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Your Home A Living Canvas: Create Stunning Faux Finishes & Murals with Paint |  | Author: Curtis L Heuser
Publisher: North Light Books
Category: Book
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $5.58
as of 3/10/2010 11:21 CST details
You Save: $24.41 (81%)
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Seller: fairandfastus
Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 36134
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 144
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 10.3 x 10.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 158180783X
Dewey Decimal Number: 745.723
EAN: 9781581807837
ASIN: 158180783X
Publication Date: October 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Uncover the glory in your home! Use paint to create inspired living spaces that reflect your style and your home's character. Once upon a time, there was a sad little Victorian house on the corner, abandoned by its previous owners and abused by time. Your Home, A Living Canvas is the Cinderella story of that house and its transformation into a charming, historic home, thanks to the loving care of acclaimed decorative artisan, Curtis L. Heuser. From the grand staircase to the cozy third-floor master suite, this book takes you along on the complete floor-to-ceiling, room-by-room makeover. You'll learn about the design concepts and inspirations for each space, along with real-world how-to's behind the wall treatments, ceiling features, architectural highlights, and other exquisite details. - A series of 25+ step-by-step demonstrations show how Heuser used murals, trompe l'oeil and faux finishes to blend old with new, reclaiming the spirit of the house's former glory, while incorporating unique personal touches.
- Covers a range of decorative styles, from the exotic crackle-finish bookcases in the study, to the Italian country villa-inspired kitchen, to a sophisticated dining room that embodies the Old World ambiance of classic European interiors.
- Offers a wealth of expert decorating advice on using color to evoke mood, displaying your collections, mixing and matching eclectic furnishings, and more.
Whether you're interested in a simple faux finish technique or are dedicated to preserving the architecture and charm of your own historic dwelling, this book will help you create a living environment rich in color, texture and atmosphere ... a place called "home."
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 39
Beyond my expectation... fabulous book! January 6, 2010
Ardy Skinner (Albuquerque, NM)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Being "the lavish cheapskate," I am always seeking books that will extend living "lavishly," yet cheaply. I have purchased many books on decorative and faux painting, but this one goes far beyond what I expected. The author does amazing work and gives numbered lists of what's necessary for projects-- if you are a seeker of inspiration and ideas, this book is great-- but if you are venturing into doing the projects, the author gives the details on how to do it (plus complimentary suggestions to enhance projects). With beautiful pictures, descriptions, and lists of the materials necessary for each project, this book not only gives great ideas that extend far out of the box, it inspires your own creativity... Highly recommended!
Highly Recommended!! January 4, 2010
Johanna Annable (Vancouver, WA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I highly recommend this book to anyone. In my opinion as a decorative artist, "Your home a living canvas", is a rare treasure in that it is both inspirational and instructional. The finishes and murals in this book are a treat for the eyes and spirit in that they are born from a profound desire to beautify the most important place in the world... your own personal interior environment!
This book is filled with passion, wonderful photos, instructional steps, and my favorite...color photos of the exact color palletes used!
I own five or six books on decorative painting and am very choosy. A good book should be one that you can pick up again and again and gain new inspiration and knowledge every time. If you are looking exceptional, buy this book and keep it close!
Johanna Annable
 nice ideas but not quite up to the hype December 25, 2009
ernie (ca)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I got it because it was paired with The House that Faux Built The House That Faux BuiltI defn liked the House that Faux Built Better because it gave incredible before and after photos and ideas for every surface of every room. (It's more an idea book than a how to) but I esp liked the basement redo (pictured on the cover) because it is a very male room and makes you wish for a cigar and a conac--just like my basement they had 6.5 foot ceilings and they painted the ceiling black--I am doing a version of it in my own basement.
This book (Your Home a Living Canvas) was ok but I gave it 2 stars because the finishes were way too feminine for my taste and it just didn't live up to the hype in the writeup.
I also bought at the same time (and really liked) Gary Lord's bookGreat Paint Finishes for a Gorgeous Home It also had some really great photos and a lot of variety- and gave more detail
 A terrific coffee table book and perhaps a nice gift (details) November 28, 2009
Patrick W. Crabtree (Lucasville, OH USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I think a superior title for this 2008 work would have been "MY Home, A Living Canvas."
The author, Curtis L. Heuser, is a decorative artist and has taken a large old fixer-upper in Newport, Kentucky (just south of Cincinnati, Ohio), transforming this originally decrepit structure into a gigantic, dynamic artwork. Every room is decorated throughout in breathtaking art, murals in most cases and I found it all to be brilliant, tasteful, and in a few instances, even disturbing. Mr. Heuser's skill in this realm is unassailable.
I have done some of this sort of decorating over the years, albeit very primitively, and these processes are not nearly as easy as the author makes them appear. If you are a skilled artist, you could possibly effect these dramatic scenes and details -- otherwise, you'll find it frustrating to replicate the author's intricate work.
To his credit, Heuser has revealed all of his trade secrets. He offers complete lists of required materials and media, complete and clearly-written instructions, and he has included plenty of nicely-photographed color illustrations. The key facet of Heuser's exquisite work is illusion, much in parallel with the art of the typical stage magician. In fact, I would characterize Heuser as an "art magician" and, I think, be fully justified in having done so. Throughout the book I was reminded of the art of the famous surrealist Salvador Dali, among others.
Heuser's monochromatic murals are especially awe-inspiring and I found that the author's commentary and illustrations on housing personal collections and using glass in the home décor were particularly enlightening and tasteful. He has also cleverly incorporated old world furniture into his interior home design method.
In summary, I doubt that most folks who purchase this book will actually attempt to recreate the magnificence which the author has achieved in his Newport home -- but he has told us precisely how to do it and the book would additionally make an appropriate gift for someone whose tastes run to fine art.
Fabulous book! November 4, 2009
Paula Taylor
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Absolutely loved this book! His directions are great and the pictures are wonderful. Totally transform your home into another era, with his ideas. I used the worn brick look in my kitchen and get raves from the people who come over and see it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 39
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