Decorative Murals with Donna Dewberry [Paperback]

Donna Dewberry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1999

With Donna Dewberry's help, even inexperienced do-it-yourself home decorators can turn any wall into a masterpiece! Donna has completed more than 1,200 custom decorative paint jobs for homes and businesses, perfecting a variety of surefire techniques along the way. In this book, she shares some of her favorite tricks and techniques for creating:

• 
  
  trompe l'oeil murals
• floral designs and leafy garlands
• faux wood, marble and other finishes
• popular theme designs, including gardens, animals and European scenes
• and other grand ideas for painting foyers, doors, windows, kitchens, dining rooms, bathrooms, bedrooms ... practically every room in your home!

Just follow the illustrated, step-by-step directions for great, professional-looking results. The hardest part will be deciding which gorgeous effect you want to paint first. Donna helps there, too, offering expert advice on choosing the right effects and colors, along with answers to all your questions on surface preparation, tools, paints and more!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Dewberry (Donna Dewberry's Complete Book of One-Stroke Painting) shows numerous interior projects she has painted. For each one, she gives a description of the techniques, colors, and materials used, with step-by-step instructions included for a few. Though her well-illustrated book will give experienced decorative painters inspiring suggestions, amateurs will need a book such as Priscilla Hauser's Book of Decorative Painting (LJ 9/15/97) to get started. Recommended where there is an interest.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Donna Dewberry is without doubt the most successful and well-known decorative painter ever. She has done nine books for North Light since 1998. She is contracted through 2007 with PBS stations nationwide for her program One-Stroke Painting with Donna Dewberry and is also a regular presenter on the Home Shopping Network. Her designs are licensed for home d?cor fabrics, wallpapers, borders, stick-ons, bedding, etc. Donna's most recent North Light books are Donna Dewberry's Designs for Entertaining (2006) and Painting Fabulous Flowers with Donna Dewberry (2006).

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (August 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089134988X
• ISBN-13: 978-0891349884
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #855,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Interior Design > Painting & Wallpapering

More About the Author

The world's most adored decorative painter, host of PBS' "One Stroke Painting with Donna Dewberry," and popular QVC personality, Donna Dewberry takes her popular garden motif and enhances clothes, gifts and the family home using machine embroidery, in Donna Dewberry's Machine Embroidery Flowers. She's sold 500,000 copies of her previous books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Long on inspiration, a little short on instruction, March 13, 2000

By 

Kate O'Neill (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Decorative Murals with Donna Dewberry (Paperback)

I loved this book for it's pictures and ideas. However, this is not a stand-alone book. In order to accomplish many of the projects in the book, you would need one of Donna's other more detail oriented books that would include the techniques necessary for painting each of the individual mural elements. I own many of Donna's books, but even so, was a little puzzled at how to go about recreating some of the pictured murals.

Nonetheless, I feel it is a wonderful book for ideas alone; and a number of techniques are detailed. It is a great jumping off point to unleash your own imagination!

One thing that I might mention is that it is not necessary to use the exact products that the author recommends in order to accomplish the desired results. She mentions that she uses products by Plaid Company, a very large craft product manufacturer. This company publishes Donna's line of smaller craft shop books, as well as other products in her One-Stroke line. While these are all good products, there are many other similar products on the market, particularly when it comes to paints.

This is just something to keep in mind if you arrive at the craft store and find another line of paints on sale for half price--your project will basically turn out the same!

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is full of great ideas!, November 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Decorative Murals with Donna Dewberry (Paperback)

This book has some amazing ideas that could dress up any home. She has ideas for everything from a little girl's room to the laundry room. I used her design for the greek columns/grapes in my own kitchen. The results were wonderful! One note of caution: this book is for people who have some of Donna's other books as it lacks a lot of the step-by-step instructions and patterns that they have. I would suggest getting a feel for free-hand painting before attempting anything that this book has to offer.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Splendid Ideas Photographed Perfectly, July 28, 2001

By 

Janet Brooks (Imlay City, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Decorative Murals with Donna Dewberry (Paperback)

Being a huge Donna Dewberry fan, I was not at all surprised when I opened this book. The pictures are fabulous and Donna's murals provide the reader with a plethora of ideas for many aspects of home decorating. Donna's books seem to have a magical quality about them making even the novice painter feel as though he/she could paint anything!

However, after I was mesmorized by the artwork, I felt disappointed with the lack of directions for each project. All of the other Dewberry books give explicit instructions, worksheets and patterns, this one does not. After studying this book intensely, I was left with the feeling one gets while looking at an Art book, like " gosh, what a talented artist, I wish I could create like that." In otherwords, instead of inspiring me and building my confidence as her other books have done so consistently, I felt overwhelmed and unsure of my budding talent. I think I'll stick to her other books and just use this not for reference, but as an addition to my coffee table.