It took a pandemic and a stay-at-home order for me to finally invest time and money into making my home homey. The last six months, I have become a Home and Garden connoisseur, reading every issue of House Beautiful and HGTV Magazine and every home design book available at the library. Here are some of the titles I found informative, inspiring, and most importantly, full of gorgeous pictures.
Homebody: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave
by Joanna Gaines
I mean, what would this list be without the Queen of HGTV? Homebody is a nice reminder that sometimes all you need to do to make your home beautiful is to not live in it. (Just kidding. Kind of.) Much of the book is about breaking down style aesthetics (Modern, Farmhouse, Classic, etc.), and the rest is bursting with design ideas. Even if the level of perfection in Homebody is unattainable for some people (me), it’s still a nice reminder that, more often than not, less is more.
Remodelista: The Organized Home
by Julie Carlson and Margot Guralnick
I’ve read Marie Kondo and know all about the life-changing magic of throwing away your junk, but this book presents what to do with the stuff you have left. (Basically, hide it in baskets or cupboards, or, if you’re feeling really adventurous, hang it on your wall.) There are things in here I’ll never do, like store baking ingredients in cute glass containers, but this book DID help me devise the brilliant idea of hiding my recycling under a table behind a jerry-rigged curtain.
The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate & Live Well
by Deborah Needleman
Needleman packs this book with helpful tips to streamline your living spaces, breaking down the elements of a room and presenting sound advice for total beginners. (Get your furniture off the wall! Don’t overdose on symmetry and matchiness!) As the title demonstrates, this is the more practical the three, and unlike the others, which are decorated with bold photographs, The Perfectly Imperfect Home contains beautiful watercolor illustrations to convey its information.
-Kelly S.
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