Book Description

The tools needed to create and manage a thriving interior design practice
This essential sourcebook provides all of the information needed to establish and manage a productive, profitable interior design firm. Filled with savvy business and career advice, Professional Practice for Interior Designers, Third Edition delivers updated and expanded coverage of the full range of legal, financial, management, marketing, administrative, and ethical issues faced by sole practitioners, firm principals, and managers.
This comprehensive reference lays out clear, practical guidelines on how to structure a contract and prevent legal problems; work with other designers, allied professionals, clients, and vendors; and calculate fees that are both fair and profitable. Recommended reading for NCIDQ candidates, it offers easy-to-follow tips and instruction on how to:
* Write and implement a successful business plan
* Choose the right form of business to fit specific needs
* Institute strategic planning
* Develop effective promotional tools
* Manage finances and set up a computerized accounting system
* Manage employees and team members
Establishing a comprehensive foundation for effective business practice, Professional Practice for Interior Designers, Third Edition is the one-stop resource that no interior designer can afford to be without. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Get It!
This book reads like a friend whispering all the good advice and secrets of the interior design business in your ear. I wish my Professional Practices class had used this text. It's a lot of information but Christine Piotrowski truly takes you by the hand and lets you know what you need to prepare for in a budding interior design business as well as how the interior design business is done in general. I will be referencing this book again and again. A huge thank you and bravo to Christine Piotrowski

Must Have!
This book was used for both Business Practice For Interior Design & Sales and Marketing. I had no need to consult any other source. "This is a great book" THANKS..

Fantastic!
Outstanding, fabulous, fabulous book. Extremely helpful to me in starting my own firm. Well written. Well organized. Invaluable.

A must-read
This one is a must read if you are considering a degree in interior design. I found it extremely helpful in planning my career path.

It's all about color picking, right?
FINALLY, a book that was written for the trained interior design professional. The author explains in detail how to legally and financially start and run a professional interior design business. The author is affiliated with the NCIDQ and definitely understands the difference between decorating and designing. Excellent read for anyone seeking or even just curious about the ins and outs of starting a business. ... Read more

Book Description

This award-winning reference offers clear explanations of the relevant sections of codes that affect the design of interiors. The new edition has been extensively revised to cover the new International Building Code, and also provides a more in-depth treatment of ADA requirements. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Informative
The Codes Guidebook for Interiors is a simple, straight forward guide to understanding how building codes regulate design. The guidebook builds a chapter by chapter systematic approach to code research and application that can be followed by every practictioner regardless of building locale. ... Read more

Book Description

An interior designer's best work is often measured by abstract standards.The designer's talent and skill can dazzle the eyes and win clients, but creative ability is not enough to ensure long-term success.The less glamorous side of interior design is one ofnegotiations, contracts, and finances.A designer ill-prepared to cope with the inevitable business and legal complications ultimately loses time and money, but now help is on the way.Attorney Tad Crawford and design business professional Eva Doman Bruck have teamed to provide interior designers with Business and Legal Forms for Interior Designers, a powerful new resource for building the the foundation for a successful design business. ... Read more

Book Description

A-Z's for designing superior day care facilities

Virtually unknown 30 years ago, daycare has become a growth industry. Child Care Design Guide helps architects and designers plan, design, and renovate functional, developmentally rich, pleasing centers. Author Anita Rui Olds brings to this work over 25 years of design experience with children's facilities. She gives you step-by-step explanations of interior and exterior layout and design principles fleshed out in clarifying case studies. You learn about licensing and code requirements, operational standards and strategies, and get helpful checklists, charts and graphs for optimum facility design within time, space, and budgetary constraints. This highly visual work features over 300 floor plans for infant and toddler, preschool, and afterschool spaces, plus areas for outdoor play and more. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Outstanding Resource!!
Worth every dime!!! Anita Rui Olds has incredible insight into creating environments that are reflective of children and their interests. She believes that a child care setting should have "spirit." Included are Reggio-type environmental solutions that create a sense of wonder with an architecturally aesthetic sensibility. Lots of great ideas packed into this book. Only regret is that the pictures are too small and not in color. Would have been worth extra [$$] to have an expanded edition.

Essential Resource
This is a terrific and necessary resource for anyone involved with the design or renovation of a child care setting. The author has clearly and concisely poured into the book her considerable knowledge and understanding of child care facilities, her passionate beliefs, and her attention to the details of good design. Her knowledge of child development is evident in all of her ideas.

