Jane Cumberbatch's Pure Style Living (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Pia Tryde (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Books about pared-down minimalist décor--most of them featuring the much-ridiculed all-white-box room with one lonely straight-backed chair in the center--are plentiful. Few people can actually live in those rooms, though, and for those who prefer a little color in their lives, there's Jane Cumberbatch's Pure Style Living.

The first third of the book is dedicated to the "sources" of the author's style: the vibrant yellow-orange of a cut melon, the texture and deep rust of freshly dug red potatoes, the orderly rows of a plowed field, the satisfying sturdiness of a heavy, purely functional piece of furniture. Next is a somewhat ephemerally organized section called "Live," in which Cumberbatch's ideas of the simple life are fleshed out with huge photographs of simple and practical kitchen gardens, bedrooms, autumn picnic spreads, slipcovered sofas, and distraction-free home office spaces. There are a few easy projects, like making a table runner or a bulletin board, planting bulbs, canning marmalade, or whipping up a raspberry fool (the author is British and so are the recipes). A breezy bit about al fresco dining is particularly inspiring. The final third of the book, "Directory," is, essentially, a well-designed version of that literary masterpiece known as the IKEA summer catalog, lacking only the prices. It's a guilty pleasure, perhaps, to leaf through the pages and pages of essential items--good sherry in the pantry, vintage watering can in the garden, cork flooring in the workroom--but a pleasure nonetheless. --Liana Fredley

Review

Hers is an affordable achievable dream based on things that are easily available and one that Cumberbatch has promoted in the face of fashion fads for a decade or more. It is pretty, rustic, and contemporary, a sort of realistic Martha Stewart. (Elle Decoration)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: DK ADULT (August 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789480158
• ISBN-13: 978-0789480156
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #536,200 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Down-to-Earth Living Style, August 9, 2002

By	Rebecca Johnson "SeasonedwithLove.com" (Washington State) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?"
~W.H. Davies

Jane Cumberbatch has a vision for a simpler existence that is more balanced and natural. She enjoys making her home more sensual, while also encouraging a practical environment in which you can really live. She is the mother of three children who thinks of her home as the heart of her daily life. To her, it is a place where she can connect with her real self.

The ideas in this book are affordable and there are a few moments of pure inspiration.

The contents include:

Recipes
Sources
Living
Nature
Scents
Texture
Eating
Architecture
Function
Order
Fabrics
Color
Work
Gardening
Playing
Washing
Sleeping
Flooring
Painting

This book is more about living simply than creating complicated projects. This is a book about how to make a home more stylish, sensual and peaceful.

There are useful ideas like how you can grow your own produce, recycle items you would normally throw away or how to use fewer chemicals and maybe even make your own compost heap.

I found the text inspirational and thought provoking in many ways. It is creative and evokes a feeling of crisp ideas, nostalgic memories from childhood and an awakening to the senses. Pictures of hanging clothes on a clothesline or sweeping a porch barefoot almost make you long for simpler times.

The pictures pour themselves over the pages with sheer beauty. This is a book you will want to sit and read while comfortably snuggling on your couch (which you wish looked like the pink one on page 190 where a child is peacefully sleeping) with a down comforter and a cup of tea. The pictures are interspersed with text in the first section. This is a combination of visual and intellectual appeal which I found to be almost unique in its form.

There are cute ideas like a bowl of soup decorated with a heart crouton and herbs which I really thought was delightfully fun. The pictures of making a raspberry fool look absolutely sinfully delicious. You just want to put a spoonful of raspberries in your mouth or enjoy the process of folding berries into cream.

Then there are ideas for scenting your bedlinen with fragrances or protecting your clothes with natural cedarwood blocks. There is a visual directory of ideas. The last section compliments the first as it gives you ideas on the materials needed to achieve the natural atmosphere described in the first section.

There are ideas for building a fire on a damp blustery day or how to bring nature into your home to increase tactile sensations.

While the ideas in "play" are not necessarily that original, you may have forgotten how as a child you carved out potato art to make potato prints. There is a cute way to decorate a tree with heart shaped pastry.

To find the recipes you have to turn to page 393 where you can find "mini" recipes for Chestnut soup, roast chicken with lemon and herb butter, chicken stock, sautéed carrots, mince pies, chocolate truffles, orange and almond cake and heart-shaped biscuits.

After reading this book I had this almost ecstatic feeling of just peaceful oneness with the earth and home. My thought it is due to the combination of visual and intellectual appeal.

A treat for the senses! Highly recommended for new home makers or for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in dreams, thoughts and creative ideas for a few hours. Another idea would be to read this book out in the sun with the breeze blowing through your hair.

A free-flowing book of inspirational ideas. It is brilliant in its simplicity!

~TheRebeccaReview.com

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Definite Must Have!, August 29, 2001

By	"chesnutt" (Granite, MD United States) - See all my reviews

I've been a fan of Jane's since Pure Style and was eagerly awaiting by Amazon delivery of her new Pure Style Living. I was not disappointed. While this may be marketed as a home design text, it is really a philosophy of contemporary living combining gracious style with a remembrance of all those things that make you feel warm, cozy and comfortable. Her approach to living is fresh and her ideas can easily be incorporated into your everyday life - they are simple and affordable and a welcome change to a contemporary world full of just "too much stuff." I'd definitely love to have lunch with Jane!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars OK for a Browse, April 6, 2005

By	Virginia Allain "(retired librarian)" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Liberal use of white space and highlighted key words try to lend weight to the flimsy text of this lifestyle book. Unfortunately there is barely enough content for a series of newspaper columns.
The photos are first rate, but don't rescue the book.
Example: Under SEASONAL PRODUCE, the author says "Buy fresh produce locally and in season for better taste and texture." The illustrations filling most of that page are a series of colorful photos of tomatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, etc.
The interior shots and garden scenes would fit very well in a book on English country homes. These are lovely.
Tacked on at the end is a page with 13 recipes. Another appendix includes 13 pages of address for buying linens, accessories, lighting, etc. Only in a few places in the book are project instructions included (table runner, felt and ribbon bulletin board, comforter cover).
Mostly the text is banal and Martha Stewart has nothing to fear from this author.