Customer Reviews

Tracy Porter's Home Style: Creative and Livable Decorating Ideas For Everyone

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My affair with this book is love-hate.

I never heard of Tracy Porter or her 'style' until the publisher sent me a beautifully designed shopping bag filled with catalogs showcasing her retail items and the gift of a personal teapot cum cup & saucer -- very clever.

The items from her retail line are much cleaner and more mainstream than the pictures in this book which purports to be from her home.

What Tracy does is give the reader permission to take things out of the 'keeping for good' closet and use them everyday. That's good.

What she also does, and I'm sick to death of it, is use items that have seen better days. If I see one more piece of distressed furniture or one more chipped painted chandelier I'm going to scream.

People -- reupholster your furniture! If something's ripped, fix it. Unless your furniture sports real antique fabrics or finishes or is showing true wear and tear from daily use, repair it. Enough I say!

Tracy bravely uses color in her home. I do think there's too much of a mish-mash in many of the rooms, but that's my personal taste and not necessarily bad.

The other problem I have with this book is this home supposedly has three small (under 4 years old) boys living in it. Yet, there is pin a cushion on chair seat (a delight to the eye), a faux leopard throw hanging off a chest (on top of which sit four painted glasses and a matching glass martini shaker), lampshades with antique buttons hot-glued around the rim, and a dresser top filled with a letter opener, very, very small porcelain dolls, perfume bottles, and hat pins, to name a few.

I hope as soon as the photographer left Tracy ran through the house clearing off all these potential accidents waiting to happen.

There is a very short project section which gives instructions on how to make some of the items shown in the book. If you're a fan of decorating books, magazines, or shows you've seen them all before.

What I did appreciate is the resource directory at the back of the book. In alphabetical order it lists many of the places you can buy nice home design items. Where there is a web site available, it is included, so you're not forced to call.

I am a fan of Tracy Porter's eclectic, fanciful style. My only disapointment with this book is that the format was not as large as "Dreams from Home" or "Inspired Gatherings". "Home Style" is an inspirational guide to Tracy's style, and perhaps your own. I find her sense of whimsy and creativity delightful. There a joy and free-spiritedness to her work that is quite refreshing. Her style may not appeal to all, but if you are a fan of Shabby Chic, flea-market finds, romance and comfortable charm, you will enjoy "Home Style".

Tracy Porter's newest book continues to give me ideas for making my home unusual and charming using items from my attic and flea market trips. What attracts me to Tracy is her sense of whimsy, sophistication, and confidence that creates a special look to ordinary surroundings. Tracy shows us how to take things we have or can easily purchase and make our home different from the homogenized rooms we see in so many publications with new, shiny furnishings that tend to all look alike. Tracy's book has given me the courage to utilize a favorite old bench with silk fabric that is glorious but ripped, fabric that is too unique to throw away. Because of Tracy, I display a chipped Minton plate that normally I would have kept at the back of a cabinet; I bring out tattered leather books and golf leaf frames with cloudy glass and marred edges. To mix the old and the new, well-worn antiques and flea market/house sale finds, makes a home special. There is no one like Tracy in making a home exciting without spending a fortune. A skirt of tulle on an ordinary wash stand, unusual flower holders on the wall, and a deep shade of red turn an ordinary bathroom into a delight. Weathered garage doors for the closet and old garden ornaments as table centerpieces, along with aged wooden cornices over kitchen windows, make any home look extraordinary. Thanks to her, I browse shops with a new eye and pull out things from my attic and basement that I thought were too worn to use. Something well used but classy is so much more interesting than something new and tacky. My friends all rave about "the Tracy Porter look."

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book because I usually don't go for the "eclectic lived in look", but this book was inspirational. The photographs are fantastic and feature many design details that would work in any room regardless of style.

I'll read anything by Tracy Porter that I can get my hands on. Her approach to home decor - as well as her approach to life itself -- is a creative breath of fresh air. Unlike so many other decorating pros today, Tracy is truly innovative, fresh, and artistic. Her style is like no other, and always contains elements of surprise and delight. Tracy invites us to look at our homes in new ways, and to treat day-to-day living, even ordinary moments, as an art form. Can't wait for more books from this remarkably talented, joyful woman.

This book is great! Why be boring with the same kind of decorating everyone else does? It's time that we all have some fun with our homes. A little whimsy is nice. It makes you feel good.It May even bring a smile to your face when you come home from a hard day. Wonderful book!

The book provides some lovely and inspiring photographs, but ultimately the book is, as a whole, hollow and disappointing. What Porter peddles as unique and original are actually standard craft and decorating ideas (candles, books, crystal chandeliers), and she provides precious little practical advice for transforming ideas into reality.
If you're a Tracy Porter fan looking for new material, beware: Approximately 17 of the photos and corresponding instructions are projects that have already appeared on her website over the past couple of years. Or, if you have a limited amount of money to spend on books, you might want to just check out the website instead.

I just recently purchased this book. I have to say I was disappointed. Although there were some nice pictures I found her style to be jumbled.
Very few ideas, and those that are there looks like an afterthought. I enjoy bohemian,ecclectic decorating but his was too jumbled. If you want it, buy it used.

I got this book, and realized I made a mistake almost immediately.
I gave it a chance. I really did.
But the photography was completly insane. Grossly over done - wide apertures, etc. And what you want to see was not clear.
So, don't buy this book expecting to see anything useful. Besides not being able to actually see the ideas, they are so [bad]. What do you want to cover a tin can with fabric for? Buttons on lampshades? Yuck!

I have all of Tracy Porter's decorating and entertaining books. If you like decorating your home and want fresh ideas, you must have this book!