right now I would be irritated. However for the price I paid, it's ok.

Admittedly I haven't read this book thoroughly since it just arrived today, however I've scanned it pretty well and the text I've read so far is fairly generic. Tips include expected things such as:
--provide guests with a carafe of water; they may feel dehydrated, especially if arriving by plane.
--provide a small selection of books for your guests.
--provide scented candles, fresh flowers, and toiletries such as cotton balls, lotions, etc.
--provide for privacy in a bathroom. WOW...never would have thought of that one.
I will say a "recipe" for creating your own bath salts at home is provided in the back of the book. That might actually be good to have in the idea bank.

The book should have been titled "Creating Great BEDrooms" since it's more of a way to decorate BEDROOMS IN GENERAL in various THEMES and "LOOKS." For example: page 58 is "Beach Cottage Comfort;" page 112 is "Tropical Retreat;" and page 24 is "Fabulously Feminine." The associated text is about how and why those LOOKS work (what makes it feminine...how a beach cottage is cozy...how Tropical is relaxing), and what to do to GET those LOOKS. Very little about how to focus on your GUESTS and their COMFORT during their stay.

That said, the photos are good for the most part, however it isn't very informative relative to its title. Some of the images are rather dated and have that dated "Decorating Den Look" from the past (giving due credit, DD has greatly improved their image and style).

ALSO: It's worth noting that the majority of the rooms profiled are larger to somewhat grand in size. VERY FEW "average" sized rooms. There are little-to-no photos of the typical sized condo or townhome room. The book MENTIONS these type of spaces, but does not actually profile them!

If you find it super cheap from one of the used sellers like I did, then go for it; it is a decent addition to the library. If you're thinking of paying the $25 retail/Amazon price...NOOOOOO!!!!!