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Rating: 
Summary: My new decorating bible
Review: I adore this book. I found a copy of it mysteriously in my office (I'm a set dresser) and it has completely overhauled my beliefs in decorating. The pictures are feasts for your eyes... There's just so much to look at, all layered so perfectly. I can't wait to create my own lofted bed, my own hooshes, and mysteriously curtained nooks. I feel like I finally fit into a design catagory.
Even if this book doesn't quite mesh as well with your design style, it is still interesting to look at the unique ways of decorating, and the text is lively and quite non-snore inducing (which most decorating books tend to be).
Amazing book. Buy it, you won't be disappointed. It will leave you yearning for another one from the very creative Rebecca Prucell.
Rating:
Summary: Close-to-realistic decorating
Review: I have mixed feelings about this book, despite the 5 stars. I don't actually like clutter myself. I take its presence as a sign that somebody needs to tidy up and/or throw a few things out.
Still, whose home is neat and organized all the time? Through great effort, I can get mine to lose that just-been-burglerized look for about 5 minutes a week.
So I was delighted to find Purcell's book, much of which is devoted to making clutter actually look good, a process she refers to as "hooshing."
She also appreciates that few people's household belongings are new, unstained or well-matched.
--which is (IMO) why the rooms in this book bear some resemblance to places people actually live.
The main deviation from TRULY realistic decor derives from the fact that HER piles of clutter consist of things like old globes, brocade samples, hardcover books etc., whereas most people's clutter is stuff like old newspapers and dead plants. But for an interior decorating book, it's close enough.
Rating:
Summary: Interior Alchemy
Review: If you buy every new interior decorating book on the market, and you open each book with the believer's prayer, which goes something like, let there be one idea worth stealing in this book, then you're in for a faith renewing experiece.Purcell has managed to come up with new ideas, as well as some new terms, guerilla architecture, Do-It-Yourself Art, and Attention-getting Mechanisms, all of which gave this jaded professional an almost religious experience. Perhaps because of her background in retail display, Purcell takes an irreverent approach to putting together a room. The photographs and text make you slap yourself on the head and ask, why didn't I think of that? Decorating books tend to fall into two categories, either how to's or beautiful pictures. Interior Alchemy combines these two styles, providing excellent, revealing pictures and text that tells you how to produce the same results, either by aging, no talent carpentery or as the title suggests by magic.
Rating:
Summary: Eccentric and Electric
Review: This book caught my eye and I could not put it down. Well written, full of great photos and inspiration. This is not your avarage book on interiors, so conventional cookie cutter types should stay away. If you want to personalize your space this is a great place for inspiration and tips for making the place "work". Having seen her windows and adds in magazines for ABC Carpets in NY, I really appreciate Rebecca sharing her ideas and those of the other artist in this short but compelling book.
I actually see the world with new eyes. Thanks Rebecca!
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the faint of heart
Review: Upfront here: If you're the sort who likes to have your space organized, if you dislike the shabby, the thrift store look, the impression of disrepair, do not bother with this book. Purcell leans heavily on the idea that interior fantasy is built up of layers of eccentric, aged, lived-in objects and artifacts, and the result, while remarkable, is not going to be to everyone's taste. Purcell's aesthetic is dark, and even a bit threatening. It's eccentric rather than whimsical, and that's not a bad thing. It's just that it can be a bit overwhelming. (If you're looking for a modified version of this, one with a lighter feel, check out Tracy Porter.) It makes heavy use of thrift store finds, but in these days of shabby chic, this look isn't as thrifty as it used to be. One room features a grouping of very large composition dolls. Granted, they're damaged and rather ratty-looking, but all the same, scoring a single large compo doll can be pricey. Half a dozen is likely to set you back quite a bit of money. And that's more or less true of many of the design ideas here. Very nice things (or at least things so odd that you're going to have to go to some lengths to find a good analog) artfully arranged so that they look kind of neglected. Cha-ching! That's gonna cost you. Over all, I'd have to say that Interior Alchemy, is a great book for those who are not timid about their decorating, who have either some serious spare change or spare time, and who are already more or less on this path of crowded, eccentric spaces. The fantasy level here is enormous, and if it's worth it to you to do the work, then this is a grand resource. To most people, I'd say, start with something a little less ambitious.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the faint of heart
Review: Upfront here: If you're the sort who likes to have your space organized, if you dislike the shabby, the thrift store look, the impression of disrepair, do not bother with this book. Purcell leans heavily on the idea that interior fantasy is built up of layers of eccentric, aged, lived-in objects and artifacts, and the result, while remarkable, is not going to be to everyone's taste. Purcell's aesthetic is dark, and even a bit threatening. It's eccentric rather than whimsical, and that's not a bad thing. It's just that it can be a bit overwhelming. (If you're looking for a modified version of this, one with a lighter feel, check out Tracy Porter.) It makes heavy use of thrift store finds, but in these days of shabby chic, this look isn't as thrifty as it used to be. One room features a grouping of very large composition dolls. Granted, they're damaged and rather ratty-looking, but all the same, scoring a single large compo doll can be pricey. Half a dozen is likely to set you back quite a bit of money. And that's more or less true of many of the design ideas here. Very nice things (or at least things so odd that you're going to have to go to some lengths to find a good analog) artfully arranged so that they look kind of neglected. Cha-ching! That's gonna cost you. Over all, I'd have to say that Interior Alchemy, is a great book for those who are not timid about their decorating, who have either some serious spare change or spare time, and who are already more or less on this path of crowded, eccentric spaces. The fantasy level here is enormous, and if it's worth it to you to do the work, then this is a grand resource. To most people, I'd say, start with something a little less ambitious.
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