while this book is not in the same league as the other titles in the H&G series, it does have merits.

i was pretty confused and initially +very+ disappointed that the style of kitchens and dining rooms in this book was not largely in the same vein as those depicted in the "Bedrooms & Bathrooms" and "Livingrooms" books -- sumptuous, eclectic, a bit on the traditional side but not stuffy.

the rooms depicted in "Kitchens & Diningrooms" were (disappointingly, to me) more of the modern, minimal, spare types.

after i got over my disappointment that this book was different in the styles it promoted vs. the other tomes i have in the series, i did appreciate K&Ds on its own merits.

as always, there are a lot of interesting ideas that are transferable to smaller budgets and scales, even if its obvious the rooms depicted are scandalously beyond my budget.

i +was+ (and still am) very disappointed that there was a decided dearth of dining rooms represented. i made an allowance for the "kitchen" portion and modernity, but i thought that the "diningroom" section would have more variety.

well, it did have some variety -- but there just weren't very many of them! (at least to satisfy me). i wish the editors would breakout a new book on just diningrooms, because i feel i'm still waiting for that volume from them, however much i appreciated the sampling in this book.

i kept this book, and am not sorry. it just was a bit of a surprise at first, as it's a bit of a jump from others in the series.