This book is very informative. I wanted to become knowledgable about Kilims and this book has really helped me to become so. The photographes are very beautiful. I hope to become an advid collector and with the information from this book I am a confident buyer.

Gorgeous rugs. Gorgeous photographs. Lots of them. For people who love oriental rugs, especially funky tribal rugs, and for people who are demanding about the pleasure they expect from rug books--this book is a great find.

This is my favorite book on Flatweaves. It covers more than just kilims and is very comprehensive. If you are interested in any Flatweaves you should have this book. I use this book when I am trying to identify flatweaves and I find it a simple, user friendly, but comprehensive resource.

"A home is an extension of ourselves, expressing our interests and beliefs even when we aren't there."

If you love your home, you already know that a home plays a central role in you life. Each home reflects our individual tastes and can be a retreat from the stresses of our modern lifestyle.

This book contains over 500 color photographs to give you inspiring original ideas for every room in your home. There are sections on Space, Light, Color, Surfaces, Air and Sound to demonstrate the principles of successful interior design.

"While natural light is vital for life,
shade and shadows bring repose." pg. 50

Space - How do you think about space? Are you considering a minimalist lifestyle or do you want to order your clutter?

Light - Illuminate a room, use natural lighting or put up curtains to block light.

Color - The decorator's color wheel, explanation of color, using milk paint, an expression of yourself in earth tones.

Surfaces - Flooring, rugs, walls, tables & chairs, visual texture, patterns and stencils.

Air - Circulation, windows, plants & flowers, humidity, moisture.

Sound - Noise & echo, muffling noise, decorative textile hangings, pleasant sounds, wind chimes.

Home Comforts - How do you relax, entertain, cook, sleep, bathe, work?

20 Projects are included throughout the book. You might enjoy making a sunflower stenciled cloth, a double-sided screen, collectable shadow boxes, rolled beeswax candles, curtains, beautiful pressed flower candles, lampshades, cushions or an intoxicating rosemary wood polish. I imagine you could also infuse lavender. How about clove and honey soap you could give as gifts?

I love the "Glass Bead Door Curtain." Totally quaint! And then there is a section on entertaining where they use small rocks hanging on strings as table weights to keep the table cloth from flying away in the breeze.

Useful sections include:

Kitchen cupboard restoration
Painting techniques
Restoring garden furniture
A Resources Section
Easy-to-use Index

A book to read when you want to dream!

I found this book amazing because it helps you to organize ideas for any type of design. It allows you to use different elements like color, space, and light in a way that you can combine them with things that you may already have. After applying some of the ideas in my own home I noticed people would come in and feel different, I felt like I was somewhere else. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to little by little begin to redecorate or likes a change every now and then.

I just love this book. The evocative messages are an inspiration. Don't just look at the pictures - read this book!

If you live in a kilim-close environ, then you can understand how they can become a compulsive obsession. Much the same as book collecting. This richly illustrated volume is a lovely addition to a library, and as well provides good practical information about how kilims in various guises can be used and displayed to their best advantage. The emphasis is on USING and LIVING with kilims, not as works of art or museum pieces. The first chapter is a useful history of the origins of kilims, the second on the materials and techniques used in making them, and the third about recognising and identifying different types of kilims, including motifs and symbols and characteristics of kilims from the main areas of production - Anatolia, The Caucasus, Persia and Afghanistan. After that follows various decorative uses - on floors, walls, and unusual forms. The book finishes with tips on care and repair and listings for those interested in collecting these lovely items.

I found this book to be full of good ideas on how to decorate with kilims. There are many color illustrations of kilims used as wall hangings, tablecloths, etc., as well floor coverings, and detailed descriptions of how to hang and mount kilims. Also, there are quite a few good illustrations showing how easily kilims can complement other types of collectible textiles, folk art, and many styles of furniture from modern to antique. There are other books that give more information about buying, selling and value of kilims. This book is mainly for decorating purposes.

This edition is now fully revised and updated. Already half a million copies of this book have been sold worldwide. Now they have included an extra 64 pages of innovative suggestions on how to improve your home with unique decorating discussions.

This book is written in a step-by-step style and is a contemporary and practical guide to beautiful adventures in home decorating.

