Annie Sloan Decorative Paint Effects: A Practical Guide

To the many books on decorative paint finishes and effects now available, Decorator Sloan (Color in Decoration, LJ 9/1/91) adds these two well-illustrated and straightforward guides. Gilding includes instructions for applying metal leaf and using bronze powders, while Paint Effects covers sponging, marbling, rag rolling, and the like. Each book begins with a photographic overview of the techniques and continues with directions. Captioned photographs illustrate the basic technique and variations, and a "Pitfalls" section shows common mistakes and how to avoid them. Covering some of the same techniques found in Jocasta Innes'a New Paint Magic (Pantheon, 1992) and Simon Cavelle's Encyclopedia of Decorative Paint Techniques (Running Pr., 1994), these guides are especially accessible to amateurs because of the color photographs and concise, clear directions.