Decorating Basics: Styles, Colors, Furnishings (Better Homes & Gardens) [Paperback]

Better Homes and Gardens Books (Author), Linda Hallam (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2001 | Series: Better Homes & Gardens

How to work confidently with color, fabric, collections, furnishings, and accessories in a chosen style (French, modernist, traditional, Southwestern, country colonial).

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Much of this book provides a look at homeowners' decorating schemes in a variety of styles, such as traditional, mid-century modern, and southwestern, through numerous color photographs captioned with budget-stretching tips and the homeowners' decorating tips. Chapters that illustrate the use of color, pattern, furniture, and wall and window treatments, again with color photographs and captioned with decorating tips, follow these real-life decorating examples. A good addition for any size public library.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

Create the home you've always wanted with style ideas, starting points, design lessons, and budget-stretching decorating tips from the home experts at Better Homes and Gardens (R) books.
* More than 200 color photographs brimming with decorating ideas for every room of your home, including colorful kitchens, soothing bedrooms, and lively children's rooms
* Whole-house tours of the most popular decorating styles
* Decorator lessons on color theory, palettes, and practical applications
* Fun and fast decorating quick tips for affordable, stylish transformations

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Better Homes and Gardens; 1 edition (August 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0696211971
• ISBN-13: 978-0696211973
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #874,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Primer on Decorating, April 26, 2002

By 

Joseph Boone (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Decorating Basics: Styles, Colors, Furnishings (Better Homes & Gardens) (Paperback)

This is everything you might hope for in a basic decorating book. The first half is devoted to illustrating various styles of decorating and explaining how to make them work. The selection of motifs is quite eclectic (although not exhaustive) so there is something for everyone here. The remainder of the book discusses design elements such as colors, patterns, furnishings, window treatments, etc. The focus throughout is on giving concise, practical advice with over 200 color photos to support the text.

This is an easy read with a wealth of useful advice and a more than adequate number of pictures to help generate ideas. Want to know how best to showcase a collection? Trying to figure out which color to paint the walls to best highlight your wood furniture? The answers are here along with a great many other common issues.

If this book has a limititation, it is this. It is not an encyclopedia of decorating, it's a starting point. Since the title of the book is Decorating Basics, however, I do not consider this a flaw. For a modest price, you can get a great book to get you started on visualizing what kind of decor might work for you.

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not such a great deal, December 14, 2002

By 

Amy Hilliard (VA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Decorating Basics: Styles, Colors, Furnishings (Better Homes & Gardens) (Paperback)

The price may be cheap but you get what you pay for. I think that there are other books out there that do a better job of introducing interior decoration to first timers. This book did not show a wide range of design styles and the pictures are starting to look out-dated.

Recommendation: Choose another book.

Other Sources: If you want a better basic introduction to interior decoration, I suggest 1000 Practical Ideas for Home Decoration. This book even has tips for those who are design junkies. It has beautiful photographs, and many different styles are represented. Plus, the author has a great sense of humor. If you want to learn more about different design styles in particular, a good choice is The Ultimate Home Style Guide by Katherine Sorrell, or try the books from the Architecture and Design Library. They have books on styles ranging from Arts & Crafts to Retro Modern and from India Style to Mediterranean Style.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful photos, but lacks enough ideas for the beginner..., July 26, 2007

By 

LinAnne "Lin22" (Puget Sound) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Decorating Basics: Styles, Colors, Furnishings (Better Homes & Gardens) (Paperback)

If you are a beginner decorator, or a person just starting out in a new home, this book might overwhelm you. The reason I say this is because most beginners could never afford the expensive items and furniture photographed in this book.

The rooms photographed in this book are in the "classic" style--mostly.

The book does show the various color foundations in each room, though it does not go into great detail as to how to layer the colors themselves. For this reason, the reader may want to pick up a more "basic" book on COLOR first, such as "Color:The New Color Book" by CHRONICLE BOOKS, or "The Comfort of Color" by Susan Sargent.