101 Living Rooms: Lots of Ideas in One Little Book
Written: Nov 23 '03 (Updated Apr 03 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of ideas, reasonable price, could be more variety in styles.
Cons: The book is a surprisingly small size.
The Bottom Line: This is a great idea book for a low cost.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: Julie Savill - 101 Living Rooms: Stylish Room Solu... |
We are in the process of deciding what color to paint our living room. I didn't know where to start so I brought out all my design magazines for inspiration. However, I found that most decorating magazines don't have the variety of ideas I was looking for and those that do usually feature very high-end materials. Plus, magazines generally all feature the same trendy colors (aqua and chocolate brown seem to the be the "it" colors of the moment). I had bought 101 Bathrooms by the same author a while back and decided to give this book a try.
The first thing to know about this book is that it is on the small side: only 6 inches by 5 1/2 inches. The pictures in the book are also small but you do get a lot of them, 101 to be exact. That is more living room shots than you would get in any magazine. This small book has given me a lot to think about because it shows lots of shots of rooms with different color schemes.
Just as the title says, the book profiles 101 living rooms. Each living room has one picture plus a one page description. The best thing about this book is that the living rooms are solidly middle class. The furniture, rugs, window treatments and decoration are all affordable. There is almost nothing very high end.
For those who like to update on their own, there are some helpful do-it-yourself tips included in the room write-ups.
At the end of the book is a resource guide. Some of the resources are obvious such as Home Depot and Lowes. There were a few vendors I hadn't heard of but I would have liked to see this section substantially beefed up. Plus, the authors do not give individual items any credit so if you see a coffee table you like, you can't find out the manufacturer.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK
Just looking at 101 pictures of living rooms is bound to give anyone ideas. There is a big variety in color, details and materials. The wall colors are particularly varied and you can see how certain colors and shades work well together.
The descriptions of the living rooms are mostly fluff, but there are also some helpful tidbits of information and suggestions.
Many ideas, such as changing the wall color, furniture arrangements or window coverings would be easy to implement whether or not you are planning a complete living room makeover.
The book is very practical and down to earth. All of the living rooms look real and functional.
The price of the book is reasonable for the amount of pictures you get.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK
Much of the info in this book comes from BBC Good Homes magazine. It appears that many of the living rooms featured in the book are located in Europe and they have a particular style to them. This middle-class utilitarian style will not appeal to everyone.
I am not sure how a few of the living rooms made it into the book because they don't evidence any style whatsoever. I suppose it is helpful to see what you don't want but frankly, some of the living rooms lack any kind of style, interest or even coordinating materials.
As I mentioned above, these living rooms are solidly middle class and look like something you would find in your home or your neighbor's home. As a result, the author has limited herself to the types of supplies you would find in your local home improvement store. Many design features repeat. There are panel curtains and trendy coffee tables on wheels. I would have like to see more variety and other designs including asian styles, very contemporary styles or vintage styles such as victorian and deco. Plus, I would have liked to see a splurge item here or there.
There is only one picture of each living room. You don't get to see the whole room or pictures from different angles. Therefore, if you see a room you like, it would be difficult to copy it because you can't see the whole thing.
There are lots of ideas on colors and simple decoration but not much in the way of other considerations such as floor treatments, bay windows or built-ins. I would have liked to see living rooms that were more than blank boxes with decoration.
PRICE
I paid about $8 for this book at Overstock.com.
OTHER INFORMATION
The glossy, color photos are on heavy stock paper.
The book is paperback.
List price is $9.95
Author: Julie Savill
Publisher: Hydra Publishing
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
Even with its flaws, I found this a helpful little book. It gave me some staring points as to style, color and materials. Since I like minimalistic contemporary design, I think I will still paw through my Metropolitan Home and Elle Decor for additional ideas.
MY REVIEWS ABOUT DESIGN BOOKS
101 Bathrooms
Bathrooms: Design is in the Details
Designing Interiors with Tile
Susan Sargent’s New Country Color
MY REVIEWS ABOUT DESIGN MAGAZINES
Architectural Digest is decorating porn.
Elle Decor is sultry.
House & Garden is pretentious.
Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion is artsy.
Home is practical.
Metropolitan Home is modern and spare.
Dwell is intellectual modernism.
Better Homes and Gardens has something for everyone.
Budget Living is tacky.
Recommended:
Yes
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