The best
This must be the best book that exist about designing Child Care Center. It covers everything, but the most important is the focus the autor made on the children. This book is a must for every architect or people interested in design of this kind of buildings, specially if he/she is really interested in children well being.
The only but is that for the quality of its content, this book deserves a better paper and color pictures. (a 0 star here for MacGrow-Hill).
Probably this book is call to change the way a day care is seen today.

Long awaited, exceeds expectations
Preeminent authority on design for child care, Anita Rui Olds consummated a lifetime of deep concern and research into the needs of children with the publication of this magnum opus. Lavish use of illustrations--photos, sketches, floor plans, and examples--and attractive layout support Ms. Olds's incisive text to create a remarkably accessible book. Many hundreds of child care professionals and architects who have studied under Ms. Olds will recognize and welcome this work as the summation of the concepts that placed the author at the forefront of her field.

More and more children are in institutional care and, "in search of a model," day care typically happens in society's "leftover" spaces, church basements, warehouses, and places intended for adults. This book will help anyone committed to doing better for our children to "see that young children are raised in nurturing, spirited settings that honor their precious young souls." (from the introduction)

The book's only drawback is technical as the reproduction of photographs is of disappointing quality.

Tragically, Anita Olds did not live to see this book published. We can be thankful that she left it for us, full of her passion for children. In its use we will honor her spirit as we effect her designs. ... Read more

Book Description

This book offers designers the same basic information that they would gain in the NKBA's expensive certificate program. This book, based on the NKBA's six book volume, is a definitive sourcebook and technical guide on kitchen planning and design. It includes information on estimating, space planning, design principles, drawing and presentation standards, mechanical systems, materials, fixtures, safety, and accessibility. Together with its sister publication on bathroom design, it is an "essential" addition to a designer's professional library. ... Read more

Book Description

Inspiration for interior designers today, this book showcases the work of a legendary interior decorator.

The career of Frances Adler Elkins (1888-1953), the sister of the renowned Chicago architect David Adler, spanned more than three decades. An avant-garde decorator and arbiter of taste, Elkins was celebrated for inspired designs that integrated various periods and styles, from country French to chinoiserie to art deco, and featured furnishings by such modern designers as Alberto Giacometti and Jean-Michel Frank. This book offers a tour of twenty-nine luxurious Elkins interiors, including several collaborations with Adler. Elkins's illustrious clientele extended from coast to coast and as far afield as Hawaii, including many private and public commissions in northern and southern California and the Midwest. Generously illustrated with 160 stunning color and black-and-white photographs, the book includes a list of selected clients and a visual inventory of selected furniture, fabrics, wallpapers, and accessories favored by Elkins. 100 color and 60 black-and-white illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description

Effective color selection can be a powerful element in any design. "Interior Color By Design" takes the mystery out of the color application process by: Providing over 250 color samples to experiment with different combinations Featuring over 100 full-color images that illustrate key concepts like adjacent colors and overall design Exploring the interactive effects of color combinations on interior design and archticture ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Would Like More Photos
This really explained the mysteries of color wheels, chroma and values, monotone color schemes and all the color terms that always mystified me in decorating books.
In some cases it was a little difficult to see the range of colors in the photos or the sample rooms were a bit bizarre. That distracted from understanding how a real person could use tetrad or discordant colors. I certainly wouldn't want a room looking like some they showed.
Overall it was helpful, I just wanted more room photos showing how some of the color schemes look when applied.

practical (and inspiring) guide
I went to the public library and looked through dozens of books before choosing three to buy. This was one of the three. The author first introduces color theory -- basic (attributes, temperature, mixing) and advanced (color interaction, hierarchy, proportion, harmony) -- and then moves on to schemes (monotonic, monochromatic, analogous, complementary, discordant). The second (and lengthier) part of the book contains 36 color photographs illustrating the various schemes, each accompanied by more than a few alternative color chip palettes.

I learned a lot and enjoyed doing so. Great photos!

(The other two books I chose at the library were C. Barnes's Color for Your Home and J. Miller's Color: Period and Regional Style From Around the World.)

Excellent explanation of color theory
At last a book where color theory is well and fully explained! They cover what tints, shades, pastels and other terms used to describe and build colors. Excellent! ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive, illustrated reference for those who choose fabrics for interiors. Fabrics provides designers with the information they need to make their fabric specifications easy, informed, and appropriate to the job at hand, considering aesthetics, performance, and green design. It describes and illustrates the many fibers, construction techniques, processes, finishes, styles, and applications of cloth for furniture and window-, wall-, and floor coverings. 300 color illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive guide to the most influential furniture and lighting designs of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, updated and expanded.

