From Publishers Weekly
Nikitas, the host of San Francisco cable television's The Power of Positive Painting, promises us "grand" finishes for walls and floors in this otherwise down-to-earth guide for the do-it-yourselfer.Well, why not? We've already observed all manner of colorful role models in this field-the crafty New Englander, the practical Midwesterner, the cracker-barrel philosopher from the South. Here we get the laid-back Californian, but we are not urged to get blissed out at a Zen monastery in preparation for a redo. This is instead a basic presentation of three home improvement projects-wall painting, wallpapering and floor refinishing-in unintimidating plain talk. Instructions are friendly and offer a pointedly ecological awareness. Nikitas's firm and gentle personality comes across. Sidebars, called "The Voice of Experience," are useful hints in the form of cautionary tales narrated with a cheerful nonchalance (e.g., a painfully funny story about hanging a very long strip of wallpaper horizontally). How-to illustrations are direct and to the point. It's a good book for coaxing the wary beginner, rather than a source book for the hardened DIY addict. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Nikitas, a professional home remodeler, hosts the San Francisco public access television show, The Power of Positive Painting. His book covers a variety of techniques, including painting, wall papering, and refinishing wood floors. A separate section deals with painting kitchen cabinets. Nikitas writes in an informal manner that readers will welcome, offering tricks of the trade throughout. He provides an excellent guide to several areas of remodeling that at first glance may appear easy but in retrospect are often quite hard. Smaller public libraries can get by with one of the big, all-in-one, do-it-yourself books like Time-Life's The Encyclopedia of Wood (1993), but larger collections will want to consider this excellent book.
Jonathan Hershey, Akron-Summit Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Jonathan Hershey, Akron-Summit Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