The contents include:

Soft Furnishings
Basic Sewing techniques
Curtains and Draperies
Shades
Bed Furnishings
Pillows and Cushions
Simple Upholstery
Table Linens
Lampshades
Decorating
Painting
Wallpapering
Tiling
Hard Floors
Carpets and Rugs
Shelving
Lighting
Care & Maintenance

A discussion on the types of fabrics is followed by a pictoral guide to the basic sewing kit. Then you enter the world of hand sewing and machine techniques. It is reminiscent of home economics courses in high school, but they go into slightly more detail.

If you are thinking of putting up curtains, there is a section on hanging systems. While curtains take a bit of work, if you have a sewing machine and a bit of patience, you can create exactly what you imagine. The sewing sections in this book are a real highlight. It seems that most of this book is about sewing!

For the adventurous new decorator, there is a visual list of what you need for a household tool kit. Already I see I should purchase a few more items if I'm going to get any of these projects completed. Yes, I have a wire brush on my "to buy" list now.

Bagging is an interesting technique for painting. Sponging and glazework is also explained in detail. The painting section is less detailed than the sewing section, but
equally useful.

Once you get to the "tiling" section, you have to ask yourself if you really want to attempt this yourself? The flooring and tiling sections look quite advanced and perhaps these sections are more to help you decide on which types of flooring or tile you would prefer to install.

Shelving is not that difficult to install in reality and this section was short, sweet and practical.

If you are up for the challenge or are just looking for more
inspiration, this is your book.

I have read just about every book that our public library carries on home decorating. I never found one book that could address the issues in such detail with visual aids for every step of a project, until I came across "Step-by-step Home decorating book" by Nicholas Barnard. This is the best decorating book that I ever read. My search for the most satisfying decorating book has ended. It makes very good reading. A must for your library.

African Majesty is the historical study of the weaving practiced by two separate West African tribes. Inhabiting the present day countries of Ghana and Togo, the weaving traditions of the Ashanti and Ewe have been traced from the writings of the European explorers of the 15th century.Their seemingly simple process is called "strip weaving". Strip weaving is the art of hand weaving narrow(3"-5")strips which are later hand sewn together into larger pieces to make the wearing cloth of both men and women. Intensely laborious but extremely portable, these combined strips are referred to in the West as "kente" cloth, a mixture of color and pattern which has been imitated in fabric prints. The team of Adler and Barnard, a textile scholar and a writer, has produced a magnificent collaboration which showcases this art. 131 color illustrations,including many full page plates, reveal the native use of intricate patterning and a wide range of colors. Each example is numbered and the patterns contained therein are named by their tribal name, translation, explanation of uses by particular segments of society and their place of origin. The pictured cloths are really incredible. Before reading this book I had dismissed this type of cloth as a hodgepodge of simple plain weave thrown together like a crazy quilt. Seeing the multitude of patterns and reading about the fine silk and cotton yarns employed has given me an appreciation for this painstaking craft. Barnard and Adler have compiled a wonderful book, enhanced by maps of the region, a glossary of African terms and a bibliography. Though even in the face of Western influence the simple everyday strip cloth material continues to be purchased and worn, it is the specially commissioned designs which are disappearing. Hopefully this book will attract a wide audience and stimulate demand by private collectors for this awesome handweaving.

This book starts with the sewing basics that many of us may not have been interested in learning until we actually had our own place that needed to be decorated. So, if you don't know the first thing about sewing, but would like to learn you may want to purchase this book. I think it has the best sewing instructions of any book that I've ever seen before. Or, if you want to know the proper way to wallpaper, paint or set tiles, the instructions are all here.

The excellent attention given to detail, and the clear pictures makes this one of the very best practical teaching guides on the market today. There are chapters on Curtains, Shades, Bedding, Cushions, Simple Upholstery, Tiling, Table Linen, Lampshades, Painting, Wallpapering, Lighting and Houseplants. The directions are concise and the photographs show all of the projects step-by-step.

This book is so good that I've purchased two to use as gifts.

I borrowed the book from the library and found it to be an excellent reference. The step-by-step directions with pictures give guidance to those who want to complete "do it yourself" home decorating projects. The book covers so much, from basic sewing techniques and terms to making your own lampshades. This is one I want to purchase.

Great resource for home decorators. Shows how to make different styles of curtains, tablecloths, bedspreads, etc., faux finishing painting techniques, wallpapering, staining, etc.

I borrowed it from the library and am now looking to buy it - it's that good.

This is a very good book having tips to decorate your home.