With weather in the 90s here in Austin, my mind has officially turned to summer – and summer reading. I love a good, easy beach (or Barton Springs) read as much as the next person. But when I’m in the mood for something different, I turn to what might be an unexpected genre – home design books.
I’m admitting this publicly for the first time – I am a home design junkie. Yes, it’s a problem. My Google Reader is out of control with home design blogs, I shed actual tears when Conde Nast shuttered Domino Magazine, and Pinterest is my personal crack. Trolling eBay for months for the perfect Turkish kilim rug is my idea of a good time.
So when my all-time favorite design bloggers Sherry and John Petersik of Young House Love started blogging about their upcoming book, it reminded me how much I love it when my two favorite worlds – publishing and home design – come together in a beautiful, glossy-paged marriage.
I find pages of beautiful, creative and cozy homes to be incredibly soothing – the visual equivalent of red wine and a bubble bath. And as much as I’m addicted to Pinterest and my Google Reader, there’s something immensely satisfying about taking design off the screen and into a gorgeous hardcover book.
Here is a list of my three all-time favorites, along with one that I cannot wait to pick up in the fall.
Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, Jill Slater, Janel Laban (Chronicle Books, March 2008).
In the home design blog world, Apartment Therapy reigns king. With over 4 million readers per month, and content that ranges from reader house tours and practical design tips to product reviews and even a furniture classifieds section, this is it, folks. AT has published three books, and their latest one is my favorite – an inspiring collection of real home tours, accompanied by interviews with the home owners and their design sources. It’s a book you can return to again and again, and always find a new piece of inspiration.
Design*Sponge At Home by Grace Bonney (Artisan, September 2011).
Design*Sponge is one of the biggest design blogs out there, for good reason – Grace curates an amazing breadth of content, from reader home tours and DIY furniture makeovers, to the best product and design reviews out there. She’s also brought together an arsenal of experts that provide world-class tutorials on everything from arranging flowers to reupholstering your own furniture. And Design*Sponge At Home brings the best of the blog under one roof – sneak peeks into gorgeous designer and reader homes, fun DIY projects, practical DIY tutorials (i.e. how to paint furniture), and an amazing chapter on flowers. Because no home is complete without beautiful fresh flowers – am I right, ladies?
Domino: The Book of Decorating by Domino editors Deborah Needleman, Sara Ruffin Costello and Dara Caponigro (Simon & Schuster, October 2008).
R.I.P., Domino. Even if you continue to hoard their entire magazine archive (like yours truly), this is a must-have for any home design library. They walk you through the design process room-by-room, sharing inspiring photos, unique furniture and accessory combinations, and spend pages unraveling the mysteries of curtain styles. Pencil pleats or box pleats? To pelmet or valance? It’s all here, folks.
Young House Love: 251 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update, Organize, and Show Your Home Some Love by Sherry and John Petersik (Artisan, November 2012).
Young House Love is my personal #1 jam when it comes to home design blogs. Married couple Sherry and John Petersik started their blog when they moved from NYC to Richmond, VA a few years ago – the goal was to keep their family and friends updated as they renovated their very first home. Since then, they have fully transformed their fixer-upper, had a baby (Clara, who just turned two!), bought a new house, which is their current project, built an insanely large following of loyal readers, and, as a result, managed to make blogging at YHL their full-time jobs. Sherry and John walk readers through their own experience of turning their house into a home – from the smallest fixes, like spray painting flea market finds, to the biggest undertakings, like completely renovating a kitchen on a shoestring budget. Their first book is out this November, and it has 251 brand-new projects that they have somehow managed to keep secret from their nosy readers. Sherry and John are the masters of accessible, budget-friendly design – and their “learn-as-you-go” approach reminds you that working on your home is supposed to be a fun process. It’s so refreshing to be reminded that you don’t have to get it right the first time. I have my copy pre-ordered!
What’s on your summer reading list?