In the Oriental Style: A Sourcebook of Decoration [Paperback]

Sian Evans (Author), Michael Freeman (Author, Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

An illustrated celebration of the Oriental style of interior design, which discusses topics such as the refined craftsmanship of Thai textiles, the traditional statuary of Burma and the minimalism of Japanese interiors, with advice on how to integrate Eastern design into the home. First published in 1990.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The creators of this Asian-design sourcebook believe that "there is no single, definitive 'Oriental' style, but rather a wealth of diverse treatments and approaches ... which range from authentic traditional interiors to the exuberant, eclectic blending of arts and artifacts ... in re-creations of Oriental styles in the West." The Oriental Style is artful without being opaque, classy without lapsing into elitism. While beautiful in their simplicity, the examples in the "Traditional Living" section may be too austere for the average home decorator. However, later chapters showcase a rich mélange of styles--a Tibetan rug in an English country den, or a wooden Buddha in a stairway alcove--that any Asian-design enthusiast will appreciate. Particularly useful are the chapters on furnishings and decorative details, which display and describe dozens of classic and modern items, from futons and folding screens to wooden chests and the smaller accents that make your home truly unique. --Jhana Bach

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch Press (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821223674
• ISBN-13: 978-0821223673
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Freeman, professional photographer and author, with more than 100 book titles to his credit, was born in England in 1945, took a Masters in geography at Brasenose College, Oxford University, and then worked in advertising in London for six years. He made the break from there in 1971 to travel up the Amazon with two secondhand cameras, and when Time-Life used many of the pictures extensively in the Amazon volume of their World's Wild Places series, including the cover, they encouraged him to begin a full-time photographic career.

Since then, working for editorial clients that include all the world's major magazines, and notably the Smithsonian Magazine (with which he has had a 30-year association, shooting more than 40 stories), Freeman's reputation has resulted in more than 100 books published. Of these, he is author as well as photographer, and they include more than 40 books on the practice of photography - for this photographic educational work he was awarded the Prix Louis Philippe Clerc by the French Ministry of Culture. He is also responsible for the distance-learning courses on photography at the UK's Open College of the Arts.

Freeman's books on photography have been translated into fifteen languages, and are available on other Amazon international sites.

They are supported for readers by a regularly updated site, http://thefreemanview.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars LittleText, Lacks Vision, Slapdash Page Edit'g. 2 1/2 stars, January 26, 2001

By 

Renee Thorpe (Karangasem, Bali) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Oriental Style: A Sourcebook of Decoration (Paperback)

Studying this book made me appreciate the great job done by most editors of style and design source books. This particular book falls short of the standard set by Asian style gurus like Tan Hock Beng and Barbara Walker.

While this book is chock-a-block with professional photos of beautiful objets d'art and of sumptuous east-meets-western-interior-decorator homes, it comes off as an unsorted pile of images; the editorial vision never gets far beyond, "hey, y'all, check out this neat-lookin' stuff!"

One way the editor could have improved the flow of this book would have been to devote just one more pair of facing pages to each of the featured homes. Facing pages are used to some advantage to concentrate on one given home, but these photos sometimes seem disjointed together rather than harmonious. And far too much distance is put between the walls and the camera, so while the overall room can be studied, there is often a lack of up-close, detail shots.

Positive elements: the traditional Japanese interiors are gorgeous, and there are nice shots showing how objects can be grouped; there are lots of hints on how to work east and west together.

Negative elements: three categories of Oriental design and decoration as introduced in the preface are never referred to again; this could have been a way to organize the book! Reader is made to jump from a collection of ornate Chinese and Japanese armoirs (pages 104 - 105), to a variety of Asian bedroom interiors (pages 106 - 107), to 3 rooms of a contemporary Philippines residence (pages 108 - 109). ...it's annoyingly random. There are too many photos of antique shop displays (with overwhelming arrays of objects) with (get this) big price tags on the items, in plain view! If you love the cluttered look, this may not be objectionable, but if you want to see more actual examples of putting a design element to its best advantage, this book won't measure up. I found the examples of western homes using Asian artifacts to be odd, & even sometimes quite insensitive to the beauty of the pieces.

To be sure, there are some lovely photos in here, and many of the pieces (individual design elements) are quite nice. I don't doubt that the average reader will find something here to be inspired by. But there is a general lack of order and subtlty, and far too many inappropriate juxtapositions of images on the same page.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent decoration help...esp. for expats, June 23, 2001

By 

Gerrit Ruitinga "gerrit ruitinga" (Antwerp) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Oriental Style: A Sourcebook of Decoration (Paperback)

This book is described as a sourcebook and that's what it is. It is certainly not an overview of Oriental furniture since the emphasis is on display and design. It is, however, a great book for those who wish to blend in some Oriental furniture in their Western homes.

The title may be a bit misleading; the main part of the book concentrates on South-East Asian furniture and not so much on Japanese/Korean styles. Most of the furniture comes from Thailand, Burma and China.

For those, like me, who live in that part of the world that is OK. The antiques available in Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong are mostly, in the affordable categories, from these countries.

In particular, there is a wealth of Chinese old furniture on the market. And for those who think prices are a problem, forget it. We have picked up many cabinets from Chian around $ 750 and for similar amounts you go to a good furniture shop in BKK and have lovely pieces handmade for you from your own design ideas.

Even if you don't live here, but are here on a visit you can easily buy and have it shipped ( we have done it for friends on quite a few occassions). The shipping rates are quite OK and allow you still to pick up some pieces at good prices.

For amateurs like me, who simply wish to introduce some Asian elements in their homes this book is very valuable and gives many ideas, not in the least through the many photographs.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not What I Was Looking For, April 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Oriental Style: A Sourcebook of Decoration (Paperback)

If you are looking for Japanese accents to your home, this is not the book for you. I was disappointed as there were only very few references to Japanese design. Some rooms were overly decorated and looked too busy that one cannot enjoy the "beautiful objects and exotic materials." Too gaudy for me. I would much rather go for the simplicity of the Japanese home.