Interesting because I'm interested in that subject
Would you read it again?
Probably not
Value for money
Satisfactory
Advantages:
lightweight introduction to an important subject
Disadvantages:
too lightweight !
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
Storage is a perennial problem in my home - as it probably is in yours!
Tessa Shaw's book is a pleasant, all-round introduction to the subject of storage. Full of nice pictures, of real peoples' homes, which are not overly 'staged' like the photos in many interiors books.
A wide range of storage solutions are covered ranging from clothes and shoes, collectables and offices through to bathrooms, childrens' rooms and sheds and basements. There's even a section on food and drink!
One of the chapters deals with a 'before and after' scenario for a bedroom. I found this rather uninspiring and found it hard to enthuse about the difference made to a fireplace cupboard by the replacement of a louvre door for an MDF one.
Tessa Shaw did admit at one point that a scheme will only work if the owners put things away properly. Perhaps this goes for all storage systems. However, it seems to me that not enough attention was paid to dividing and sub-dividing drawers and cupboards to make them useable. Unless this is done, any storage system will eventually come to grief!
In between the chapters are sections on DIY projects and these are one of my main gripes about the book.
Pretty drawings show how, in very few steps, one can create various storage projects ranging from storage cubes or a curtained wardrobe, through to much more complicated storage for an LP collection! (Personally, I would have preferred more innovative ideas on CD storage instead of the paltry two racks shown.)
As anyone who has ever wielded a saw and a screwdriver will tell you, DIY projects are fraught with problems and pitfalls. This book just adds a few more! Unless you know what you are doing, and even at times when you do, DIY should be tackled with great caution!
This book makes the projects look too easy and it doesn't supply enough information for the inexperienced DIYer to ensure success. Anyone intent on DIY would do better to buy a book dedicated to the subject and be prepared for a lot of frustration on the way to their goal!
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How useful was it?
Of some use
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