Decorate with Flowers, by Holly Becker and Leslie Shewring, Chronicle Books, 144 pages, $27.95.
If your idea of decorating with flowers is to take the bouquet you just bought from the corner store and put them straight into a vase then you are in for a huge surprise.
Not only are there an abundance of interesting and fun ways to show off flowers in your home, but you'll discover from this book that it is not that hard to make exceptional displays.
Authors Holly Becker and Leslie Shewring do an exceptional job at making any room in the house a showcase. From simple single bottle displays to multiple vase arrangements, they guide you through their creations.
Starting out with a list of suggested materials and tools to have on hand, they move on to show specific stepby-step procedures to make fabulous arrangements that are as unique as they are attractive.
Colour photos fill the pages with examples of their work. Becker and Shewring offer tips throughout the various chapters so that each section offers more than just a look at a particular theme.
None of the projects require expensive materials and are not complicated to make. What is apparent right away is that the focus is always on the flowers and the vessels they're put in.
Detail in Contemporary Office Design, by Drew Plunkett and Olga Reid, Laurence King Publishers, 192 pages, $73.
Office space is occupied by many people for more waking hours than their homes. Good design of the work environment can increase productivity, enhance creativity and create a bond with employees, while bad design can cause negative reactions in even more ways.
The recognition that money spent on good design is a solid investment in the future of a company and its employees has resulted in a global renaissance of office layouts and furniture.
Authors Plunkett and Reid provide a tour of unique offices from around the world. Each facility is presented with an introduction on the particular office, collection of colour photographs, descriptions and architectural drawings.
With attention to natural lighting and well-placed work lights, both shared and private spaces, the interiors reflect the creative drive that result in the award-winning structures featured.
—Terry Peters
