This week I wanted to share some of my favorite design books. Books! Real books! Some of them are the usual suspects, but a few are books that I haven’t seen on the design blog circuit much – if at all.
The first is Deborah Needleman’s “The Perfectly Imperfect Home.” Rather than photographs, the book includes beautiful illustrations by Virginia Johnson.
The book is organized by chapters with names like “A Bit of Quirk,” “Cozifications,” and “Glamifications.” I’ve read it cover to cover several times, and I try to follow all of its prescribed rules.
Next on my list is “Domino, The Book of Decorating.” This book is sure to grace the shelves of every decorating enthusiast, and there’s a reason it’s so popular: nobody does eclectic-classic-fun like Domino.
My dog-eared copy of Domino
Remember these pages from the Panton S Chair quest? Scanned from Domino, of course.
Another classic beloved by many including me is “Design Sponge at Home” by Grace Bonney. Grace (in my fantasy world we’re on a first name basis) is the creator of the blog Design Sponge, one of the original and best design blogs out there. My favorite feature they do on the blog is Sneak Peeks, photographic tours of great homes filled with personality. The book is basically an expanded version of Sneak Peeks, and all of the homes look comfortably lived in and unique, rather than being rigid and styled to within an inch of their lives.
Next on my list is one of my absolute favorites, that I hardly ever see mentioned, “The Vintage Modern Home” by Katherine Sorrell.
The Vintage Modern Home is all about “how to make the most of what you have in an achievable yet stylish way.” It’s one of the first decorating books I loved, because it taught me that you don’t have to have a strictly mid century modern aesthetic (and I don’t) to be stylish.
Finally, two books by Terence Conran, “New House Book” and “The Essential House Book.” Published in 1985 and 1994 respectively, with the exception of a few photographs both of these books look like they could have been published this year. Good design lasts!
I’m always searching for the next great design book to add to my collection, so I’d love to hear what your favorites are! Stay tuned for an awesome post from Katie this week, and next week I’ll be back to tell you about something really exciting that I’ve been up to for the past few weeks!