Reviews for Monochrome Home: Harmony, Balance, and the Elements of Modern Style

The average rating for Monochrome Home: Harmony, Balance, and the Elements of Modern Style based on 2 reviews is 1.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-10-11 00:00:00 Vernon Halterman Man is she boring! This book confirmed my suspicions. But I'm somewhat admiring of the way she's been able to personally brand a style so banal and anonymous, and of the obsessive, exaggerated degree to which she's mastered this very popular look--vaguely Japanese, but partaking of none of the rigorous virtues of really artful austerity. From my old job I got the sense that many people associate wealth with interiors that have an impeccable, hotel-ish impersonality. They want to get as far as possible from the "chaos and kitchen fumes of a middle-class dwelling," as Mandelstam would say. I remember how some clients had the designers pick out everything--even down to personal things like the art on the walls, the books the shelves and on the coffee table--and the finished homes were serene and cool, but totally bare of any personal or familial idiosyncracy. For all its suave perfection, the Hoppen style is ultimately gaudy--it's an arriviste declaration ("money has cleansed us").

Review # 2 was written on 2010-03-18 00:00:00 Christine Stevens Nice look at six diverse approaches to farmhouse decorating.