Customer Reviews:
 Detail is the Key June 5, 2008
This book is a wonderful piece of instruction and source of pattern! Lots of detailed how-to information and a wealth of stylish forms, with suggestions of how to combine them to create your own individual designs for large as well as small projects. A really excellent source.
 Inspiring ideas, and good for brainstorming August 28, 2005
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
As the information on the book flap says, this book was first published in 1910 for the professional decorator. "Today, Sutherland's time-proven methods give do-it-yourselfers a thorough education and an excellent background in the art of stencilling for ornamental detail."
All that is accurate, I think. The book does a great job of explaining how to think about stencilling a room or window, and the author also has a good sense of humor. There are lots and LOTS of symbols and figures, though many of them are fairly small so you'll have to blow them up with a photocopier.
How helpful is it? While I appreciate the overview, and it helped me understand the process, our tools have (thankfully) improved since 1910! I'm probably going to read another book on basic stenciling before I start decorating my living room -- but I probably will be satisfied with a library book. (There are some black-and-white line drawings in Sutherland's book, but no how-to color photos.) I think this one will be the one I'll turn to, over time, for actually _doing_ the work rather than learning the basic skills.
The author was clearly involved in the Arts & Crafts movement, so this is as authentic as you can get. The patterns and motifs are absolutely lovely (assuming you like Arts & Crafts, bungalow, and Mission style as much as I do), and there are plenty of "Oh cool, I hadn't thought of that!" suggestions, such as for ceiling treatments, that make me glad I bought this book.
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