Customer Reviews

Martha Stewart's New Old House: Restoration, Renovation, Decoration, Landscaping

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is to home improvement, what a Rolls Royce is to the automobile world. Everything is done in grand style, for instance, the fences in her gardens are all hand made. She uses genuine copperleaf to spruce up a flight of stairs that no one will ever see, due to location. This book is big, literally, bold, beautiful and luscious in every way, except practicality

As a recent purchaser of an old house, I really enjoyed the first few sections of this book and thought it might really be helpful for our remodel. However, it quickly turned into a big spend-fest, as other reviews have mentioned. Get this only for the nice pictures and commentary, certainly don't expect advice on how to do anything yourself.

On one hand I liked seeing step by step how an old run down house was saved and restored (be kind to your handy man and all contractors-- they're heroes) but I really didn't like how Martha kept reminding the readers in what seemed to be every chapter how tacky the previous owner was. That didn't seem particularly kind and it was not necessary to the success of the book.

This is one of my favorite books for inspiration when I'm feeling stuck on a project in our own "new old house." It's definitely over the top for most homeowners, and I didn't like the jabs at the previous owner, either. But the pictures are gorgeous and there are great decorating ideas.

The Photos and the home are beautiful! Maybe not good for ideas to restore, but the federal colonial farmhouse was done in wonderful taste and style. I reccomend it to anyone who loves old homes. It's my favorite book. How nice!

I was actually quite impressed with the level of detail that was put into this book. Even though she herself did not do the actual heavy bits of restoration, she provides in detail what was actually done on her New York farmhouse and illustrates it with some pretty nice photos. I'm pleased and the shipment was fast. Thanks!

This book chronicles the renovation/restoration that Martha Stewart completed on a historic New England farmhouse. It is very specific about many of the tasks that she completed, and gives some general how-to information (how to hire a contractor, create a landscape design, etc). I was disappointed because I was looking for ideas to restore and renovate my "new old house" and didn't really find much inspiration here. Much of the decorating revolved around painting murals and designs on the floor, which is something that I don't plan on doing. If you are planning a major renovation project to a large, historic home, this book might be a good starting place but I wouldn't rely on it for all of my information. Although it didn't really help me with my specific plans, it was an interesting, sometimes sketchy, read.