Mary Gilliatt's Short Cuts to Great Decorating - Softcover

Hard to Find book

Mary Gilliatt's Short Cuts to Great Decorating is not so much a "how to" as a "you can" book. Aptly subtitled Simple Solutions to Classic Problems, it sets out to inspire the reader to develop their own taste by building up a "style file" and then proceeds to show what can be achieved, particularly with the benefit of Gilliatt's "nuggets" of information gathered over years of experience. Pulling together the themes of her other books, on style and decorating, she takes a thorough, systematic journey through many of the major areas and issues of interior decorating, with chapters on storage, architecture, lighting, floors, the kitchen and the bathroom, among others. She confronts the reality of unmatched furniture and limited space, time and money with tempting sections like "Luxury on a Budget", and a final encouraging chapter on "Instant Cheer". Well laid-out, in coherent subsections, with a comprehensive series of photographs and a useful index, this book offers exposure to a variety of periods and styles and a series of invaluable tips, from using sheets as curtains or as throws on sofas, to colouring wooden mirror frames with wax crayon. --Fiona Murphy