THE MESSAGE fades in the shadowed salon of a Venetian palazzo, where the reflected water light of the green canal dances on heavy, ornate gilt and blends with the greens of painted furniture, faded velvets and frescoed ceilings filled with rosy putty. None of this is plain. And none of it has anything to do with savages or social misfits. Each example provides a superb decorative vocabulary that speaks the language of a particular taste and time. There is no way to play down, or downgrade, the attractions of richness and the accoutrements of style. The uses of enrichment go beyond surface decoration. The ornament on a Louis Sullivan building in Chicago defines the early art of the skyscraper by making the revolutionary structural frame visually clear while elevating it to something beyond engineering.
Eighteenth-century painted rooms and 19thcentury scenic wallpaper not only sent fashionable signals but also evoked the ambience of exotic beauties and far-off places.
Decoration definitely denies that less is more. It gilds the lily, out of choice. And while it may represent the distilled essence of the taste of the moment, in its change, say, from rococo to neoclassical, or from the Greek to Gothic Revival, it turns out to be far less transient than its ties with the world of fashion would indicate. Surely no decorative style has been more enduring — or more adapted, bowdlerized and revived — than the Adam; the delicacy and refinement of its ornament, furniture and details have made it as suitable for small domestic interiors and contemporary uses as it was for the grand, palatial scale of the original Adam rooms.
If Adam has been the most copied style, then the rococo has been the most vulgarized. The 19th century's combination of mass production, new money, ambition and ostentation found the more elaborate styles most sympathetic; it did not matter if what was once artfully designed and elegantly hand-carved was now reduced to banality and machine-stamped as long as there was plenty of it..
Reading this new "how to" idea book before you decorate or redecorate your home is a good way to put the project into perspective, whether your budget is very limited or without restrictions. The authors first explain home decorating basics, and then apply them to specific rooms. Using the customary "dummies style" of book organization, the McMillans emphasize important points with icons forlips, technical" stuff, warnings and other categories. They also share decorating shortcuts,, often emphasized by drawings. A unique feature is the J2-page color' section of decorating photos, showcasing good ideas. This highly detailed book explains so many home decorating topics the reader can become overwhelmed trying to remember the principles involved. Whether you decide to hire a professional interior designer or do it yourself, you'll find that virtually all important decorating topics are explained. Since each homeowner and home decorator has different ideas, a book on home decoration can, at best, emphasize key points and let the readers decide what they prefer. Although Authors have strong "do and don't" opinions, ultimately it's up to the reader to make choices. For this reason, writing a decorating book isn't easy. The authors have done an admirable job of explaining the basics in simple terms, sharing ideas, illustrating their points with photos and drawings, but finally letting the reader choose what's best.
) 0 following, 0 followers
comment
