Rooms in Bloom: Contemporary Florals for the Home [Hardcover]

Alice Whately (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Suddenly the whole world seems to be in bloom! Floral furnishings and fabrics are in all the stores. Rooms in Bloom celebrates this trend, with unusual, creative, and fresh ways to use florals in the home. This photo-rich book moves beyond the obvious fabric choices, showing how to introduce flower motifs into every room through alternative methods such as photomurals, light projections, lighting, ceramics and flooring, and through more traditional methods like soft furnishings, wallpaper, and paint/stenciling. Much more than just a picture book, Rooms in Bloom features ideas for hands-on home decorating projects, complete with step-by-step instructions. The pages are also packed with tips and helpful hints to guide amateur decorators in adapting floral ideas (stylishly but inexpensively) into their own home. In addition, Rooms in Bloom is peppered with quotes from famous ladies about their favorite flowers and includes features on designers who have made the floral styles their own.



• For anyone interested in home decorating or home crafts including sewing, painting, and upholstering


• Covers many different styles and ways to use florals in decorating


• Major current trend toward fresh use of florals


• Dozens of ideas for hands-on home decorating projects

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Former Elle decor editor Whatley has compiled a collection of serene, floral-decorated rooms perfect for the new romantic trend that, despite an unrepresentative cover photo, fans of Country Living and Real Simple magazine will love. Whatley mixes the clean, white slate of minimalism with blooming pillows, sofas, curtains, furniture and wall-hangings for a modern look. As she writes, "Keeping a light touch with your background will allow your blooms to breathe." The book is divided into five distinctive sections, each detailing variations on larger floral themes. Feminine and Vintage Florals embrace the faded country, shabby chic style; Exotic Florals incorporates a pastiche of Asian fabric and Indian pillows; and Funky Florals presents a celebration of the decorating possibilities of digital photos, modern stencils and paper cut-outs of flowers. Each of these succeeds, but Retro Florals does not. The rooms depicted will remind readers of a circa 1970 basement rec-room. Whatley provides worthwhile suggestions, but mutes her wisdom by writing in women's magazine patter-describing, for instance, "hip homeowners" who want to "glam up" their homes. Also, many of Whatley's sources for materials are in the U.K., a drawback for U.S. readers. Ultimately, the bright and engaging photographs will find this book an appreciative audience. Photos.
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About the Author

Alice Whately is a freelance journalist and travel writer. A former decor editor at Elle, she is the author of three other decorating books: Contemporary Eastern, Modern Wallpaper & Wallcoverings, and Peaceful Spaces. Her weekly travel column on hip hotels has just been made into a book. She is a frequent contributor to many magazines. Alice Whately lives in London.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill; 1st edition (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823068439
• ISBN-13: 978-0823068432
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,490,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Rooms in Bloom, July 25, 2010

By 

Gay Hart (California, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rooms in Bloom: Contemporary Florals for the Home (Hardcover)

What drew me to this book was the cover photograph. I was disappointed not to find more of this inside the book! Alice Whately covers many categories and limits information to two pages. I enjoyed the book but not crazy wild about it. The photography: (some pages -- not all) the lighting was not as professional as it could have been. I have worked with many professional photographers and do not see the quality throughout this book.