Customer Reviews

Decorating with Architectural Trimwork: Planning, Designing, Installing

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're interested in ideas for interior woodwork, this book offers some nice photos that may inspire a project ... and sometimes inspiration is just what's needed to get us out of the chair and actively working. However, if you're interested in executing the work that's shown, an inexperienced carpenter will be hard pressed to succeed based on the information here. No book can substitute for experience, and this book is great for dreamers, but there are better carpentry guides out there if you actually want to do the work.

I just recently purchased this book to trim out my house with Crown, base and window trim and decorative caps between rooms.

while there are better boooks for pure trim carpentry skills, Jim Tolpin's book comes to mind, I find myself reaching for this book over Tolpin's as it has great color pictures, concise instructions, good organization, and most importantly, ideas.

When I was choosing how to make my base moldings, or build the decorative cap, I needed guidance on which moldings to choose, what size they should be proportionally, and how to build them. This is where this book becomes worth every penny--its descriptions and pictures, along with techniques for different styles such as neo classical, victorian and Arts and Crafts, with suggestions on how to put all the components together on walls, floors and ceilings.

Overall I highly recommend this book for anyone that's going to trim their house themselves.

This book will provide the Do-It-Yourself crowd with the knowledge necessary to tackle a trimwork project with confidence. With excellent organization, information and pictures, it is hard to imagine a better book for this purpose.

Even if you do not plan to do it yourself, the book will provide excellent pictures to help you select the type of trimwork you would like, and will serve as a starting point in a project discussion with a carpenter. The example pictures alone are worth the price of the book.

I have read many books on woodworking. Some of them have pictures of products you would never consider putting in your own home. Not in this book. It is full of pictures of trim work that is beautiful. If you buy this book just for the examples you see makes it worth it. I open it sometimes just to get inspired to higher levels of woodworking.
All in all well written, and super well illustrated. Highly recommended.

I am a female do it yourselfer who was interested in learning crown moulding, chair rails, etc for my new home with little character. I found this book extremely helpful in setting me on the right track. I still reference it frequently.

Somewhat disappointing, this book is not very cohesive. While some of what you need to know will be touched on eventually, the book uses a shotgun approach, hitting some parts of a subject and missing others. The book ends up more a showcse of some different types of trim, without really giving much good advice on how to actually select, cut, stain/paint, and install trim accurately. Check it out at a home store before purchasing.

I stumbled accross this book in my local woodworking store and bought it. The book is loaded with tips, detailed drawings, step by step instructions, and tons of great full color photos that have given me a lot of design ideas. I was so impressed with this book, that I am planning to buy a few more of the books in this series.

I loved this book. It's very helpful in planning, estimating, and installing molding. Unlike most finish carpentry books this book is beautifully illustrated with examples of moldings and decorative ideas. It is not an exhaustive example of molding styles - and I didn't expect it to be. What this book does well is explain how to make your rooms resemble the rooms in the book. If you are a do-it-yourselfer I'd highly recommend this book

Mr. Silber hits the mark with his observation that today's trim is inadequate for big rooms and tall ceilings. However, while he addresses several styles of trim, he concentrates only on wall frames for technique. I'm a big fan of the prairie style and after spotting a reference to Frank Lloyd Wright in the Table of Contents, bought the book. I was most disappointed to find only 1 paragraph about prairie and nothing whatsoever on the size or shape of that style of trim (such as S4S). There were no suggestions at all for its installation - just one photo of one room in the entire book. I returned it. If you like the styles that use wall frames, this may be the book for you. Don't waste your money if you like prairie or Arts & Crafts.

I have been woodworking for many years and I have many books on various types of woodworking. I would count this book among one of the best. This book is not written by someone who is trying to impress himself by making the subject matter more difficult than it is. Instead, it is written by someone with great knowledge of the subject putting real effort into presenting his knowlege in a way that is easy for the reader to understand. Layout, design and techniques are all addressed with big, well planned, step by step color photos (not like some books that scrimp on the artwork and end up with horrible drawings or black and white photos). When you read this book, you will feel yourself saying, "I understand what he is saying and I can do this!" instead of, "What the hell is he talking about! (I have plenty of books that will have you saying this)". I wish all books about woodworking (or any subject really) were this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated.