Storage Spaces

Rating:
Summary: A book full of pretty pictures
Review: [Note: The title on the book is "Storage Space". There is no "s" at the end.]

"Storage Space" is one of a number of books in a series titled "simpleSolutions". Coleen Cahill has written a bunch of these, but her work load isn't as heavy as you might expect. Except for a few pages at the beginning and end this book has at most two paragraphs of text per page; most pages have one picture and a one-paragraph description of the storage shown in that picture. So this isn't a book that will TELL you about storage solutions so much as SHOW you some sample solutions. It's a shame that the photographs don't have credits, because they're the real meat of this book.

"Storage Space" is full of glossy color photos with excellent contrast and color fidelity. These are all from fully-built homes; while the composition may not be ideally focused on the storage elements displayed, the context of a furnished home helps communicate storage ideas better than any close-up of empty cabinetry ever could. The pictures don't show "lived in" homes, though; every room is dressed by a decorator for its photo opportunity. It gets pretty monotonous looking at desk after desk with potted plants but no paper (except for the obligatory single notebook, open, with a pen laid across it at the exact same angle in every picture).

The built-in storage that's the main feature of this book is custom cabinetry, mostly in blond wood, for the 3% of homes that are designed by architects. Because of this emphasis there's no discussion of how the storage is built, whether it can be added easily to existing homes, or what it will cost. The level of detail doesn't get into things like fitting niches between wall studs, designing for expandability, or whether open storage units will collect dust. But the pictures are gorgeous!

Summary: Very pretty picture book, which will give you some ideas about adding built-in storage if you're planning a new custom home or a major remodel job.

Rating:
Summary: A book full of pretty pictures
Review: [Note: The title on the book is "Storage Space". There is no "s" at the end.]

"Storage Space" is one of a number of books in a series titled "simpleSolutions". Coleen Cahill has written a bunch of these, but her work load isn't as heavy as you might expect. Except for a few pages at the beginning and end this book has at most two paragraphs of text per page; most pages have one picture and a one-paragraph description of the storage shown in that picture. So this isn't a book that will TELL you about storage solutions so much as SHOW you some sample solutions. It's a shame that the photographs don't have credits, because they're the real meat of this book.

"Storage Space" is full of glossy color photos with excellent contrast and color fidelity. These are all from fully-built homes; while the composition may not be ideally focused on the storage elements displayed, the context of a furnished home helps communicate storage ideas better than any close-up of empty cabinetry ever could. The pictures don't show "lived in" homes, though; every room is dressed by a decorator for its photo opportunity. It gets pretty monotonous looking at desk after desk with potted plants but no paper (except for the obligatory single notebook, open, with a pen laid across it at the exact same angle in every picture).

The built-in storage that's the main feature of this book is custom cabinetry, mostly in blond wood, for the 3% of homes that are designed by architects. Because of this emphasis there's no discussion of how the storage is built, whether it can be added easily to existing homes, or what it will cost. The level of detail doesn't get into things like fitting niches between wall studs, designing for expandability, or whether open storage units will collect dust. But the pictures are gorgeous!

Summary: Very pretty picture book, which will give you some ideas about adding built-in storage if you're planning a new custom home or a major remodel job.