Living with Arts & Crafts

/Living with Arts & Crafts/ is a visually striking but very general survey of the style of decor which novices like me often associate at first with the prairie dwellings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, but which in fact is far more variegated. This book is practically two different books. The first (worth five stars) consists of beautiful photography of Arts & Crafts-style interiors and thoroughly covers each room in the home as well as such functional and decorative accents as lighting and fabrics. The photographs are well selected, mixing the rustic with the modern in roughly equal proportion, and are captured flawlessly and reproduced in pristine clarity -- it is refreshing to page through a graphically intensive book so attentive to the quality of its production. The vapid text suffers in comparison, and due to its disconnect with the illustrations, seems almost like a different book (worth two or three stars at best) that happens to occupy the same page space. With few exceptions, the text does not reference the book's own illustrations, but, strangely, dedicates substantial space to describing (while /not/ reproducing) illustrations from early Arts & Crafts publications -- the effect is rather like reading stage directions without watching the accompanying play. This portion of the book emphasizes the early practitioners of the movement such as Gustav Stickley and William Morris, and, for all its failings, actually does succeed in communicating a sense of the philosophy underlying Arts & Crafts style -- its reliance on materials reminiscent of site, the organic connection of interior furnishings to the architecture itself, and an honesty in construction that eschews baroque flourishes. The book will not satisfy Arts & Crafts aficionados, but as an overview of the style for those conscious of their taste generally but who need informed guidance on particular projects, it is quite helpful.