Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #363361 in Books
• Published on: 1998-11-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Synopsis
How To Decorate will guide readers in develo ping their own decorating talents. Providing guidance on col our, windows, light walls, and floors, the chapters look in detail at how to create different atmospheres around the hom e. '

Customer Reviews

Martha knows color, but......
I picked up this book because although I'm not stricly speaking a "fan" of Stewart's, I admire the way she combines elegant colors in ways no one else seems to think of. I was not disappointed - Martha clearly explains principles of color in ways the average person can understand, and the colors were every bit as rich and beautiful as I expected. In fact, reading this book made me investigate her line of paint for K-Mart (developed after publication of this book), and in my opinion that collection contains by far the most beautiful interior colors I have found anywhere, including those $40.00 per gallon specialty stores. The colors are in many cases very close to the palettes in the book. However, before I knew about the K-Mart paint, I eagerly turned to the "Guide" section of this book for information on Stewart's paint source because I immediately wanted to buy some ...only to find that the paint she used in her various homes starts at $24 for 750 milliliters and goes up to $75 for 2.5 liters (slightly more than a plastic soda bottle). Further investigation revealed a $14,000 table, a stainless steel sponge holder for $326, and an $1800 telephone stand. Martha gets such fabulous results in her homes because she has unlimited means. Everything looks expensive because it IS expensive. If you're looking for an educational book about color, by all means buy this one (and check out the K-Mart paint), but if your combined household income is less than seven figures and you want to get the Martha Stewart look, you'd better look elsewhere. The true Martha Stewart look has a very high price tag.

Classic Martha, top production values, reasonably price
Austere, simple design combined with unique color treatments characterize this Martha product. Despite the incredibly elegant chandeliers, this book focuses on the use of many furniture and accessory times that could be acquired and used by non-Hamptonites, i.e., real people. For example,this book shows a highly industrial and modern kitchen with her Fire King dishes, an unexpected combination. Painted furniture, graphically framed photographs, battered painted bookcases, beautiful lamps, old wicker, simple molding framed mirrors, lovely dishes and window treatments all play together in a uniquely modern way. The book's strongest point is its colors, an unusual pallete used throughout the book. I'm not a purely bred fan of Martha's but she and her stylists are very affective in awakening one's decorating sensibilities and drawing one's eye to the less obvious, but beautiful possibilities. Glad I bought it.

Don't try this at home -- well, maybe
Martha Stewart may be the biggest snob in the Hamptons, but this is basically a very useful book. The strongest section is the one which deals with color; it's a great introduction that makes a complicated and confusing subject entirely understandable. You don't have to agree with Stewart's somewhat strange sense of interior decoration in order to gain a real understanding of what makes a room look good. On the negative side, the inclusion of a few silly, time-consuming, and ultimately pointless projects (such as combing a floor with paint to make it look like gingham fabric, or making a bed with hospital corners) will undoubtedly inspire a whole new batch of Martha Stewart jokes. That's a shame, because this is one of the more worthwhile interior decorating books currently available.