Customer Reviews

Perfect English

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After months, years, decades, MILLENIA of general disappointment with books featuring traditional decor -- we have a WINNAH! Abundant with gorgeous piccies of charming rooms filled with the romantic clutter of life, I drooled over most every photograph as if it were a rasher of crisply fried bacon. But the STAR photograph (it's also on the cover of the book & not the same as the cover featured on Amazon) has to be this ancient monster of a wing chair, large enough for two and upholstered in a faded yellow floral, a deteriorating green velvet & a beige linen. And scrunched together on the seat of this throne are 2 gigantic yellow silk pillows in which one can sink in a billow of joy. Blimey, you don't see chairs like this on Architectural Digest! I really must salute the photographer Chris Tubbs who imbued every image with the glorious shabby Englishness that many of us miss in today's contemporary interiors. This book makes we want to sell my Spanish Colonial & move to a tumble-down English rectory. I must also commend Ros Byam Shaw's well-written & superbly descriptive text, as contributing much to my pleasure.

So I say HUZZAHHH! 5 stars & a Cornish pasty!

This is my new favorite shelter book. The photos are lovely, and I particularly enjoyed her chapter breakdowns and discussion of styles such as eclectic English, classic English and so on. Most of the homes are very layered visually, with creative use of color and textiles(not just white on white here), many are in the country. They generally have great charm or architectural detail to begin with, although the ways they are decorated varies considerably. There is not much in the way of pure modernism, and also little of the aristocratic design of Haute Britain, although more than a few of these "cottages" of course are owned by decorators, antiques dealers, or other people with a professional interest in a beautiful home. I have not seen these homes in other books, and the book is generous on photographs. If you liked the Taschen Country Homes books, you will want this.

This is not really a decorator book--not something you run to for the ideas on how to create a truly elegant dining room, for example. Rather, it's a collection of color pictures of country English homes.

The homes are much more about practical necessity than about decorator style, and they feature the kind of comfy, unmatched style of home that you can picture the characters of some mystery novel by Agatha Christie living in. There are glorious antiques galore, pots of just picked flowers from the garden, and the paintings of ancient relatives hanging above a fireplace.

Just the thing to sit down with a cup of tea, and enjoy browsing through.

If you are an Anglophile, like me, you will LOVE this book. it is full of gorgeous English homes, oozing with history and charm. You will find no "decorator" homes, but instead you'll get a glimpse of how people really live-with imperfections made into beauty by the grace and style of the home's loving owners.

I always loved English style, but this book is more amazing than I could ever imagine. You will find in it all the possible English styles that could exist, from the very traditional ones, to the eccentric ones, to the very kitschy ones, to the very modern ones. But the whole thing is wonderful, it is so English, so elegant and funny in the same time.
For me, this book is a MUST for those who love the home decor and design.
A lot to learn from it.

As an avid Anglophile and future builder of my own English cottage, I'm always on the lookout for books on English architecture and decorating! I got this book today and I have to say of all my books (and there are plenty!) this is THE BEST ONE YET! Instead of a book with one or two really good pictures - this one is chock full of really excellent photos (interior and exterior, but mostly interior) and great ideas for those little English touches as well! Many times these types of books are full of pictures of very dated looking interiors but not this one! This is definitely my favorite book so far and I heartily (can you tell? :o) ) recommend it to fellow Anglophiles! You won't be disappointed! Well done to the author and photographer of this book!

Couldn't resist buying this book online for the title alone. I figured there would be a few houses I didn't care for but I never expected it to be every one in the book. If Nancy Lancaster and John Fowler-ish interiors are your idea of perfect English, then this is not the book for you. Most pictures reminded me of Crate and Barrel or Ikea catalogs. Everything looks staged and not really lived in. Too bad, I had high hopes.

After seeing that most readers loved this book - I purchased it. But take heed other buyers, this book is really drab and boring - NOTHING like its rave reviews. For lovers of cottage, country style of European decorating - there is nothing inspiring about this book! Most English homes are overflowing and layered - giving them that lovely well-worn lived in feel. Most of the rooms are sparse and don't look English at all to me. Frankly, the best pieces were the older French pieces.
Save your money and look elsewhere.

The photos in this book are so gorgeous. I wanted to dive into them to explore the rooms. If you're at all interested in English/English country style, this book is a perfect addition to your collection. More eye candy than decorating guide, but packs in enough photo-inspiration to make up for that. Love it!

Great photos, interesting text, flows well. All round a wonderful addition to my interior design library!