Customer Reviews

Living In Style Without Losing Your Mind

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Small and easy to read,this little book offers a refreshing perspective on decorating. What he says may not be new, but the way he says it is. He addresses common problems and offers direct advice while also making us laugh at ourselves. An earlier reviewer missed the point when he/she said the book seemed "aimed at people who live in ideal houses with some old style charm or super modern chic." Wrong! I already have gotten so many ideas for my suburban home and for my sister's ordinary townhouse. The author helps you put YOURSELF in the rooms, and that, not the architecture, is what will give your rooms real style.

This is the first decorating/design book I've ever read that made me laugh out loud. It's snappy and opinionated (in a good way--it has a clear point of view and a fresh, friendly voice), and it's fun to read. AND it offers good, practical decorating advice. It makes me want to take vacation time to re-do my apartment!

For five years, I have been trying to redecorate my house. Then last week I read a story in Newsweek on this book and bought it. I already have so many great ideas from Marco Pasanella. I highly recommend this book to anyone about to buy a house, redecorate a house, or even someone who just wants to freshen up their home.

Read this before you buy all the other interior design books - this may well be the only book you need! The basics are explained without being techincal or boring, and you will feel much more confident about taking on the decoration of your home in your own personal style (rather than simply copying whatever the current trends are). A brilliant, interesting, well-written book!

I really enjoyed this book. Although it didn't provide a lot of concrete suggestions it did give me a better feeling of what I was trying to accomplish by redecorating my house. I don't feel I have a strong aesthetic sense but after reading this book I knew that I could create a home that I not only was proud for people to see but also was comfortable and livable and encouraged "coming together." I know that I won't go around following lots of the "tricks" so common in other books that don't make sense in my life and don't fit my style. Don't clutter your house with faddish trinkets. Surround yourself with things that are meaningful to you. This book will show you how to do that with a sense of style. I would encourage anyone to read this book before going out and spending a lot of money to recreate someone else's version of the perfect home!

Finally, a design book that is smart, beautifully written, doesn't take anything for granted, and yet doesn't treat the reader like an idiot. This book is great fun to read -- I stayed up late into the night and read it cover to cover -- and it really teaches a new way to approach home design. This book taught me a new way of seeing my home and helped me make it into a place that I not only live in but love.

I read all the interior design books that I can find, but this one is very special. It liberates your thinking. Many designers tell you to think about what you really need. In this book Marco Pasanella teaches you how to think about what you need.

I am about to move house and received this book from Amazon two days ago. It has transformed my ideas for my new home, and will probably save me from wasting money and making mistakes.

It is a very entertaining read, full of memorable quotes that will stay in my mind for a long time. It contains some thought provoking pictures, but if you are looking for a coffee-table book full of ideas to copy, this is not the book for you.

This book simplifies stylish interior designing with the reader's needs in mind. This is not your usual coffee table book on interior decoration. High on content and low on flashy (and usually inapplicable to real-life decorating) photos, it is the kind of reading material that you can grab when you need to get quick and useful ideas on elements of interior design such as space, lighting, furniture arrangement, and the like. The author's witty and straightforward writing style makes it a pleasure to read. Finally, the book does not impose its style on you - rather, it uncovers basic principles behind the various elements of interior decoration for you to actually apply depending on your needs, budget, and style.

Well, there really is a spate of decorating books out there that run the range from Martha Stewart to the idiot's guide to Feng Shui. This book charts a different course: Pasanella is irreverent, funny and pushes the reader to stop looking for solutions by decorators and think for him/herself.

That's right, Pasanella certainly won't get any kudos from "professionals" since his message is pretty simple: reduce your stuff down to the essentials and concentrate on making sure your space is about YOU. He does borrow ideas that are similar to what many Zen and Feng Shui decorators espouse but he also presents a very wide range of general ideas for the reader to try.

I have really enjoyed reading this simply for his often rather humourous comments, some of which are likely to upset many trying to convince clients they are incapable of decorating without the assistance of a professional. Important points are already underlined in red and the layout of the book, in my opinion, is quite fresh and interesting. The photos accompanying the text are interesting and new; I haven't seen them in any magazines so they are not just "stock" from some photo warehouse.

I suspect this will become a classic in short order, get one while it is cheap and in hardcover!

Lots of design books begin to seem like the same book in different jackets. Open "Living In Style" to its first photo and you know you have found an exception. I won't give you the specifics but it's an interior design idea for someone who loves a good cookie but doesn't want to eat too many. Marco is funny, frank & thought-provoking. He'd be great to have over for a beer and pizza. He and his ideas are smart yet "real life." This is not a book for anyone looking for specific ideas on how to decorate their house. It is for those of us who have our own personal sense of style and are looking for encouragement along with guidance. It's a quick read unless you read it several times as I have.