I'm an artist (acrylic and oils) and my husband is a painter (interiors and exteriors) and this book gave us a healthier respect for each other's work! It also gave us a chance to work together in a new way. He was looking for something different and exciting to do for his clients and got a copy of this book for ideas on faux finishes. He was so impressed he couldn't wait to show it to me. I Ooooo'd and Ahhhhh'd over it (the graphics are awesome!) and the ideas for our own home began flowing. I was able to show him techniques in color mixing that I'd learned and was able to share my tools (sea sponges and stipling brushes) that he had considered my "toys". Since some of the techniques require two people to work in tandem to do, it brought us closer together.
A suggestion: take a sizable box (like a packing box) or some mailing paper and try out several of the techniques in colors you like and create a "portfolio" of finishes. It will give you practice doing them and you can put them against a wall to get a feel for how it will look. J.R.