First up is a book by Laurie Smith (of Trading Spaces fame - remember her?) titled Discovering Home. It is not exactly new (it came out in 2005) but it remains one of my favorites, one that I like to occasionally re-read. I remember when I first picked it up and read her letter sent to the admission office of the New York School of Interior Design:
Click to enlarge (sorry part of it is blurry - scanning troubles)
I was so inspired by her letter, and soon after reading this, I enrolled in my first interior design class. Her home is equally inspiring. She describes the entire process of renovating and decorating her house, from the mood board...
to her family room...
dining room...
and beautiful office (check out that table!)
As she describes her design process, she offers lots of helpful design tips. They include:
- design based on the bones of your home, turning perceived negative qualities into positive ones
- make your living spaces mirror your lifestyle, thinking about dual purpose for rooms seldomly used
- build a room with pieces you love, and don't try to put too much furniture in a room
- discover color combinations by collecting paint chips and move them around until you find pleasing pairs or groups of color
- let fabric inspire you and become the basic foundation for your room design
While the book appears to be out of print now, I still recommend trying to find a copy. Her home is so cozy and livable, and you can pick up lots of ideas from it. I'll also post additional images in a future post.
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