Murals and trompe l'oeil paintings are a unique way of adding personality to any part of the home. From the French term 'to trick the eye', they can create a particular atmosphere, enlarge a small space or create a focal point. Trompe l'Oeil Design Library contains everything you need to create the scene you want, from a country pitcher on a shelf or climbing wisteria, to curtains surrounding a window or a Greek landscape glimpsed through a marble arch. Each section contains two full-scale projects, one large-scale and one smaller, illustrated in step-by-step detail showing how the picture is built up. A wide selection of templates extends the theme, offering countless more designs. The tools, materials and techniques sections are comprehensive and easy to follow.

Flowers have always been an integral part of the cultural fabric of Thailand and a constant reminder of the country’s Buddhist heritage and identity. As in other Asian cultures, flowers are lavishly used in Thailand to mark rituals and rites of passage; they are indispensable in age-old acts of worship, in celebrations, and in daily life. On their way to work, many Thais offer flowers and a heartfelt prayer at wayside shrines. Every day, scores of women at the royal court create floral offerings for the venerated Buddha images in Bangkok’s temples and palaces. Thai Airways routinely presents orchid corsages to female passengers.

This stunning and refreshingly original book goes beyond the everyday: it elevates flowers from mere floral arrangements to meditative floral "installations." Created from a combination of exotic and colorful tropical flowers, plant materials--fibers and leaves from banana plants and coconut trees, culms and twigs from bamboo--and unconventional materials like wire netting, harmoniously blend a strong, usually three-dimensional, structure with the sweet and subtle elements of flowers. The philosophy behind the arrangements, the interiors or occasions for which they are appropriate, and a brief explanation of the techniques and materials employed will inspire readers to create their own artistic arrangements.