Jazz Up Your Junk With Linda Barker: Fabulous Furniture Makeovers from the Star of Bbc-Tv's Changing Rooms [Hardcover]

Linda Barker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1999

Transform garage sale finds, family cast-offs, and other junk into uniquely personal decorative pieces. Let a notable interior design star teach you everything you need to turn trash into treasure. Full-color photographs detail every step of twenty fabulous projects that range in style from traditional country floral to contemporary chic. A battered floor lamp gets a new lease on life with fake silver gilding; a plain single bed becomes a young gifts fantasy mini four-poster; a dull, double-fronted wardrobe gets a face-lift to become a French-style armoire. Other projects include chairs, cupboards, tables, a writing desk, screen, footstool, washstand, and more. Many popular decorative techniques are used, such as gilding, mosaic, paint effects, stenciling, applique, and etching to create stunning effects on wood, glass, metal, and fabric. Home decorators will enjoy learning new craft skills, gaining creative inspiration, and ending up with fantastic furnishings for next to nothing! A Selection of BOMC's Country Book Club.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Junk abounds--some of us have basements and attics full of it, while others seek it out at flea markets and yard sales. The secret is determining which pieces have the potential to take on a new life, becoming decorative and useful items that lend character to a room. Linda Barker has a sure eye for recognizing the ugly duckling and bringing out its inner swan, with the help of paint, fabric, basic craft supplies, and occasionally some simple carpentry. In her book, Jazz up Your Junk, chairs, tables, armoires, and more are stenciled, decoupaged, glass-etched, and sometimes given minor surgery (nailing two side supports to the top of a sturdy coffee table, for instance, cleverly turns it into a vanity-table bench). Not every project is a stunning success (the floor lamp still looks dated despite its silver leaf; the punched tin seems out of place on the massive doors of the tallboy unit) but most are attractive. Best of all, Barker shows us the "before" pictures as well as the in-progress and "after" shots, and explains what attracted her to each piece, thus instructing readers on how to recognize a good piece of junk when you find it and how to approach its transformation. --Amy Handy

From Library Journal

This book contains projects for transforming cast-off, damaged furniture into beautiful, decorative pieces using wood cutwork, d?coupage, or detailed painting. Each project shows a before and an after photograph of the piece and contains clear, well-illustrated instructions. Although similar to the projects found in Sheila McGraw's Painting & Decorating Furniture (LJ 1/98), Barker's projects are a bit simpler, which will make this book particularly appealing to beginners. A good purchase for public libraries.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: David & Charles (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0715308327
• ISBN-13: 978-0715308325
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,466,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Interior Design > Upholstery & Fabrics

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of Great Ideas!, April 27, 2000

By 

Caroline P. Hampton (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jazz Up Your Junk With Linda Barker: Fabulous Furniture Makeovers from the Star of Bbc-Tv's Changing Rooms (Hardcover)

Linda Barker is a wealth of knowledge and know-how. She's got endless ideas that an average gal like myself can do without a second thought. This book allows that dusty junk in the basement to become a great new piece in your home. She's got so many creative and cheap ideas in this book. The amount of creativity is never-ending. Her work is so easy and natural. Great for Everyone!

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical and useful projects, October 7, 2005

By 

Love my Books - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jazz Up Your Junk With Linda Barker: Fabulous Furniture Makeovers from the Star of Bbc-Tv's Changing Rooms (Hardcover)

Many books I've come across seem to have frivolous unusable decorative furniture makeover projects. Not with this book! I wasn't disappointed one bit, and much of the furniture pieces are items we've all acquired cheaply or simply have stored them in our basements with junk abounding on top of them. Easy to follow instructions and you don't have to be a pro at using tools, materials, etc. I was very pleased with the furniture that I was able to turn into something practicle and useable.

8 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars jazz up your junk with linda barker, November 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Jazz Up Your Junk With Linda Barker: Fabulous Furniture Makeovers from the Star of Bbc-Tv's Changing Rooms (Hardcover)

I was horrified by Barker's book. She destroys attractive, and often costly, antiques to make artsy-craftsy pieces which will look dated within ten years. It's hard to believe she purchased the original pieces at bargain prices. I fear readers may destroy even more valuable items now sitting in their attics. If someone owns the necessary power tools, is willing to buy expensive materials and replacement hardware, and has unlimited time to do these projects, they should head to the local unfinished furniture store and use their own ideas and creativity rather than purchase this ill-considered book.