Nicholas Barnard is a design consultant who has travelled widely, exploring and promoting decorative arts around the world. After leaving Cambridge University, he worked with Bernard and Laura Ashley for several years. He contributed to the first Laura Ashley Home Furnishings catalogue and developed and directed Parfums Laura Ashley.
It's a great book, a bit more DIYed focus than anything else. It is definitely more an introduction to interior design, and it does repeat the same "finding your aesthetic" section for decorating a room very often; which can be a bit annoying.
Not bad, but not the greatest either. A pretty solid pick though.