Customer Reviews

Taunton's Home Storage Idea Book

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

 

 

I was really excited about this book before I opened it. I was very disappointed to see that it really only covers larger houses which already have space available. All the pictures show rooms with high to very high ceilings, entrance ways, and alot of open space. Unfortunately, I think, that the average house is much smaller, with less room to work with & lower ceilings, not every place has utility rooms, verandas or entrance ways to utilize. Even the bathrooms were larger than most I've seen. Also, many houses do not even have very much extra wall space due to small room dimensions, windows, doorways & possibly a fireplace. Try to work around that - that's what I was expecting to see, I guess, more variety in the types of homes. If you do get this book, be prepared to renovate.

This book's title is absolutely accurate. It is chock full of ideas, both in the text and the pictures, for innovative storage all over the house. Another important thing to me is that the writers of this book realize that it is often the details, such as the height of a bench or the placement of a drawer, that can make or break a storage solution. They encourage the homeowner throughout the book to choose the solutions and dimensions that fit their house and their lifestyle. Function is the No. 1 priority, but form is not shortchanged at all, as the photos prove.

While some of it does not apply to my situation, I found that there were at least a few areas -- most notably the mud room and why it's such a great idea -- that were beneficial to me. I had already thought a lot about storage in the house I will be building, so it probably was not as helpful to me overall as it would be for someone who is either starting to think about this subject, or who has an existing house with storage problems. That being said, the photos and the writing are both high quality, and no basic room in the house is left uncovered, so this book is definitely a 5-star.

If you own Taunton's other books, you may recognize a few of the photos from them. However, most of them are not duplicates of the other two Tauntons that I have, and even the ones that are the same are covered completely differently.

I have only one complaint with this book: There is no index in the back. There is a page of resources, which provides some books and some Web sites, and a long list of photographer credits, but I would like to have seen some sort of an index of keywords or specific storage ideas. In spite of this shortcoming, the book is so logically put together that it still deserves all five stars.

Joanne Bouknight's Home Storage Idea book is a wonderful book. I have discovered so many great ways to solve all the storage problems we had in our home. My carpenter loves all the ideas we are having him add to our home. Some of my favorite ideas are the Bedside Storage on page 157,the Graduated depth bookshelf on page 139,stair-landing entertainment center on page 121,stair tread and bench room on page 27 and finally the space between the studs bookshelf nook for small objects on page 114.
My friends can't wait to add a few storage ideas to their homes as well. The best part of the book are the great pictures and way Bouknight writes. Her style is so readable, just as if she's talking to me in person. Great Job Taunton Press!

Taunton's Home Storage Idea Book by licensed architect Joanne Kellar Bouknight is a veritable cornucopia of beautifully utilitarian and visually appealing ideas for economizing space in the most aesthetic, practical, and easy-to-use manner. Full-color photographs offer splendid visual examples of cabinetry, economical racks, free-standing storage and more, while the text presents thoughtful and applicable ideas in plain and simple terms. An excellent and visually splendid guide to consult when running out of places to put things, Taunton's Home Storage Idea Book is especially recommended reading for anyone contemplating remodeling as well as providing a wealth of ideas to raise with the architectural designers of new homes as well.

I agree that the book shows a wide variety of storage options available, which is what saves this book from 1 star. However, it only shows one style of interior decoration, and an outdated one at that. Most of the pictures are just so-so.

Recommendation: Choose a different book.

Better Source:
I think Simple Solutions Storage Space by Cahill is a good book. It shows a wider variety of design styles, and they are ones that are more likely to stand the test of time. Plus, it also shows a wide variety of storage options in a wide variety of rooms.

Beautiful photography !
Clear descriptions detailing a myriad of ideas from the
'Now why didn't I think of that - I'll do it this weekend' to 'Call the carpenter I MUST have this'!
I appreciated the many kitchen & mudroom solutions as well as those for the complexities of the bedroom/bath and home work area.
Find the 'corner' drawer !

This book is very helpful, as it covers all parts of a house. There are some gorgeous and fancy houses here, but also many that are down to earth. You would laugh at all the post-it notes stuck on the book!! There's quite a bit here on kitchen storage, actually, and I like the parts on built in cabinets. Now I'm ready to make it happen in my own house!

I really like this series of books that range from this "Storage" one to "Bathrooms," "Family Houses," etc... but I am giving this book a 4 because it shows alot of houses that seem to be beyond the means of most people that I know around my area. This book also likes to tell you to build storage in every little crack/space that does not currently have something useful going for it. I am giving it 4 stars, because it does inform you of all of the different types of devices that are currently (as of the book being published) available to help you make storage possible in nooks and crannies. It also gives you ideas and suggestions about how you can make more use out of the storage that you already have, by redesigning the shelving to make it more attractive also. Try not to read it all at once though, because I started to gloss over stuff just to get to the end of the book. Take it a step at a time and it will be a great start for you.

Although this book wasn't overly helpful for the project I purchased it for, the sample pictures and table of contents were very accurate sampling of the books contents. I'm giving 3 stars as "no worse and no better than expected" rating.

I did not find many useful ideas for my small townhome in this book. Stylistically, the designs look somewhat outdated.