When I moved into my present house, this was one of the books I turned to for guidance and it has continued to be a good reference book. Each of the twelve designers, plus Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, not only show us both practical and inspirational pictures but also provide us with their own list of 'first principles'. As basic guidelines for decorating these are tremendously useful as starting points for a room giving pointers to colour in a dark area to where to hang paintings. The Classic Look, Eclecticism, Colourful Modernism and Contemporary Architectural. This is a very original book with ideas centred around artists and the original way the have created their interiors.
Artists are often ingenious in the way they make their interiors.
This is sometimes caused by lack of money but also by the creative urge. The artists featured range from a mixture of well known like the Bloomsbury artists, Jean Cocteau and Augustus John but there are also less well known artists. It includes many off beat treatments with paper, paint, mosaics and fabrics with ideas for lighting and flooring and making collections. This thoroughly stimulating book makes me want to get out into the garden straightaway. Although the gardens are inspired by Japanese and Zen thinking, there are plenty of pictures of gardens in Europe, Australasia and the USA, showing how the concepts are universal.