| Interior Design and Decoration |  | Author: Whiton
Publisher: Addison Wesley Publishing Company
Category: Book
Buy Used: $49.95
Used (3) from $49.95
Rating:  6 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: Custom Version
Number Of Items: 1
ISBN: 020132637X
EAN: 9780201326376
ASIN: 020132637X
Publication Date: March 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Book is in nice condition, text is unmarked and pages are tight. Cover has a light crease in top corner.
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Product Description
The classic presentation of interior design and decoration has been revised and updated for the new millennium...Wide in scope and rich in detail, this book offers a unified treatment of interior design and the fine arts histories. Integrating information about materials and techniques with history, the text has been updated to include the developments in technology, interior design, and safety standards of the late twentieth century. Maps and timelines, special topic boxes, and chapter summaries help students to navigate through the wealth of material, and extensive color illustrations as welt as Gilbert Werle's classic black and white drawings add visual clarity, and excitement. Each chapter begins with some consideration of various design determinants, a chronology of key periods, dynasties, rulers, and events. There is a review of artistic accomplishments, and the common characteristics of the period are summarized. Discussions of character, quality, and cross-cultural comparison provide a basis for a challenging engagement with all of the elements of interior design.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Encyclopedia-like reference book of design styles December 21, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the only textbook used for the two History of Design courses at my school. I've found the book to be useful and informative, although not especially innovative or inspiring.
The contents are divided into 7 main sections, each with 2 to 5 chapters: The Ancient World (Egypt, the Near East), The Classical World (Greece, Rome), The Middle Ages (Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Islamic), The East (India, China, Japan), The Renaissance (Italy, Spain, France, England, Africa), The New World (Pre-Columnibian and Early America), and The Modern World (19th Century, 20th Century). Each chapter runs from 20-30 pages and is similarly formatted, starting with a timeline and going into the Geography and Natural Resources, the Religion, and the Political and Military Factors of the period. While this provides a context for the design innovations of each period, it also gives the book a rather characterless "voice" akin to the essays one might find in an encyclopedia.
Overall, the photos featured are very good; some, like the detail of a Neoclassical English ceiling, are amazingly beautiful. I also appreciated the sidebar information, "Tool and Techniques" that serves to explain and illustrate such topics as "Curtains and Drapery" (detailing the differences between Plain Shirring, Open Rings, French Heading, and Box Pleating, for instance). Other "Tools and Techniques" topics include Stained Glass, Frescos, and the Science of Color.
One of the things I found puzzling is not unique to this book, but involves the way things are classified in a general sense. The classifications of the sections will be familiar to most readers; many American readers will have learned history in exactly the way presented in the book--starting with the "Ancient" and moving through the "Classical" to the "Middle Ages" and "Renaissance," and so on. What I find curious about this is the rather rigid format of these categories, with poor Egypt forever sentenced to Antiquity, as if there have been no design innovations there in a few thousand years. Discussion of Italian design is relegated the Classical and Renaissance periods, again, as if that design-rich country hasn't made exciting contributions in the last 50 years. I understand that the authors were obligated to find some way to simplify and organize a vast quantity of data; the solution they chose is just a very antiquated type of categorization.
A more inexcusable problem is the lack of copyediting; there are some unfortunate typos that amount to misinformation, i.e. the definitions of yin and yang are reversed on page 211 in the Chinese section; elsewhere, the definition of rail and stile are confounded, and there are similar grave typos elsewhere.
Whatever its faults, the book is packed with information, photos, illustrations, and even quotes from famous designers. The simple, straight-forward discussions on the different styles allowed me to finally understand the difference between Louis XIV and Louis XVI, Art Deco and Art Nouveau, as well as Chinese and Japanese design prinicples, thus earning its keep on my design bookshelf as a reference book of styles.
 no description? July 19, 2007
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
How do you expect people to buy a $90 book without knowing
what the book is about? Is it just pretty pictures or is it
an instructional book? Please let us know
Classic Prinicples December 28, 2002
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is a must for anyone wishing to understand classic prinicples of design. It gives details unavailable in many standard works. I had an earlier edition while in university and when I lost it after a move, was delighted to be able to find another copy of this valuable resource. It was like Christmas to have it once again in my possession.
 Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! February 26, 2001
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
As an instructor of Interior Design, I cannot praise this book enough....My students as well as fellow instructors find it an invaluable tool, not only in teaching beginning level courses, but also as a great reference manual after the student graduates....Several of us still have well-worn copies in our offices...Buy this book, you won't be dissapointed!
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! February 26, 2001
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
As an instructor of Interior Design, I cannot praise this book enough....My students as well as fellow instructors find it an invaluable tool, not only in teaching beginning level courses, but also as a great reference manual after the student graduates....Several of us still have well-worn copies in our offices...Buy this book, you won't be dissapointed!
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