Over 2,000 important pieces arranged by type of furniture or fixture make this book the go-to guide for students and historians of modern furniture, as well as an essential tool for interior designers. Each entry gives the details of the design: date, model name or number, manufacturer, materials, and dimensions. 1892 photographs. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

The best is about to get better
This book remains the definitive sourcebook for those interested in modern and modern classic furniture. I still give it out as gifts to my friends. I have known the authors for over 20 years-perhaps I am biased, but I am looking forward to their upcoming revision-the third edition which should be out in Fall, 2004. It will include over 600 new pieces to bring it up-to-date and will include website information for manufacturers.

Odd Criteria for "Modern"
I was disappointed with the book and returned it. Nothing by Robsjohn Gibbings. Nothing by Harvey Probber. Only a single piece by Wormley. Only two by Finn Juhl. Instead, the selection seems weighted heavily toward austere Italian designs of metal and glass, esp. those produced in the 1960s and later. I did not expect the editors to show such a lack of interest in wood. And given the book's definitive-sounding title, I did not expect them to adopt such an rigid and uninteresting definition of "modern."

Modern means...
When anything is modern, it means that it's from this era=this time=now. But also, "MODERN" things point to the design movement that grew from the 1920's Modernism movement. That is why many of the Modern pieces such as Charles and Ray Eames pieces are considered "classic", despite the tag("Modern Furniture") that follows them. So I think this book shows great examples of furniture designs from Modernism era and its following influences. I disagree with Ping Lim about not having shown all the recent great works, because I think Karim Rashid and Aeron chair are considered either post post modern or futurism, not modernism.

time for an upgrade
Undoubtedly, this is one of the best reference book re modern furniture on the market place. Having said that, the readers should be aware that this edition is 4 years old. Some of the modern furnitures listed have since become modern classics & many important pieces after 1996 are not listed in here. For example, the working chair produced by Steelcase that is comparable with Aeron chair without its high price tag, Solo sofa by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia, Vitra & Kartell ranges by Philippe Starck, more lightings by Ingo Maurer & the list could go on & on. Moreover, the authors could include pertinent website & e-mail address for suppliers & manufacturers on top of the snail mail addresses that were provided. It also would be more attractive if the book is printed in colour. Overall, it remains a substantial book. PS: Has the author ever considered updating the book online?

A must for anyone interested in classic furniture
This was this single most important thing that we had when we began decorating our house. An absolute must for the classics! ... Read more

Book Description

Lofts today can be furnished in a host of interior styles, from raw and salvaged to sleek and sophisticated. What makes a loft is no longer quantifiable in floor area alone but has to do with more fundamental qualities of open space planning and design, qualities equally applicable in more conventional surroundings.

This book includes an extensive number of examples and details including floorplans and comprehensive information on suitable finishes, materials, and furnishings. A special section looks at patterns of use and explains how fully to exploit the loft space whatever your circumstances. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

samurai luvs this book
I'am looking for a book that has it all for estimating from floor finishing to window treatment and all the way to bedcovers and table clothes. And this book came up to me. And not only teach you for the estimates but also, the author explained it clearly about the history of each materials and there advantages and disadvantages.
A must for the serious interior designers...

Great estimating guide
Good for people just entering the interior design business, where they're unsure of how to estimate costs for various items. This takes you through it all, pretty much step-by-step. It's complete with diagrams and examples of schedules that you'd write up to pass on to painters, tilers, and the like. The only disadvantage is that I have to translate all the measurements, as they're all in yards and feet. ... Read more

Book Description

The first and only book of its kind, Designing Commercial Interiors provides students and professional designers with expert guidance on the full range of practical, aesthetic, and psychosocial issues involved in designing for nonresidential interiors. Drawing on nearly a half-century of experience as designers and interior design educators, the authors provide comprehensive coverage of planning and design for all types of organizations and service facilities.

Arranged for maximum ease of reference, the book comprises a series of self-contained chapters, each one providing comprehensive coverage of a specific category of commercial facility-including offices, hotels and lodgings, food and beverage facilities, retail facilities, health care facilities, institutional facilities, and banks. Each chapter begins with an overview of functional considerations, followed by an in-depth discussion of critical planning and design concepts and helpful, real-world examples. Chapters also include detailed information on key machine interface considerations, codes and regulations, and building systems, accompanied by professional-quality illustrations that help clarify issues related to space layouts, specialized equipment, and aesthetic concerns. In the concluding chapter, the authors provide valuable step-by-step guidance on project management for commercial interior designers.

The only single-volume guide to designing for all types of nonresidential interiors, Designing Commercial Interiors is an ideal reference for students of interior design. It is also an indispensable working resource for professional interior designers, especially for those interested in making the move into one of today's most rewarding design specialties.

