Customer Reviews

Just junk

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

 

 

This was the first book my mother bought me on this subject, & it has become my bible! In fact, I've been trying to find comparable books for some fresh, new ideas, but all of the books I have purchased or been given since have fallen short!

Barker starts out with an intro. section that tells you everything you need to know about stripping, painting, molding putty to replace broken details, reinforcing old chairs & drawers, filling handle holes, checking for pests, etc. It shows step by step pictures & has step by step instructions. This section is invaluable, & I refer to it time & time again.

Although I would have to agree with the previous viewer about the "blues" of the chair & the "pickled sideboard," Barker does offer many wonderful ideas. I don't personally like all of her ideas, but I think that an important accomplishment this book has made is that she has refinished almost every piece with a different technique; thus, you have the information & knowledge available to you to use your own imagination & mix it up a little.

For example, in her bedroom chapter, she shows a Formica topped cabinet that she refinished in a crackle pattern with decoupage fronts. I'm not into the crackle or the decoupage, BUT the actual paint finish was incredible! She stripped, sealed, primed, etc. Then, she used a pale yellow paint. After that, she rubbed the entire surface with an Artist's oil (burnt umber). It was a remarkable, "shabby" finish!! My hubby & I are now using this basic combination to refinish a bargain, couch table we found..

Just Junk : New Looks for Old Furniture
by Linda Barker (Introduction)

Being a big fan of Changing Rooms, I am collecting books by the different decorators and Handy Andy. As usual, Linda Barker shows fabulous tips for turning old pieces of junk you may hanging around the house or find at flea markets. She shows you how to spruce them up and make them show pieces for your particular home.

Her instructions were particularly helpful to this person who does not even know to paint.

Sure, I wouldn't choose some of her color schemes but this was an especially helpful "how-to" and idea book, and I recommend it to all.

I have been searching for books that outline different painting techniques for YEARS. This book does a great job of showing exactly how to achieve different painted looks on different types of items. The directions are clear and really pretty basic. There are examples of decoupage, tiling and painting that are actually things we non-Martha Stewart types might be able to do! I bought this for a girl friend, and I'm ordering another one for myself.

This would be a good book for someone looking to restore furniture.
Not enough new, practical information for me. Iknew most of the info already,and while I like to look at before and after photos, there weren't that many in this book.

Oh well, win some,lose some!

The book is great on ideas of what to do with "junk" from everything you may find in your basement to those great deals at flea markets.

When I use the Look Inside feature, I don't mean to steal information, or read the book. With a craft book, I want to see what sort of results this author gets. For some reason, and it really puzzles me, some of these books will actually let you see all the techniques in detail, but none of the 'looks' produced!

Hint: this is a craft book. It should appeal to artists. Eye candy is what you should show. Showing HOW the work is done is the no-no.

I have to admit that I did get some tidbits, but I found this book was either far too simple or that it had too few instructions for the procedures. Also, the projects were not in my taste as I hate the "country" look. There really was not much restoration or preservation in it and it mostly involved the taking of old items and spending a lot of time making them look new so that you can then spend too much time making them look "fake" old.
Sorry - just not my taste.

I usually only bother with books that offer "search inside". Though this one does offer that feature, what a joke. Trust me, when I am interested in a book, I look through the whole thing first. The more I see, that I like, the greater the chance I buy it. Is the author afraid of us stealing ideas, or is she afraid that when we see the illustrations, we won't want to purchase the book? I won't be buying this book.