Several new interior design books have just been published, perfectly timed for holiday gift-giving. Some are beautiful coffee table books; others are practical guides for homemakers wanted to redecorate or refresh their homes without spending a fortune.
Here are some suggestions for a perfect gift to please any homemaker with a vision of creating a new look for her/his home. Reviews have been edited from amazon.com
Released on November 1:
The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well by Deborah Needleman, Illustrations by Virginia Johnson
Style is a luxury, and luxury is simply what makes you happy. Over the years, design expert Deborah Needleman has seen all kinds of rooms, with all kinds of furnishings. Her conclusion: It’s not hard to create a relaxed, stylish, and comfortable home. Just a few well-considered items can completely change the feel of your space, and The Perfectly Imperfect Home reveals them all.
Ranging from classics such as “A Really Good Sofa” and “Pretty Table Settings” to unusual surprises like “A Bit of Quirk” and “Cozifications,” the essential elements of style are treated in witty and wonderfully useful little essays. You’ll learn what to look for, whether you are at a flea market or a fancy boutique—or just mining what you already own. According to Deborah, the point of decorating is to create the background for the best life you can have, with all its joys and imperfections. This book will show you how.
Black and White (and a Bit in Between): Timeless Interiors, Dramatic Accents, and Stylish Collections by Celerie Kemble
Black and white décor is at once dramatic and understated, modern and classic, apparent in the work of iconic designers such as Dorothy Draper and Madeleine Castaing but just as present in design today. And the inspiration is all around us—from nature (a zebra’s stripes, tree trunks rising from drifts of snow) to old Hollywood movies and fashion to black-and-white photography and patterns we encounter in our everyday lives (crossword puzzles and the pages of our favorite novels).
In Black and White (and a Bit in Between), acclaimed interior designer Celerie Kemble trades in her signature vivid palette for this iconic aesthetic, highlighting the black and white work of design stars and peers, including Bunny Williams, Thomas O’Brien, Mary McDonald, Victoria Hagan and Mark Hampton, and welcoming you into more than 100 spaces in every imaginable aesthetic. Woven throughout are her witty observations and expert advice on choosing the best paints and finishes, adding patterns and accessories, building an entire room scheme based on inspiration found in nature, collecting black and white objects, and even choosing the perfect accent colors.
With more than 350 gorgeous color photographs, this is a vividly photographed celebration of a timeless scheme, infused with inspirational tips, glimpses into show-stopping homes, and proof that a limited palette is anything but.
Katie Ridder Rooms by Heather Smith MacIsaac, Eric Piasecki, Photographer
Katie Ridder’s extraordinary palette, her playful mix of antiques and modern pieces, and her eye for unusual decorative accents have established her as a leading figure in the world of interior design. Clients from Buenos Aires to San Francisco to Nantucket have commissioned Ridder to design their lofts, pavilions, summer houses, and luxury apartments. Now everyone can derive design inspiration from her unique approach—whether it’s something as charmingly simple as a coral finial atop a table lamp or as dramatically daring as intense blue walls stenciled in an oversize paisley motif—on every page of this idea-saturated book.
Praise for Katie Ridder Rooms: “Katie Ridder's interiors are simply sublime—confident, artful, and elegant. This marvelous book reflects her impeccable taste and fearless sense of style; it brims with lush, inspiring photos and useful tips.” - Margaret Russell, Editor in Chief, Architectural Digest
“Katie Ridder’s imagination has always astonished me. Her work is rich in color and has an incomparable sense of scale. Katie Ridder Rooms is a trove of imaginative ideas.” —Mario Buatta
The Right Color by Eve Ashcraft
Thedefinitive guide to paint by the nation’s most sought-after color consultant
When Martha Stewart was developing her first paint collection, the Araucana Colors (based on the hues of her chickens’ eggs), she turned to the nation’s top color consultant: Eve Ashcraft. Eve helped Martha to pinpoint the colors of that enormously successful paint line, thus assisting in transforming an industry along the way. In her first book, The Right Color, her own curated palette (her paint line launches this fall) and countless other favorite shades and color combinations provide inspiration for every room in the house. Packed with trade secrets, such as how to make a small room look bigger, how to use color to brighten a space, and how to use paint to resolve myriad architectural challenges, this book will give anyone the confidence to choose a palette that will make the most of any space.
