Customer Reviews

Pad: The Guide to Ultra-Living

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

It seems like so many people have reviewed this book on the basis of one or two of the rooms in it: the comments about clutter and nightmare "before" rooms are applicable to perhaps 1/4 of the homes shown in the book, and some lovely examples of the opposite have been ignored. PAD is not about junk-hunting at flea-markets or creating a "look", unless the look you want is retro-modern-surrealism. It is very much about subcultural decorating and lifestyles, and unlike most current design books I've seen, it has some very original and interesting projects in it. The flame pit is great (and extremely adaptable); the resin coasters are something you'd pay big bucks for in a hip little downtown store; the porno lamp is probably a really bad idea and I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. A decorating pitfall that people fall into is purchasing ill-made basics with no personality from cheap chain stores; PAD will rescue you from ugly chintz bedcovers. Many negative reviews of this book have failed to mention that it is text-heavy, which both expands on the photos and puts them in context. A book with a page of cocktail garnishes, plants it might be hard to kill, and directions on how to make a shag-fur covered television cabinet is definitely *NOT* aimed at the Tasteful Decor crowd, so I don't know why those people bothered and why they're bothering to complain: this is Urban Outfitters, not Pottery Barn. This book is for kitsch fanatics, art freaks, and people with a little bit of punk rock in their soul... all others should beware.

...she would have written this fab little book.

Do you enjoy:
- French country decor?
- Rachel Ashwell and her "Shabby Chic" lifestyle?
- extreme minimalism?

If so, you might not "get" this book.

If you're looking for fun, wacky, goofy, off-the-wall concepts of how a person's living space can be decorated, you will probably get a kick out of this book. I did.

I don't know if there are many people who would try and duplicate (in their own homes) the rooms shown in this book - many look pretty unlivable. Then again, the same could be said of the opulent (and often overdone) showhomes in any issue of "Architectural Digest."

I love this book because of the creativity and the total abandon with which many of these rooms are decorated. I wouldn't paper the walls of my powder room in cheap, dime-store toys, or re-do my living room with velvet couches, swag lamps and statues of David...but there are some who have the moxie to do so, and it's all here for you to gawk at in full glorious color.

I received this book as a gift and at first glance I wasn't sure it liked it. However, the more I looked at it the more I grew to love it. In fact, it's now one of my favorites. The décor is imaginative, wild, eclectic and truly original. It inspires you to look past the traditional and ordinary to create you own style.

There are design ideas for every room of your home including the living room, bedroom, office, bathroom, patio and entertainment room. Throughout the book over 20 different homes are shown and the owners share their design ideas and tastes with the reader. The homes reflect the owners' own unique personal style. There is an office decorated with wall-to-ceiling zebra prints, a bathroom featuring walls covered with cheap toys, and both a bathroom and bedroom come alive with psychedelic colors. There are a few more moderate rooms like a postmodern living room and a Moroccan style guest room. If nothing else some of these room will make you laugh.

Even if you hate all the home's décor the book is worth the price just for the projects. Some of my favorites include a framed mirror, flame pit, minimalist style disk partition, a flaming volcano centerpiece and "Cousin It" tissue box cover. There are lots of lighting projects as well, including a "Hawaiian Eye" swag lantern, a birdcage lamp and cocktail mug lamp. It also shows you how to easily make custom curtains without using a sewing machine and create an inlaid area rug.

There is also lots of helpful advice on growing things. This includes a list with care information of hard to kill indoor plants as well as advice on growing herbs and vegetables in containers for those that don't have a yard. A list of what alcoholic beverages to store in your home bar, advice on how to garnish and variety of punch mix recipes are also included. There is even advice on picking party music and transforming an ugly room into something wonderful and affordable.

As a bonus you get an excellent resource list including most major flea markets in almost every state across the U.S. A warning for those who are sensitive, there are a few sexual pictures and words in this book. If you looking for a book with unique decorating ideas, great home décor projects and great advice on everything from choosing carpet to making drinks this is the book to get.

Upon the arrival of PAD on my doorstep last week, I must admit, I had no clue what a true surprise and treat I was in for. This book is unlike anything else I have ever read and is nothing short of explosive. With its luscious Technicolor photographs and top-notch writing, 'PAD' has already become a favorite in my collection. Entertaining while remaining informative, Matt Maranian finds the perfect balance among style, wit, and instructional guidelines. 'PAD,' consistently thorough in approach, even includes an index of instructions on such things as how to change light fixtures for those of us who don't know. Every project (and there are many) includes very clear and descriptive instructions, along with a series of concise drawings for further illustration. Completely original, even the most professional decorators and style fiends will find limitless inspiration from the book's instructional offerings. Opening the cover of PAD is like opening the door to another world. Even the cover, with its shimmery letters, looks ultra-exotic in itself, and its promise of ultra-glamour is indeed fulfilled. Dim the lights, grab a cocktail, and allow PAD to work its magic!

