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Rating: 
Summary: Useless
Review:
I am giving this book only one star because I expected more from Bilhuber. The photos are fuzzy and the text is so vague that it cannot possibly help the reader in search of practical solutions. There are only a few hints or guidelines and I did not appreciate the broad generalizations. To make matters worse, there wasn't a single picture in this book which impressed or inspired me.
It's not even a nice coffee table book since the photographic quality is so poor. A HUGE waste of money!
Rating: 
Summary: Solid Information on Design Techniques
Review: For those of you seeking pretty pictures and how to copy the rooms, look in a different book or a magazine. The pictures are only incidental to the information inside. Instead, you will find out how this designer thinks so you can begin to see solutions and develop your own ideas. This is not a "step 1, step 2, etc." book, you will have to think and apply principles yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Design concepts, not just pretty pictures
Review: I was surprised at the number of negative reviews this book got. Maybe because the book is so different than the majority of decorating books which are little more than collections of pretty rooms; they lack explanations of the underlying design concepts or discussions of problems and how to deal with them. This book gives you ideas and theories on dealing with low ceilings, awkward layouts, poor lighting, support columns and other real-life problems and explains why certain solutions work. (ie: doing x will add visual weight here and distract from the bad feature over there).Yes, many of the rooms are sophisticated "adult" rooms. Many, but certainly not all, are in apartments (one of the appealing points for me, actually). He gives design principles (such as accentuating the positive and minimizing the negative) and shows real examples. Not everyone lives in the suburbs, buys furniture at Wallmart and wants their house to be a children's romper room. But even if you do, and you would never pick the same furnishings as Mr. Bilhuber, the principles can be applied to your own choices. Perhaps some people are put off because he does not give you pat decorating formulas (a la Martha Stewart's white plus one color always works well) but encourages you to look, think and consider...something a lot of people are not comfortable doing, I guess. So far this book does a better job explaining the design concepts better than any others I have found. Even if you don't like the specific details in his rooms, his advice (decide how much and where you want to spend your money, start with things that you love, test colors in the actual room, at different times of day, think about what you want to use the room for and design it that way, etc) is sound and can be applied to your projects and your taste. I liked his explanations of what he was thinking, what principle he applied, and why an approach works, and what would or would not work in a space. However, if you are looking for a book that gives you rote formulas, this is not it.
Rating:
Summary: A Big Disappointment
Review: It's amazing that Rizzoli did such a poor job on the production of this book. Some of the pages were out of sequence, others were missing, some of the printing was crooked, and most of the photographs were fuzzy. Bilhuber is not a good writer, but many of the writing problems could have been corrected with good editing. The guidelines or suggestions offered were good, but a more detailed explanation with more examples would have been useful in many cases. Even with these problems, the book would have been worthwhile if the pictures were clearer. Although he may not be a great writer, I think Jeffrey Bilhuber must be a wonderful decorator. He has a real talent for combining traditional and modern elements in an effortless way that makes them look wonderful together. He also shows us that common, inexpensive items, when combined correctly, can look elegant and luxurious. It's difficult to imagine children playing in his rooms, but we don't all have young children. His style is sophisticated and lush, and the rooms in this book draw the reader back repeatedly for another look.
Rating: 
Summary: The Way Every Interior Should Look
Review: Jeffrey Bilhuber's Design Basics is the greatest book on Interior Design that I have read to date, and I've read a lot. Jeffrey really does lay out the basics in an easy, comprehensible way. Although the homes pictured (which he designed)are more expensive, Bilhuber shares his tricks on how to make every space look fantastic, whether it is a one-bedroom apartment or a 14,000 square foot home. I am studying Interior Design right now, and I appreciate the ideas, aesthetic and attitude of Bilhuber. Bilhuber has a wonderful talent in mixing modern elements with the classic. From what I have read he is quite the history buff, and that is reflected through his design projects. He has a definite aesthetic as well, but he is able to show many styles for different types of people. He has designed purely modern spaces, a Morrocan-style home in Florida, and cottage-style homes on Nantucket. These are all very different styles. Chapter by chapter, Bilhuber gives many ideas on how to take these ideas and reinterpret them for any space. You have to read the text along with looking at the photos. There are hundreds of practical solutions written in the chapters of this book, like covering family room sofa cushions in leather for accidental spills. He actually has done that for a client with children. He is all about creating spaces that relect his client's personalities and needs. He has shown in this book that form and function can truly coexist. I recommend this book to anyone desiring a beautiful and practical home. Everyone can take ideas from this book. Bilhuber has shown through the beautiful photography and eloquent text that it can be easy to create the home of your dreams. I love this book!!!
Rating: 
Summary: The rooms look too "studied" and too "new"
Review: Reviewers have been giving this book a hard time so I thought I should weigh in with my opinion. The rooms in the book don't look that bad, but they do look too "studied" and too "new," and that is what gives them the phony, showy, nouveau-riche look. I got the feeling that each room was almost created from scratch as if the people living in the rooms didn't start out with one decent heirloom or personal object. The author seems to have found rooms that generally show good use of square footage, so you can get some ideas from them. (I wasted money on this book so I am trying to make the best of it and glean what ideas I can from it.)
Rating:
Summary: disappointing in every way
Review: Rizzoli is known for some of the most delectible art and coffee table books on the market, so I'm surprised at how grainy many of the photos are in this book. Maybe they did it to mask how unremarkable some of the rooms are. I'm sure these highly textured rooms fare much better in person than they do on the printed page. Bilhuber isn't the greatest writer in the world (he occasionally sounds like Auntie Mame), but I actually found some of what he discusses fairly inspiring. Also, he had the good sense to include Benjamin Moore paint numbers for his favorite paints (including a nice selection of whites...and judging from what I usually overhear in the paint store, people have trouble picking out the correct white for their home). I wish more design books included such useful info.
Rating:
Summary: very fun, lots of how tos
Review: this is a book I turn to for decorating courage and when I am insecure in my own ideas. the paint color helpful hints were very helpful once (as per advice in the book I painted a small room benj. moore black bean soup) and a little strange another time (painted a naturally brightly lit room south facing room ceiling atrium white...which made it look like my ceilings were pink during the day, but they do really look perfect at night... mind you the color is perfect on walls elsewhere, even when south facing with lots of natural light...) anyway, this book is a very fun read and contains lots of ideas. I have used it for reference about 30 times in the last year, so I'd say the book is a good bang for the buck.
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