The first and only comprehensive guide to the design of all types of nonresidential interiors.

Designing Commercial Interiors is both an excellent reference for interior design students and a valuable resource for professional interior designers considering taking a leap into nonresidential design. Drawing upon forty-five years of combined experience as commercial and residential interior designers, Christine Piotrowski and Elizabeth Rogers offer expert, step-by-step guidance on planning and designing for all types of nonresidential interiors -including offices, food and beverage facilities, health care facilities, lodgings, banks, and more. Illustrated with more than 200 line drawings and photographs, Designing Commercial Interiors covers all key aspects of the subject, including:
* Functional considerations
* Critical planning and design concepts
* Design applications
* Human/machine interface issues
* Building codes and regulations
* Building systems
* The changing office environment and alternative office environments
* Designing healthy work environments
* Project management ... Read more

Book Description

Written for architects, interior designers, and color consultants, this ambitious study explores the psychological and physiological effects of color in the man-made environment. Scientific findings and industry-by-industry examples are furnished to help professionals specify colors that will create healthful environments in hospitals, schools, restaurants, and other public facilities. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent Book- Very Helpful
This is an excellent book. It's very interesting and was the first book of it's kind that I have read. I gives color and light suggestions for different environments such as schools, office spaces, etc. It gives detailed scientific information about why these colors and types of light are good to use in these environments that is easy to understand. I think this book is a must have for all interior designers who care about the effects the environment they design will have on the people that will be in it!

Good Enough I'm Looking for the Author
Help! My cousin in Brazil is trying to contact the author of this book. The letter he sent was returned to him as the address being no good. He had gotten the address out of the back of the book. Does anyone know how to contact the author? ... Read more

Book Description

A portable swatchbook of stone samples for architects, interior designers, and builders. This full-color compendium is a handy directory to 576 varieties of marble, onyx, travertine, granite, quartzite, and limestone, plus the technical information necessary for specifying them in interior and exterior building. A CD-ROM contains the sample swatches in TIFF format for Macintosh or PC. 576 color illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description

Designing Interiors with Tile: Creative Ideas with Ceramic, Stone, and Mosaic presents a stunning contemporary collection of innovative applications of this ancient design form.

This volume includes more than 200 full-color photographs showing a variety of colors, textures, and surfaces. It shows how tile, stone, and mosaics can anchor a design theme, add an abundance of color, texture, and light to a room, and turn the ordinary details of a room into the extraordinary.

Features a range of traditional and nontraditional applications for kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms, family rooms, dining rooms, and pooi areas. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

"If you can put together an outfit, you're already overqualified to decorate a room," believes Emmy Award-winning Christopher Lowell. Now, the most popular and colorful personality on the Discovery Channel brings his proven Seven Layers of Design system to readers in a lively blend of design theory and hands-on advice for do-it-yourself projects. In this book, as on his program, Lowell brings his humor, wit, and charm to a host of decorating projects and ideas, making them simple, fun, and rewarding.

Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design solves decorating dilemmas by encouraging you to look at a room piece by piece, layer by layer, from the floor up. By following this process, home decorators can avoid costly disappointments and learn inexpensive tricks for changing the personality of a room. With his colorful presentation of the Seven Layers (Paint & Architecture, Installed Flooring, Upholstered Furniture, Accent Fabrics, Non-upholstered Furniture, Accessories, and Plants & Lighting), Lowell lays the groundwork for simple yet stunning home design. He demonstrates how color is the foundation of a room, why decorating a room around a favorite upholstery fabric is a recipe for disaster, how to create fabulous fakes using paint and plywood, why you should never paint a ceiling white, and how to deal with an interior designer.

Each chapter of Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design walks you through room makeovers with dramatic before, during, and after photos, and solves a variety of design problems. In "Even the Kitchen Sink," Lowell works his magic within the constraints of existing walls and appliances, countertops, and cabinets. "Home Office Haven" demonstrates how to create an efficient home office and still welcome houseguests. "Living Large" helps you to reduce clutter by making use of space you never knew you had. "Dining Room Drama" shows how to bring romance into any room of the house. There are also plenty of tips, secrets, and shortcuts to tackling a stylish Deco bathroom mirror, faux-finished kitchen cabinets, a chic chaise lounge made from plywood, and more. Best of all, most of these projects can be completed for under $100. ... Read more

Reviews (63)

I'm satisfied
I think this is a very good how-to book. He does a great job explaining each of his 7 layers of design.What I found most helpful were the step-by-step photos as he applied each layer.It made it really easy to distinguish the effect each "layer" had.Nice before and after shots.Although these rooms weren't really the contemporary modern style that I like. I did learn a lot from the book.

Need more layers
What I liked about this book was that Lowell broke the decorating muddle down into seven simple layers.What I didn't like was that the layers needed to be more in-depth and more examples needed to be given, rather than use just one room to illustrate his decorating lessons.For example, in layer two discussing the placement of furniture, he did explain his placement for that particular room, but not for placement of furniture in other rooms with different configurations. It would have helped to have several examples of placement of furniture, taking into consideration traffic patterns, conversation areas, etc.So, although the pictures were beautiful, I felt that there should have been a greater variety of examples of how each of the principles applied in different types of rooms/homes.

I love this book!
This book is everything and more than what I expected it to be.Christopher has excellent ideas, and isn't afraid to tell it like it is.I now have several projects that I am going to use from the book.I feel like I can jump right into my room now and get started, whereas before I was reluctant.I just didn't know where to begin. Now with the Seven layers, I know exactly what to do.

Pictures were nice, but pretty over powering.
It seemed like everything in the book was just as over the top as he is.Instead of showing you a really tastefull way of going about decorating something, everything was just bigger, and more colorful, and fluffier.I think that is kind of his style, and I guess I'm just not a fan of it.

I think if you really enjoy him, you will like this book.I guess I don't enjoy him or this book.

Fun and informative
This is a fun book.However, if you already have furniture and can't afford to buy a lot more accessories, this might not be the book for you.He advises doing things in layers, which, in theory, is a great idea.I just don't have the time or money to do all the things he suggests.If you have an empty room and are starting from scratch with no paint or paper on the walls and can fill it with furniture and accessories, then this is great.Also, the big problem that I've noticed with some of these interior decorating books is that they don't offer a lot of different ideas.I have one book that has quite a few color palette ideas in the back and I've found that I use this a lot more, since it gives some definitive "use these colors to look coordinated" advice without being restrictive. ... Read more

Book Description

This book meets a great need in the design field for a professional marketing resource focusing on small design firms (1-4 person firms).This book was developed as a resource for these designers, to aid in finding new clients and marketing design services. It includes a basic, practical approach, and takes into account that the typical interior designer is also managing an office and a variety of projects in addition to preparing a marketing strategy. It offers suggestions and guidance for marketing with such obstacles as limited funds, no time, and few resources, and includes a list of ideas to get readers started on their own marketing projects. ... Read more

Book Description

One hundred years ago – on 17^th December 1903 – five people in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina looked on as two brothers changed the course of history: Wilbur and Orville Wright had achieved humankind’s first powered, sustained and controlled flight.

Since this event, the marvel of flight has become a reality in even the most remote parts of the world, leading to the creation of the mass-transportation systems that are now regarded as an everyday feature of our modern lifestyle.

The design of commercial aircraft interiors today is an art and a science, involving very particular concerns of comfort, space saving and durability. Jetliner Cabins brings together in a single volume the many different elements which combine to create a satisfying environment for scheduled air travel worldwide – designs, functions, materials, construction, safety, maintenance, overall style and passenger well-being. In addition to the main text and comprehensive illustrations, there are expert comments from more than 40 international specialists in the field, bringing a wide range of aviation knowledge to the table.

This book will interest innumerable readers – from manufacturers, airlines and suppliers to travel agents, marketers and salespeople; from airport managers to caterers, designers, engineers and architects; and not least the millions of passengers who travel each year in these special and typically modern surroundings. ... Read more

Book Description

Plan and design alternative work environments with ease. More and more businesses are looking to redesign or re-engineer their existing workspaces to boost employee productivity and reduce, or contain, their corporate real estate holdings. New Workplaces for New Workstyles, by Marilyn Zelinsky, arms you with the instant expertise you need to grab your share of these fast-growing, lucrative interior design opportunities. It walks you step-by-step through every aspect of creating alternative work environments (AWEs)--from selling the concept of AWE to senior management of investing in the right technology and equipment to planning, designing and managing alternative offices. You get case studies of 27 major companies--including IBM, AT&T and Pacific Bell--that have implemented or are implementing AWEs. These real-world examples, floor plans, sample designs and how-to photos are a goldmine of ideas and inspiration for selecting the best AWE strategy for your needs...setting up onsite offices...equipping mobile and home offices...understanding corporate-culture issues like productivity, territoriality and employee interaction...dealing with traditional and new lasws and policies...and much more. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great resource about the office of the future.
My firm needed information about designing a new workplace and an architect recommended we read this book. Now, we are thinking about hoteling because this book helped us to understand what it was all about. It was easy to understand and easy to read--there are tons of statistics, too. Great read. ... Read more