This week I’ve already shared which blogs and designers inspire me to make my house a place I love to live. Today, I’d like to introduce you to several books I own that have played {and continue to play} a part in my wannabe design world. I’ve always been enamored by books. Going to the library is a longtime favorite activity for me. I have vivid memories of going to story time at our local library back when I was no older than 5. I love the hush of a library and the way it smells. Have you ever noticed how borrowed library books smell once you have them at home? {Well, not the ones that have been previously borrowed by smoking homes.} If someone created a perfume of that scent, I just might wear it. I love the hunt for a good book. I love the organized aisles and shelves. I love the anticipation of the library…hmmmm…which book will I bring home with me? I love the vastness of the library. You can find a book on practically any topic. More than anything, I love that it’s free. So, it should come as no surprise that design books are a major inspiration to me. {I wish our local library had a better selection.}
The Nest Home Design Handbook – Carley Roney successfully discusses design room-by-room offering tips on how to style, arrange, organize, clean and personalize your home. The back of the book gets down to the nitty gritty mentioning specifics on lighting, closets, utilities, rugs, housekeeping and furniture layouts. There are even resource pages of grids and furniture icons that you can copy, cut and arrange to play around with room layouts. I love this book not only for its design sense but its practicality and relevance. It would make a great housewarming gift for a first-time homeowner!
New Decorating Book {Better Homes and Gardens Decorating} – BHG encourages you to find your inner designer in this book. It takes you from the very beginning helping you to discover your style. Beyond the room-by-room basics, it includes before-and-after makeovers, quick and easy projects, house tours, emphasis on balance and scale, outdoor living, ideas for floral arrangements, discussions on finishes and unique window treatments. Oh, and it has TONS of pictures. It’s like a magazine made into a book. It is BHG after all. This would be a good book to study and read before starting to decorate your own home as it gives advice on how to find a style, color scheme and mood that you’ll want to live with forever.
Design Idea Book – This book by Karen Templer is a showstopper. Pure inspiration. It features a compilation of designer idea houses that utilize the best of the best in the way of architecture, decor, materials, furniture and finishes. I would never be able to afford any of the homes in this book but they are great go-to’s to mimic on a smaller, less expensive scale. The image of the family room above is one of my all-time favorite inspiration photos. This is one of those books that you could read a million times over and find something new to inspire you each time. This would make a great coffee table book.
Downtown Chic – Robert and Cortney Novogratz are unstoppable. Over the last 10 years, they’ve bought, gutted, renovated and designed numerous homes. This book is sort of documentation of all that. It’s fun to see how their aesthetic has changed and developed over the years. The Novogratz’s are style and business savvy, so it makes sense that their passion has organically evolved into a pretty lucrative career. And they did it all while creating and raising a family…a very large family. Seven kids in total. {Yep, they’re the 9 By Design people.} Yowsas! Their lifestyle and decor choices may not be exactly like mine {I don’t think I could handle the renovation of that many homes in such a short amount of time along with 7 kiddos in tow AND still remain sane.} but I’m inspired by their willingness to learn, try new things, be true to themselves, take risks, follow a passion and persevere. Look where it’s got them so far! I love that the book includes information on hiring contractors and the bumps that go along with modernizing older homes. Many of the photos include {at least some of} their children showing me that families and design can live under one roof.
Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern – You already know that Amy Butler is one of my inspirations when it comes to design. But did you know that she has a book that helps to spread her fresh take on modern living? I absolutely adore this book. Amy’s philosophy on interior design is simple…surround yourself with people, natural elements and art forms that you love. Her home has a real connection to the outdoors and it’s evident that Amy uses nature as one of her main sources of inspiration. Her book also includes topics outside the realm of interior design namely fashion, music, gardening, handmade crafts and even camping! This book will never go out of style as won’t Amy’s view on a simple yet fulfilling lifestyle.
A few more books that I own and have found helpful are:
- Homes Rules
- House Beautiful The Home Book
- Candice Olson on Design
- Apartment Therapy Presents
- Domino: The Book of Decorating
I almost always purchase my books from Amazon, usually in pairs so I can get the free shipping deal. I’ll ask for Amazon gift cards for my birthday and Christmas because I know there will always be another design book I’m wanting. I keep a running list of books that I want but don’t have and I’m a few years behind when I finally get them. But if they are the really good ones, it doesn’t matter because they’ll always be relevant to the world of design.
I just purchased these two books but haven’t had a chance to sink my teeth into them yet:
Maybe once I’ve had a chance to read up, I can give reviews on them if you think that’s something that would be interesting.
I encourage you to add a few design books to your personal library. They really are helpful in creating a home that’s you, a home that you can live in for years to come. And please, please, PLEASE read them! – don’t just look at the pictures {although that’s fun to do after you read ’em front to back}. There’s so much information in the text that helps to explain the images. I’ve found myself looking at a picture and not seeing much but then I read the page and learn a wealth of knowledge from the picture. The words and photos are there together for a reason. You’re only shortchanging yourself if you don’t actually read design books.
Another tip I have for reading design books is to keep a little notepad handy for jotting down particular page numbers or images in books that you’d like to refer to again. I know they make those little sticky tabs to bookmark pages but I don’t like them for two reasons: 1) when I flip to that page with a bookmark sometimes I have no idea why I bookmarked it in the first place 2) I like to display my books and those tacky little tabs aren’t that appealing. So keep a running handbook of book titles, inspiring page numbers and a brief description as to why they’re inspiring. Believe me, it’ll be useful someday.
Happy reading!
images: all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
inspiration, organization