Customer Reviews

Interior Design and Decoration (5th Edition)

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

 

 

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).

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.

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!

This book is a must for anyone wishing to understand classic prinicples of design. It gives details unavailable in many standard works. I had an earlier edition while in university and when I lost it after a move, was delighted to be able to find another copy of this valuable resource. It was like Christmas to have it once again in my possession.

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!

This book really helps me a lot in understanding the histury of furniture(I bought it as a textbook for my history of furniture classes). It covers the information well and one thing I really like is, there is a list of vocabularies related to the interior design, decoration, and furniture on couple pages at the back of the book! If I don't know a vocabulary, I don't need to figure it out through my dictionary, but I just need to see the back pages of the book:] Super booook!

This book really helped with providing a historical background for design throughout the centuries, and does so in a very consice, well written way thats easy to understand, remember and give context and understanding to design movments, prominent figures, and furniture throughout history. If you feel like you could use a buffer in your art history or design history, this book wont leave you dissapointed. The bibliography has been expanded a lot in this edition and provides a lot of valuable further links and materials you may choose to expand upon.

The "quality" of the book I was receiving was marked "Good" with little comments as to any problems. However, when I received the book, the first couple pages immediately fell out as I opened the book. There are highlighter marks, which I didn't mind but it'd be nice to know they were there prior to purchasing the book.

I have to complain with the seller: I paid $ 143,81 to get the book in Italy and now I received a book of 697 pages instead 784 pages as indicated by the publisher. Moreover, the photo cover is printed upside down.
How can I get explanation of that?

This book is a required textbook for my interior design classes. I believe it will be a useful resource for years to come.