Looking at this book is like watching a high-fashion runway show. The things you see will be way over the top but, ideally, will challenge your ideas of what goes with what and encourage you to make bolder choices than you might otherwise.

This book is very inspirational in that I found projects I could do easily and cheaply and I simply adapted them to suit my own style. For instance, I have no intention of creating a Turkish opium den in my living room but that section of the book did inspire me to make richly colored and textured curtains to hide an eyesore of a fireplace. Likewise, a coat of paint and some fun fabric saved a cheap white cabinet from the trash.

The book offers easy to follow, step-by step instructions for many projects and encourages you to find low cost and imaginative ways to spruce up a dreary place.

The purpose of this book is to fire your imagination and, on that note, it succeeds admirably.

Finally, some appreciation for those whose decorating tastes may never reach the pages of Architectural Digest, but ooze with character! If you are a do-it-yourself-er, a tiki freak, live for flea markets and estate sales, or hang out in alleys on the first of the month, you need this book! I know I'll be setting off the fire alarm with Maranian's fabulous garnishes at my next soiree!

I do think the reviewers who gave this book a bad rating are really missing the point. With Martha Stewart hawking her wares at K-Mart and a Pottery Barn catalog in every home, the yuppie, shabby-chic, pastel, country casual look has almost become the Official State Decorating Style. To me, a lot of the rooms in decorating magazines look like stage-sets without actors; rooms to be admired but not lived in. ("Oh my God! Someone knocked the ottoman out of alignment with the chair!") "Pad" encourages the reader to let loose in their surroundings, to put their interests & collections front & center without concern (or care) that others will think them eccentric. As others have said, these are not rooms to be copied. One of the `presenters' is a drag queen in a Barbarella bubble-bra, for crying out loud! But, s/he also gives you some hints on how to make a mosaic floor rug. Take the idea and run! If you are thinking about buying this book, consider this. People either love it or hate it. That means it HAS to be interesting & challenging at the very least. If nothing else, it's a great coffee table book to look at with friends & giggle over the excess! To the people who hated the book & now "`can't even think of anyone to give it away to." Try someone with a sense of humor, if you know anybody like that.

this book is for you! I saw it in a bookstore, and couldn't stop thinking about it, so I went back and bought it a few weeks later. I have no desire to have the "french provincial" look or anything else very traditional in my home. This book makes me realize that not everyone wants the cookie-cutter look in their house or apartment or loft, and that's a fantastic thing. The book shows things as extreme as a Hawaii-themed dining room with a green astroturf carpet, and as minimalist as a brown room with brown felt all over the walls, brown bed coverings and headboard, and nothing adorning the walls but an oversized bookcase. And *anyone* can find some kind of inspiration in this book. My 63-year old mother decided that she wanted to do a lamp like the "Porno Chic Love Lamp" (p.52), but she was going to get a pre-bought base and use some of her family pictures as the feature pictures on the lamp.

For those nay-sayers reviewers who say this book is not for them, they obviously didn't read the introduction:

"Pad will not show you how to choose a color pallate, Pad will not provide instruction for selection furniture and accessories, and Pad will not serve as a guide to help you develop a 'personal style'. ... Pad is a book for the empowered, the inspired, and the creative. It's a book for people who forge their own trail, and who know how to make the very most of what they have at hand - or can find cheaply. Pad is the guerilla approach to home decorating."

One other quote in the book is by one of the most extreme decorators in the book. He says, "I always dreamed that someday I'd have a big mansion with themed rooms that I'd be able to decorate with an unlimited budget. But I decided I was just going to do it now, wherever I happened to be living, and with whatever funds I had."

I love this book. I love the designs, and I love how colorful the book is. I love the passions and quirky decorating styles of the designers. I love the ideas for craft projects in the book (and there are some really neat ones). The point of the book is not to design your house like the ones in the book. The owners of the homes in the book did not design them like that to impress you or me or people who write books. They designed to make themselves comfortable and happy, and that's the whole point of the book. Design a place to live that makes you happy. Some designs are extreme, some are minimalist, but all make the owners happy, and that's what it's all about, baby.

I watch the show "Trading Spaces" religiously, and it's given me more confidence to try home decorating projects instead of buying everything. I've also decided on a "retro" theme for my house, and I knew that I had to get this book as soon as I saw the instructions on how to make your own tiki bar. While it's true that this book is full of tacky kitch (is that redundant?), there are also a lot of great ideas and inspirational photos. This book is not necessarily for people who love flea markets, but it's great for people who want to recreate the "retro" look.

Even though my taste is more inclined to shabby chic, this book is an inspiration! I actually saw it in a bookstore, bought it online as a gift and after looking through it again, decided to keep it. Maybe I'll make a fuzzy kleenex cover (pg.108) and give that as a gift. I can't wait to see what this book will spawn; a website, a cable show, a magazine! Party on!