Released on November 8: Sister Parish: American Style by Martin Wood
Sister Parish was the grande dame of American twentieth-century decorators and is credited with developing the style of interior decoration known as 'American Country Style'. Parish-Hadley, the decorating firm she founded and ran with her business partner, Albert Hadley, was extremely successful and it produced a huge body of work, but Sister's most famous client was Jacqueline Kennedy, for whom she worked at the White House and at Glen Ora, a presidential retreat in Virginia.
This is the most comprehensive record yet of the work of Sister Parish, grande dame of American twentieth-century decorators and originator of 'American Country Style'.
To be released on November 15 and 16:
“Staying Put: Remodel Your House to Get the Home You Want” (In paperback from The Taunton Press) is the seventh book by Duo Dickinson, an architect in Connecticut who has a longstanding love for small houses. The American dream of owning a home and then buying or building a bigger and better one is no longer a sure thing. Millions of homeowners stymied by the housing market and the economy have embraced remodeling instead. In this timely book, maverick architect-author Duo Dickinson offers hope on how to get the home you want from the house you have. He shares his passion for saving money without sacrificing good design and offers up cost-saving options and smart solutions to make older homes better fit today’s lifestyles. Dickinson offers guidance on looking before you leap, ways to avoid pitfalls (and money pits), strategies for staying green or going geriatric, and moves you can make so you don’t have to move out.
The book includes 70 specific projects in five separate categories, ranging from budgets of $5,000 to $400,000. For the millions of housing consumers who are house-bound by economic realities beyond their control, this book offers tangible hope for getting the home you want from the house you have.
Country Chic by Beatrix Kleuver
An inspirational book for lovers of classic, country interiors and countryside living. Country Chic has always been a popular decorating style and it is not hard to see why - country decorating is comfortable and accessible; it is forgiving of wear and tear, of less than perfect combinations, and provides an oasis of warmth in a high-pressure world.
With 200 gorgeous color images Country Chic shows you how to achieve this look in your own home and create an interior by combining simplicity and warmth with style and elegance. Including interiors designed by Beatrix Kleuver, this publication also features photographs of the private home of Laura Ashley, a mansion designed by William Morris and the sleeping room of Dutch princess Juliana making it an exciting read for any aspiring interior designer.
More interesting interior design books that were released in October and are also perfect for holiday gifts are: in Paperback- Guide To Home Decorating: How To Save Thousands And Avoid Costly Mistakes Decorating Your Own Home by Mr. Terrence N. Tullgren
If you don’t know how or where to start decorating your home and you want to save a money by using designer resources a designer this is a book for you. It is an easy-to-follow guide to home decorating written by 21-year veteran designer, Terrence Tullgren.
Martyn-Lawrence-Bullard- Live, Love, and Decorate
Forward by Sir Elton John - For those who love boldness in design, Los Angeles-based interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard demonstrates his mastery of dramatic environments for a clientele of celebrities. Drawn to glamour, Martyn Lawrence Bullard moved from London to Los Angeles to pursue acting but became a star decorator instead. His designs balance the contemporary with the traditional, the Occidental with the ethnic. With a knack for beautiful and dramatic spaces that don’t sacrifice comfort, Lawrence Bullard-who stars in the upcoming Bravo television show Million Dollar Decorators-reveals his know-how for creating a sensational home.
Big, Easy Style: Creating Rooms You Love to Live In by Bryan Batt and Katy Danos, Kerri McCaffety, Photographer
An enchanting space that’s truly unique calls for a sense of humor, whimsy, and an open mind. From a charmed New Orleans childhood to a successful acting career on Broadway and the award-winning TV show Mad Men to the opening of his popular Big Easy home furnishings boutique, Hazelnut, Bryan Batt has always turned to home design as a creative outlet. To him, the best rooms are unexpected yet refined and, above all, evoke emotion. With the city as his muse—its strong roots in history, its celebration of tradition, and, of course, the wild festivities of Mardi Gras—he believes that designing a fabulous, livable home that truly reflects a dweller’s passions need not be intimidating.
“Brilliant: White in Design” (Monacelli Press) is a beautiful coffee-table book by Linda O’Keeffe, who was the creative director of Metropolitan Home magazine for 16 years, that examines the spectrum of colors and talents inherent in white, exploring how it is used, and viewed, in art, design, architecture, and nature.
It all begins and ends with white. White is everywhere, from sculptures and art installations to interior and furniture designs to fields of snow and mythical animals. In its countless tones—eggshell, ballerina, off-white, edelweiss, and so many more—white elicits a range of emotions, depending on the viewer, the design, the culture and the use.
For more details about interior design and decorating books, as well as pricing and availability, visit Amazon Books.
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