Interior Design and Decoration (5th Edition) [Paperback]

Sherrill Whiton (Author), Stanley Abercrombie (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130307483 | ISBN-13: 978-0130307484 | Publication Date: August 30, 2001 | Edition: 5

The classic presentation of interior design and decoration has been revised and updated for the new millennium...Wide in scope and rich in detail, this book offers a unified treatment of interior design and the fine arts histories. Integrating information about materials and techniques with history, the text has been updated to include the developments in technology, interior design, and safety standards of the late twentieth century. Maps and timelines, special topic boxes, and chapter summaries help students to navigate through the wealth of material, and extensive color illustrations as welt as Gilbert Werle's classic black and white drawings add visual clarity, and excitement. Each chapter begins with some consideration of various design determinants, a chronology of key periods, dynasties, rulers, and events. There is a review of artistic accomplishments, and the common characteristics of the period are summarized. Discussions of character, quality, and cross-cultural comparison provide a basis for a challenging engagement with all of the elements of interior design.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The classic presentation of interior design and decoration
has been revised and updated for the new millennium...

Wide in scope and rich in detail, this book offers a unified treatment of interior design and the fine arts histories. Integrating information about materials and techniques with history, the text has been updated to include the developments in technology, interior design, and safety standards of the late twentieth century. Maps and timelines, special topic boxes, and chapter summaries help students to navigate through the wealth of material, and extensive color illustrations as welt as Gilbert Werle's classic black and white drawings add visual clarity, and excitement.

Each chapter begins with some consideration of various design determinants, a chronology of key periods, dynasties, rulers, and events. There is a review of artistic accomplishments, and the common characteristics of the period are summarized. Discussions of character, quality, and cross-cultural comparison provide a basis for a challenging engagement with all of the elements of interior design.

About the Author

Stanley Abercrombie has been editor in chief of the magazines Interiors and Interior Design. The author of 10 books, he has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and has served as a director of the Society of Architectural Historians. Sherrill Whiton was the founder and first president of the New York School of Interior Design. 

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 5 edition (August 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130307483
• ISBN-13: 978-0130307484
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Very Historical Overview of Interiors, January 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Interior Design and Decoration (Hardcover)

I found this book to be loaded with information. The author did an especially good job of incorporating the political, economic, and social context into the discussion of period styles. My main complaint about this book, however, was the complex writing style. It seemed to jump around a lot in attempt to include a basic overview of everything. This became VERY confusing at times. I feel it would be most helpful to someone who already has a solid background in the history of interior/furniture design periods. There was a lot of information about specific arts and crafts of each period (ie. metalwork, ceramics, woodwork).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedia-like reference book of design styles, December 21, 2007

By 

Anne-Marie Gallagher "Interior Design Student" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Interior Design and Decoration (Paperback)

This is the only textbook used for the two History of Design courses at my school. I've found the book to be useful and informative, although not especially innovative or inspiring.

The contents are divided into 7 main sections, each with 2 to 5 chapters: The Ancient World (Egypt, the Near East), The Classical World (Greece, Rome), The Middle Ages (Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Islamic), The East (India, China, Japan), The Renaissance (Italy, Spain, France, England, Africa), The New World (Pre-Columnibian and Early America), and The Modern World (19th Century, 20th Century). Each chapter runs from 20-30 pages and is similarly formatted, starting with a timeline and going into the Geography and Natural Resources, the Religion, and the Political and Military Factors of the period. While this provides a context for the design innovations of each period, it also gives the book a rather characterless "voice" akin to the essays one might find in an encyclopedia.

Overall, the photos featured are very good; some, like the detail of a Neoclassical English ceiling, are amazingly beautiful. I also appreciated the sidebar information, "Tool and Techniques" that serves to explain and illustrate such topics as "Curtains and Drapery" (detailing the differences between Plain Shirring, Open Rings, French Heading, and Box Pleating, for instance). Other "Tools and Techniques" topics include Stained Glass, Frescos, and the Science of Color.

One of the things I found puzzling is not unique to this book, but involves the way things are classified in a general sense. The classifications of the sections will be familiar to most readers; many American readers will have learned history in exactly the way presented in the book--starting with the "Ancient" and moving through the "Classical" to the "Middle Ages" and "Renaissance," and so on. What I find curious about this is the rather rigid format of these categories, with poor Egypt forever sentenced to Antiquity, as if there have been no design innovations there in a few thousand years. Discussion of Italian design is relegated the Classical and Renaissance periods, again, as if that design-rich country hasn't made exciting contributions in the last 50 years. I understand that the authors were obligated to find some way to simplify and organize a vast quantity of data; the solution they chose is just a very antiquated type of categorization.

A more inexcusable problem is the lack of copyediting; there are some unfortunate typos that amount to misinformation, i.e. the definitions of yin and yang are reversed on page 211 in the Chinese section; elsewhere, the definition of rail and stile are confounded, and there are similar grave typos elsewhere.

Whatever its faults, the book is packed with information, photos, illustrations, and even quotes from famous designers. The simple, straight-forward discussions on the different styles allowed me to finally understand the difference between Louis XIV and Louis XVI, Art Deco and Art Nouveau, as well as Chinese and Japanese design prinicples, thus earning its keep on my design bookshelf as a reference book of styles.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!, February 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Interior Design and Decoration (Hardcover)

As an instructor of Interior Design, I cannot praise this book enough....My students as well as fellow instructors find it an invaluable tool, not only in teaching beginning level courses, but also as a great reference manual after the student graduates....Several of us still have well-worn copies in our offices...Buy this book, you won't be dissapointed!