The Comforts of Home: Creating Relaxed Rooms With A ... (ISBN 0688171869)

Amazon.com Review:
We all want true relaxation when we come home--a place to put our feet up, close our eyes, and ignore the world outside. Too often, the "stuff" of day-to-day living interferes with that relaxation, but Atlanta Bartlett is determined to help us all create a personal space where comfort and peace are the focal points. In The Comforts of Home, the gorgeous photos, specific suggestions, and unique styles work together to get you started creating a special haven. Five different decorating styles are highlighted. Whether your taste runs to elegant or eclectic, you're sure to find one that resonates. Bartlett encourages the use of color on walls and ceilings as a focal point--when walls are a delicate blue or pale pink, additional art becomes unnecessary. Unusual uses for items are also encouraged: a bright sari drapes a bedroom window to beautiful effect, while plain and chunky glass tumblers work nicely as vases. Collections of beloved items are shown off to advantage in settings such as wide staircases, kitchen walls, and fireplace mantles. Neutral colors are enhanced with a variety of textures like velvet, leather, satin, rough concrete, and sheepskin to present a living room that combines luxury and simplicity. For every room in the house, Bartlett shows that "less is more" when the "less" has special qualities and sentimental value. With a cozy blanket, family photos, and your favorite chair arranged in front of a sunny window, you may find it difficult to do anything but relax! --Jill Lightner

The sames photos everywhere!:
I was known that it would not be a decorating book -- but I was expecting a lot of inspiration to make my home an enviroment of peace and relaxing. And, finally, I was upset and disappointed. I think the author registered only one house's interior -- the same furniture, rooms in different angles every page. There was a pair of pink shoes that appeared three times in different positions, as if their owner was relaxing in same place of this house! Three times! Maybe the photographer wanted to use all the pictures he took, without editing the material very well. I felt the I lost money and time. Sorry.

Not what the title suggests:
I give this book 3 stars for lovely photography. But it does not contain many real-world decorating tips and certainly not those in what I would call the romantic style, as the cover claims. Mostly, it is about how to inject a little color and freshness into extremely minimalist and modern rooms. The author does this by using things like a pair of glittery shoes on an old stairway. She's also found of huge gilt mirrors leaned on walls and dressmaker's dummies. The pages are beautiful, but the ideas are not practical. And with the cold minimalist backdrops, not what I would consider romantic either. It's an interesting read, if you like interior design, but the style is not very accessible. It is nothing like Shabby Chic or Cottage. I found it pretentious, impractical, and not at all relaxed.

The contents do not seem to go with the title:
The book promised me comfort. What I see are very chilly rooms in cool whites and pastels. Nothing comfortable and snuggly here. And there is a lot of repetition in terms of the rooms shown. Also no ideas that I can use. Big waste of money.

My kind of romantic:
I enjoyed this book because it appealed to my sense of style. I love modern decoration and variations on it also (ie modern country,cottage,ethnic, etc) and this did a very good job of adding a romantic feel without it being fussy. Great pictures and wonderful ideas. A-

Uncluttered Romantic Style:
I love romantic, cottage country style decorating. But usually associate it with with an over-abundance of Stuff. On the other hand I found the minimalist style overly cold and too contemporary and modern for my tastes. This book takes the best of both styles...the romantic, soft look of the one...and the uncluttered, open spaces of the other...and blends them together. Creating a pleasing fusion of what I would have thought were two incompatible styles. It's wonderful to see that uncluttered and open spaces don't have to look cold and barren, but can be soft, elegant, and romantic instead. Looking through this book inspires me to unclutter my home and create open spaces that are more suitable to the life I am trying to live.