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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A second gorgeous book from VW, January 13, 2007
This review is from: Crossing Boundaries: A Global Vision of Design (Hardcover)
I loved the author's first book, "Learning to See" so much that I pre-ordered this book, and I was not disappointed! It makes a good companion to LTS; somewhat more inspirational, whereas LTS is somewhat more practical.
With his extraordinary "eye", the author/photographer finds beauty -proportion, color, texture - around him and distills it into his absolutely amazing interiors. Although both his travels (to far-flung exotic lands) and interiors are high-end, the principles can be applied even if your travels are nearby and your budget more DIY than Roche-Bobois (though a little $$ does help!). Additionally, the design of the book itself is gorgeous, reflecting the same informed sensibility.
While I would never let an interior decorator "do" my living room, I love the subtleties of Wolf's work, and find it sparks creative solutions for the organization of my own, humble, abode. The photographs in the book are exceptional (it could well be considered a photography book), and reading it is a pleasure that I savored, bit by bit, over the last few months. A gem to be kept nearby, for inspiration and pure sensual pleasure.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fully Flavored and a Visual Indulgence, June 26, 2007
This review is from: Crossing Boundaries: A Global Vision of Design (Hardcover)
This book takes us to various locations throughout the world where color, shape, texture, and design from various enthic cultures are integrated in modern design. The chapters are divided geographically and the first part of each chapter reveals the colors, flavors, textures, and ambience of that ethnic area's particular characteristics. Then in the second part of the chapter, the author integrates those influences into the modern westernized home showing exactly how and what he chose to influence his designs. He takes us on a journey throughout the world and we get an inside peak into how he thinks and rationalizes his ideas while mixing with the local culture. This book has loads of eye candy photos. I gave it a FIVE star rating because of the beautiful layout and richness of the photos and for the intimate writing that Vincent Wolf gives from his experience. However, personally I give it a four because, for my own personal preferences, I would have loved to see more of these ethnic influences and colors embellished more in the modern designs he created. I think he toned it down too much in the final results of his designs - but thats just my opinion. The rooms and spacial relationships of the rooms feel very real instead of "propped" like so many design books. This book makes an excellent resource book or a wonderful coffee table book for everyone's enjoyment.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, January 6, 2008
This review is from: Crossing Boundaries: A Global Vision of Design (Hardcover)
My wife and I plan to remodel, and bought this book for inspiration and design concepts. We ended up quite disappointed.
The book has 5 chapters organized around 5 places that Mr. Wolf traveled to. Each chapter consists of two parts: travel log and design. Both parts show many colorful photographs, some of them quite beautiful. In general, the travel log part has more pages then the design part. For example, in Madagascar Scale chapter, travel log has about 24 pages vs. 18 pages for design. The pictures are even more lopsided towards the travel part. Often the relationship between the design and place seems rather superficial or contrived like a blue/yellow color scheme that is somewhat similar to an umbrella on a photograph or a light color bedroom inspired by a misty landscape. Also, Mr Wolf's design schemes are not as varied as you would expect if they were inspired from all over the world. Most of them use very similar style furniture and color schemes.
Worse still is that the book does not present design concepts in any systematic fashion. It does not say much about the places that Mr. Wolf designed, what were the challenges, or how different rooms fit together. There is not a single floor plan in the whole book, and rarely it shows the same room from different angles to give the reader a feel how things fit together.
Conclusion: If you are looking for a travel diary with pretty pictures, this book might be for you. If you are looking for design ideas that are of practical use, stay away. You might consider Kelly Hoppen's book ``Home'' instead. We bought it together with this one and found it packed with useful interior design concepts and really helped us to think through all the elements of designing a house or apartment.
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