Customer Reviews

Fireplace Decorating and Planning Ideas

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To say that I was pleased with this book would be the understatement of the year! When I first looked through it, I was pleased by the 150 color photographs, but thought I liked some of them and not others. However, when I read the easy-to-read text, I have to say that I actually LEARNED something important from each and every illustration, of which each is well discussed in the text. Most imortantly, the book covers all the important questions to ask yourself when trying to choose which kind of fireplace, as well as all the pertinent information about each type. It also talks about fireplace care and maintenance, and how to prevent dangerous creosote buildup in your chimney. Lastly, the book covers decorating rooms with fireplaces and various types of mantle, discussing imortant design and decorating principles throughout. In addition, this paperback book is printed on lovely paper--it was a pleasure to read in every way. One of the most "well-worth-the-money" books I have ever seen.

We just finished adding a new fireplace to our living room. The project sounded simple until the builder began asking questions about the details of the final look and finish last fall. We didn't know where to begin to get ideas. I searched for "fireplaces" at amazon and found this book, which is excellent. There is a lot of information in the book but just as important as that are all the big color photos of all kinds of fireplaces. We were able to mark all the ones we liked and then show the builder exactly what we had in mine. In our case, he was going to build a big boxy thing right up to the ceiling, but we showed several examples of chimneys that stepped back from the fire box. Inspired by the cover and another shot inside the book, we also decided to angle the sides of the chimney enclosure and add textured plaster for an old world look. The book also helped us create a better furniture arrangement to focus on the fire and to "direct traffic" around the furniture grouping.

Given the fact that I just bought the Fireplace book and loved it, I was personally annoyed by the review that found fault with the book. We looked and could not find any other books that were as comprehensive as this one,which is all about how to work a fireplace into one's overall room design. I personally found the room arranging ideas helpful, and I also have rearranged objects on our mantel, using ideas from the book. My husband is using ideas from the book to figure out where to put the fireplace into the master suite that we are adding on.The fireplaces shown range from modern to trraditional, country, Victorian, and everything in between. Some are old, some new, some woodburning, some gas. I even learned about new editor-approved electric fires that mimic the real thing. I also liked the fireplace makeovers, because we hope to change the style of ours (which more than 20 years old) in the near future.

FIRST, THIS IS A VALUE... IT'S THE BOOK I'VE LOOKED FOR AND NEVER FOUND BEFORE BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT DECORATING INSTEAD OF BUILDING OR REMODELING. THERE'S GREAT INFORMATION HERE ON "FACE-LIFTING" OR MAKING OVER AN OLD FIREPLACE AND ON CHOOSING THE STYLE AND TRIM FOR A NEW FIREPLACE THAT YOU PLAN TO ADD. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. IN THIS BOOK, I FINALLY GOT WHAT I NEEDED ON ROOM ARRANGING AROUND A FIREPLACE... I ALSO LIKED THE DECORATING IDEAS FOR MANTLES. NOW WE WANT TO ADD A FIREPLACE TO THE MASTER BEDROOM, AND I WILL USE THIS BOOK AS A GUIDE IN DECIDING WHERE TO PUT THE FIREPLACE, HOW TO TRIM IT OUT AND HOW TO ARRANGE OUR FURNISHINGS AROUND IT.

This BH&G book has handsome photos and lots of tips on making over a dated fireplace (which we have to do), as well as choosing and positioning a new fireplace (which we also plan to do in our master suite). The Better Homes and Gardens Fireplace book shows a wide range of room and furnishings styles, and I especially like the room arranging tips.

This is the best fireplace book I have seen. First of all the book has hundreds of beautiful and varied fireplace pictures. The pictures are great because they show the fireplaces in the home, decorated, and with the home furnishings around them. They are all warm and inviting although very different. The text of the book flows well also. First it helps even a novice decorator find the styles that work with your personality and home. Then it breaks down fireplace ideas by the different living areas in the house.

My wonderful brother built a beautiful fireplace mantel and surround for me. I got my inspiration from this great book. I also use it for ideas for decorating the mantel - I love to change the look often.

This book makes a wonderful reference. We've used it again and again, flipping through to get ideas for how we want to finish off the fireplace we are adding to our home. You don't realize how many possibilities there are until you decide to add a new fireplace. The book has a lot of good information in it, but, frankly, we bought it for all the photos of one handsome fireplace after another.

Like another reviewer said, The Fireplace Design Sourcebook by Melissa Cardona is a much better choice. Why he gave this book 5 stars anyway I can't figure out. I have over 20 postits marking pages in the other book and not a single one in this book. Not a single idea for the stone, mantle, or anything worth using. Way too much filler writing that didn't apply to anything, describing styles and types that are never applied in real world designs.

"The Inglenook is a charmingly old-fashioned idea and the word itself is equally quaint. Ingle is a British word for..." Well, you get the idea.

I can see the point that this book has a good decorating focus, but I still don't think it is a great book even for that and if you are just looking for fireplace ideas I think you will find this lacking.

The Better Homes & Gardens book "Fireplace Decorating & Planning Ideas" is an excellent book. We are building a new home, and were looking for fireplace designs for ideas. There is also a lot of "how to" information, in which we weren't particularly interesed, but the book gave us some good ideas. An even better book, for our application, which we ordered at the same time, is a Schiffer Book by Melissa Cardona entitled "The Fireplace Design Sourcebook" It has more photographs, and an enormous variety of fireplace designs to peruse.