Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #250208 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-17
• Released on: 1998-03-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From Amazon.com
When you look past the cover of Martha Stewart's latest effort, you find it's not all about framing your fern collection. (Whew!) It is, however, about defining your home's style using accessories that look expensive but (generally) aren't. There's some very practical and budget-conscious advice here in the chapters about pictures, tables and stools, lamps and shades, shelves, screens and mirrors, and pillows and throws. You can disguise the humble origins of inexpensive adjustable shelving by adding wood trim around the edges and painting everything, including the metal standards and braces, to match the wall color. You can break up or conceal space with screens you make yourself from plain wood panels or old windows. You can update small outdoor tables with do-it-yourself mosaic tile that goes on in one piece. You can, of course, make a large framed entryway mirror from an $800 slab of mirror glass, as Martha does-- but really, no one will check your bank statement to see how much you spent, and it will reflect just as clearly with inexpensive hardware-store mirror glass. Some of the best projects are for sofa pillows, bed and table linens, and lampshades. Though Martha's voice isn't much in evidence in the text, her concepts are definitely here: the instructions are simple and straightforward and the look clean, comfortable and unfussy. --Barrie Trinkle

Customer Reviews

I had a bad experience
I spent a few weeks following her suggestions and thousands on the materials. We had a dinner party to show off the ideas I used and some people were polite with compliments. My husband found a few of our "friends" laughing at Martha's ideas.

A friend later confided that some of the people thought the Martha ideas I implemented were pathetic. I changed most of the things back and my husband was furious. I cried for a week. Maybe she deserves jail time after my experience.

Interesting, practical ideas
This book is the follow-on to "How to Decorate," Martha's first book. This book concentrates on the small details: how to display pictures, how to arrange your collections, and so on. The introductory chapter on how to display pictures and photographs is particularly good, giving ideas (complete with beautiful photographs) on how to display pictures and explaining principles such as where to place pictures, how to arrange them, and why certain arrangements of pictures work in certain places and not others.

The book emphasizes Martha's trademark, which is finding inexpensive but beautiful pieces at garage sales, refinishing them, and adapting them to new uses. Many of the ideas she presents, such as refinishing an old footstool and turning it into a stereo stand, are practical and attractive.

Another winner by Martha
In the long line of excellently crafted books, Decorating Details qualifies as very useful, quality speaks highly for Martha. Detailed photos on top quality paper, have become a mainstay with her books. The book covers pictures, tables & stools, lamps & shades, shelves, screens & mirrors, and pillows & throws. Each section has detailed instructions, for making in making lamp shades there are detailed photos, as well as, written instructions for drafting, decorating, and making a lamp shade. Decorating Details give simple and easy ideas for decorating any space.