Straight Talk on Decorating

by Lynette Jennings

Book Overview

In this decorating book, Lynette puts her practical design philosophy and experience in print. In this, her first book, Lynette focuses on understanding and using colour and on making the most of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0696211084
• ISBN13: 9780696211089
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Meredith Press
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 2.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.4" x 10.1"

Customer Reviews

Why can't other designers teach the way she can?

I am an almost pathologically non-visual person who simply can't think outside the box when it comes to shapes, colors, or design or decorating of any kind. It didn't take me long to find that among all the home decorating and craft shows on TV, Lynette Jennings produced by far the most helpful and instructive show for brain-dead people like me.What DID take me awhile to realize, however, is WHY she is so much better than the others. She approaches each topic just as if she were an instructor in a real-life classroom, albeit with the benefit of being physically placed in beautiful homes and rooms that she can display to the viewer. As a teacher myself, I looked at her with a sort of professional eye, and realized that she was in fact a superbly talented teacher and communicator.Her book is more of the same outstanding material you get on her show, but this time organized according to various themes, such as how to use color, how to decorate in small spaces, etc. The book is gorgeously illustrated, and includes concrete ideas that can be understood by those of us who lack her instinctive talent for the subjects of decorating and design. Highly recommended!

the real deal

This is an EXCELLENT book. If you've ever watched her shows, you can just hear her talking to you as you read the book-even the use of typefaces and colors in the text helps get her points across. Lynette does not dance around issues, she gets straight to the point. There are lots of pictures to help you visualize, which is very helpful because she "disproves" a lot of common "wisdom" about decorating and colors and the pictures really show you that she's right. There's nothing about furniture styles; she's not going to define French Provincial for you. She IS going to give you a lot more confidence about getting away from white and ivory walls in every room! (But she's OK with keeping them if you do it because you truly love neutrals, not because you are afraid of color.) She's also going to help you identify what sort of style makes you comfortable-formal, minimalist, eclectic, etc.-and help you realize that the most important thing is to create a space that you are comfortable in.If you buy only one book on decorating, this is it. If you've bought lots, this is going to be the best of all of them.

Best of the season

I look at every new decorating book that comes out, and I buy up to 6 or 7 a year. I admit that I haven't seen Lynette Jennings' TV show because I work, but I've heard of her and have friends who never miss her show. She is funny, fresh, irreverent. She is honest and seems to understand what real people need and want. I am so into her message of doing what WE want with OUR home and not paying any attention to what anyone else has to say. This book is so good. I think it's must reading for everyone who loves her home and wants to make it as personal as possible. What a great message. This book is great to read but it's also filled with glorious color photos. I was glad to see that those photos run the gammut of colors and styles and home types and that Lynette Jennings isn't trying to push one viewpoint on her readers as some decorating book authors are doing. Lynette Jennings makes it clear that I am supposed to do what I want and she'll be there to help me through it. Just great.

I highly recommend this book!

This is a GREAT book! No nonsense, straight talking, smart and useful as a conceptual and practical guidance book. It dymystifies interior decoration, makes it possible for ordinary people who, like me, do not live in million dollar mansions, to relate to her decorating ideas. This is a great book for those new to interior decorating and those who want to pick up a few usable rules of interior decoration without feeling restrained by those very same rules.The texts are incredibly easy and fun to read; very few waster words. Plenty of photos to illustrate the point and the photos and the text go hand in hand--this is not a show and tell of the rich and famous.The text is printed in an unusual way: the types are big (which is great) and black, regular sized print are mixed in with colored, bigger sized print. I like it that way but it drove my husband nuts. There is only one paragraph in the book (one on the pros and cons of painting open floor plan houses in different colors) which I found confusing and not well written. Everything else is right on the money. I highly recommend the book.

This is great

I've always loved Lynette Jennings. I've been addicted to her TV decorating shows for years. When I saw this book, I knew I had to have it, and I wasn't disappointed. This is a big, heavy book stuffed with lots of photos. In the book, Lynette writes as if she's just talking to me about how to decorate my home. Reading this is more like having a conversation than just reading, because Lynette asks questions, makes me stop and think, and even admits that she has trouble decorating sometimes. A wonderful gift book to give yourself or anyone who loves Lynette and appreciates her down-to-earth approach to decorating.