Decorating Master Class

by Ellie Cullman, Tracey Winn Pruzan, Durston Saylor (Photographer)

Book by Cullman, Elissa, Pruzan, Tracey

Genres: Interior Design, Design

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[Kimberly Martin]

I really did take me this long to read this book (in between college and other Interior Design courses). It’s definitely a design book to read, not just flip through, and the designers shared a ton of info. 5 stars for that generous sharing. This book would be more helpful for higher-end designers.

The copyright was in 2008 and some of the photos were taken as far back as 1995, so a lot of the images felt dated to the point of looking like nicely-maintained “before” rooms. I would say some of the biggest changes between now and then would be adding more lows to the high-end pieces and removing 1/3-1/2 of the décor. So probably a 2.5-3 for the images, but it’s not necessarily the authors’ fault as design styles change so quickly. And the concepts shared could definitely still be used.

[Zibby Owens]

This beautiful decorating handbook is the perfect coffee table book! The authors share little tips and tricks everyone can all use, whether you are redecorating, renovating, or building a new home. This book made me feel like I could learn and implement the perfect design techniques because it goes through all the basics: lighting, furniture placement, materials to use, decorating windows, and how to add the perfect color. The book even walks us through a few case studies where we can see what a difference a decorator makes!

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/ell...

[IE]

This is a very formal and in-depth book that takes longer than average to read. Considering I read it 10 years after it was published I am not surprised that seems a bit dated now. It reminds me of a more modern version of The House in Good Taste by Elsie de Wolfe as it is quite formal and dictatorial. I would revisit it again for formal decorating advice.

[Amanda]

This is a fab interior-design primer, full of the stuff you need: inches between couch and coffee table, types of painting techniques etc. Their style is a bit high-brow (custom couches, anyone?), but the info is great.