Sense of Style, Colour and Space by Shannon Fricke, hardback by Murdoch Books. ISBN 978-1-7419-6202-4, price 18.99 from www.murdochbooks.com.au, available in the UK from www.murdochbooks.co.uk
Originally published in Australia, I thought this would be right up my street. However, I had problems making sense of the book at all. The publisher’s blurb claims it as an how-to book that will show you how to transform your home decor. In reality, I found it to be nothing of the sort – it’s one of those books that go nowhere – it almost seemed to have no purpose.
It’s aim is to make you aware of your surroundings and then give you the practical skills and basic design fundamentals so that you can learn to transform your space into something that is relevant and meaningful. It is split into three sections on colour and three on space. A collection of good photos, a nicely designed book, but the text lacks definition. I found it disjointed. It is full of the author’s own personal feelings, there are no exercises, no how-to’s, no instruction of any kind, no resources just mostly hot air. You won’t particularly learn anything from this book. I’d give it a miss. The cover shown here is not the one on the book I received.