Customer Reviews

Pottery Barn Bedrooms: Ideas and Inspiration for Stylish Sleeping Spaces

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Décor is a very personal thing, which probably accounts for the widely divergent reactions of readers of this book - they either love it or hate it.

A small design team have selected and completely decorated, with Pottery Barn furnishings and accessories, 24 rooms, large and small, in homes of varying types, including a Victorian townhouse, small cottages, farmhouses, a saltbox, a ranch house and a modern home inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright design -- in what amounts to variations on a single theme - simplicity, informality, tranquility.

The décor of each room complements the character of its setting, reinforcing it with restraint & subtlety, without being obvious or overwhelming. There are plenty of props, artefacts and accessories to add interest but nothing cutesy or kitsch, and the overall impression is of simple comfort.

Personally, I love this book, but I can see how some people might be put off by its limited colour schemes and understated style. People who are not fond of beige will probably not be happy with the book. A more apt title might have been "Pottery Barn in Neutral". The emphasis - which may be due to the designer's bias -- is on warm neutrals - ecru, linen, cream, sand, taupe, honey, butterscotch or camel. There is lots of light, in white or cream painted walls, furniture and woodwork, in white sheets and matelasse or in sunlight filtered through sheer curtains.

When there is colour, the palettes are often subdued: watery blue, chambray, celadon, muted reds or sienna. Colours are also neutralized by combining with white or cream in checks, toile, pinstripes, quilts, woven rugs or cabana-stripe Roman shades.
You won't find any formality here, no moiré wallpaper, no brocade or satin or tapestry bedspreads, no black, royal blue or emerald green, no loud colours or sharp contrasts.

My favourite room in the book (except for a rusty old iron bedstead which I would have freshly repainted in bronze) is done almost entirely in winter-white and cream, right down to the white painted floor boards, and accented by colourful cushions and bed-skirt of red plaid taffeta. I find it reminiscent of old-fashioned English country cottage and the whites & pastels of Swedish country.

I can hardly wait to adapt some of those ideas to that attic room I've been renovating.

and I'm pretty happy with all of the Pottery Barn books that I have, -living rooms, outdoor spaces, dining rooms, bathrooms, storage and THIS ONE!

For one thing, I was worried by the negative reviews till I got my first 2 books. Then I ordered the rest immediately.

I thought it might be a big expensive book length ad for their furniture. It isn't! I thought it might be black and white, full of ivory and brown and gray. It isn't!

It's a big well illustrated book on design for comfort, style, organization and interest. Full of ideas to add COLOUR and life and light to your spaces, as well as good organizing tips for real life people in real life rooms.

As for the catalogs, well I live in Canada and they won't send us catalogs. There are 2 stores in Canada that I know of, one all the way across the continent, the other a days drive away.

No catalog will give you the kind of explanation behind the design in the room photo, and I really liked that.

It easily showed me how to get the results I want, in MY SPACE using my things, furniture, candles, baskets, etc together with some new linens and paint to make a clean, lovely serene place to rest at the end of the day.

The furniture illustrated is the kind that can be bought anywhere, IKEA sells similar stuff in their country line and the bed linen is typically available anywhere too.

They put it together with all kinds of interesting junk store items from second hand stores, some good antiques all with a sort of "hand me down" flavour that marries quite well with the new furniture in the photos.

After studying the pictures for a while, a person could easily head down to a second hand store and pick up quite a lot of interesting inexpensive furnishings AND KNOW WHAT TO DO TO KEEP IT FROM LOOKING JUNKY!!!!! Wow, I love these books.

Another feature I like is the thumbnail picture at the back with paint chips info from benjamin moore paints which are readily available anywhere

as well as the other items should you have access to a pottery barn and want to copy the whole thing minus the antiques/junk--

which I don't. First we don't have a PB store nearby, they don't ship to Canada-- catalogs or furniture obviously. Secondly these ideas are to be taken apart, adapted and used in your own space to help create your own individual look.

I love Pottery Barn and have managed over the years to purchase their furniture and a handful of their accessories. They have wonderful ideas (that can be pulled off with a fraction of the price if you look around) that are fun to try and unique. But if you are looking to find that inspiration, don't count on this book. I find that I can get better ideas straight from their catalog instead.....and that is free! Their ideas bordered on boring and not real conducive to everyday use. I plan to stick with the catalog after being disappointed with all of their books in the set.

Let me start out by saying that I absolutely love Pottery Barn. If I could afford to furnish my house with only products from Pottery Barn, I would. Of course, like most people, I can't afford to do that. I thought this book might provide some ideas on how to make a "Pottery Barn bedroom" without the cost of Pottery Barn. Instead, however, it's basically just a lengthy advertisement unworthy of your money.

Bottom line: take the 17 bucks you would spend on this book and start a savings account. Add a little to it every month and maybe, someday, you can buy some Pottery Barn furniture!

I just got this book to complete my set (I have Living Rooms and Bathrooms) and it's great! There are lots of really clever ideas for giving a room a new look without spending your life savings--and the photos are just gorgeous. There are good tips for choosing color (which I always think is the hardest thing to do) and TONS of ways to change the accessories in a bedroom. The book is just as beautiful as the Pottery Barn catalogs, but has new decorating ideas in it that I had never seen there--or anywhere else before.

What a shame that Pottery Barn didn't do a better job on this book and the others it has published. There are no new ideas here. I was hoping to see some of the fresh style that made Pottery Barn famous. It's not in here. The book is dull, lifeless, boring.

I enjoy the pottery barn style and since we are doing minor renovations that give me an excuse to redecorate my bedroom I couldn't wait for this book to arrive. I checked the online reviews of all the PB books and saw some complaints, but I thought overall I'd be glad I made this purchase. Wrong! I flipped through it once right after getting it and I doubt I'll pick it up again. I recall a reviewer of one of the other PB books saying there's nothing in here that you can't get from one of the PB magazines and that reviewer was right. I actually think the bed and bath magazines are better than this book. I'm very glad I purchased just this book and didn't waste money on the entire set. I guess I'll wait for the next PB magazine to come in the mail for any redecorating inspiration.

Thank you Pottery Barn! 'Bedrooms' is a fun read, lots of ideas, especially on colors and design. I haven't put the book down yet.