7 home decoration books you need on your shelfie
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I'm pretty proud of the collection of interior and home styling books I've accustomed over the years so I want to share with you the 7 favourites sitting on my bookshelf currently.
If you've just bought your first place in need of ideas on colour, furniture and home decor looks or if you just fancy treating yourself to a new coffee table book, look no further than this list.
1. How to decorate by Farrow & Ball's own Joa Studholme and Charlotte Cosby
I was unbelievably excited when Farrow & Ball released this. Their colour experts Joa & Charlotte (ladies I look up to) can charge anything up to £250 per hour for colour consultancy, and they both collaborated on the pages of this. I instantly knew what an amazing investment it would be to buy it. £30 for expert knowledge that would cost me hundreds if it was tailored to me and my rooms.
I've painted my living room, bedroom and hallway all Farrow & Ball "Easy neutral" colours and it was interesting to read about the history behind every shade within the book. The book gave me the confidence to be bolder with colour schemes so in 2017 I plan to paint our office a deep dark blue or green.
This is the perfect book if you struggle to choose and put together classy colour schemes.
2. House of Plants by Caro Langton & Rose Grey
I read this book in the hope that it would revive the plants I currently own which were wilting (I'm such a novice when it comes to gardening). And really, this book gave me so much more than the advice I needed.
It's a story of passion and plant love.
This is authors Caro & Rose's debut book and I adored reading about their journey from inheriting a plant conservatory heirloom in their grandmother's home, to launching their own company - Ro Co - who stock the most to die for air plants and macrame wall planters. The book provides a guide to caring for your tropical plants, cacti, succulents and air plants so there's tonnes to be learned, and the pics are fab.
This book is perfect for anyone who wants to explore which low maintenance plants will work in their home – and for those who may not be miss green fingers, a la ME!
3. Amazing Spaces by George Clarke & Jane Field-Lewis
This book is very dear to me because it was the first interior book I ever owned, and thinking about it, it's what kicked off my whole decoration obsession. It was a gift from my old company. They knew I was in love with the tiny space movement, which George Clarke is the captain of, and so they gave me this as a birthday prezzie. The book documents visually various projects featured on the Channel 4 documentary Amazing Spaces.
What I've always loved about design, small or big, are the stories that run alongside their creation and this book epitomises inspiring design stories. Every time I dip into it, I get the feel like anything is possible. Even my dreams of owning a beat up camper van that's decorated to the nines with crochet blankets... This book makes me believe it will happen one day.
This book is perfect for anyone who wants to see first hand how multi purpose - and beautiful - small spaces can be.
4. Bright Bazaar's Dream Decor by Will Taylor
I initially purchased this book to support the rising interior blogging talent that is Will Taylor. After following his burst-of-colour blog for many years, it was awesome to see him release another book.
Throughout the pages, the images stun me. The book provides real colour inspiration. I would thoroughly urge you to support authors like Will as it's so awesome to see someone so passionate about bringing smiles to faces get a platform to showcase their talents with the world.
This book is perfect for those who want to go bold with colour choices.
5. Upcycling by Max McMurdo
I originally got this book to help me get more hands on with making and to dip my toe into DIY. Being a novice in furniture building and anything hammer related (I'm a cushions and curtains kinda gal) it was really useful to read through ideas and instructions for making bespoke, unique pieces.
OK, I haven't actually put any of the instructions to the test, but I did pass it over to Neil (my other half) who is much more handy than I and it's given him some tips and tricks.
This book is perfect for anyone who want to get hands on creating unique pieces of furniture [suitable for beginners].
6. The complete book of home organization by Tony Hammersley
A game changing book if I ever read one. You thought The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up was good? This is a strong contender (with less focus on rolling up individual socks, what was that about anyway?!).
I was going through a very disorganised phase in my life when Neil gifted this for me. We lived in a 1 bed flat at the time, which was at bursting point with "stuff". This book came along and opened my eyes to tips and tricks for reorganisation and decluttering. Particularly great for kitchen cupboards which are always a mess, aren't they?
This book is perfect for anyone who needs a good spring clean and new ideas for home organising.
7. Beautifully Small by Sara Emslie
Again, Neil bought me this book when we moved into our 1 bedroom flat 3 years ago. At the time, I was really concerned that all of the stuff we owned just wouldn't fit into the place we bought and I felt slightly panicked in case it would wind up looking a cluttered, unsightly mess.
Reading Beautifully Small taught me that those two words can actually work together. You can have a small home, and it can be beautiful. The book is packed with storage ideas and real home inspiration to help organise your belongings. Highly recommend it.
This book is perfect for anyone who wants to squeeze the most out of the small space they have to home all of their belongings.
... And a bonus book for the She Shed lovers among us.
8. She Sheds by Erika Kotite
I love flicking through this book and mentally visualising having my own shed to work in down the bottom of the garden. Now that we have enough space, once the house is complete (years down the line, obviously) I think building and decorating my own She Shed will be my next project.
Neil doesn't know about that yet so shh!
This is a great book to gift, or have lying around for yourself when you're in need of some inspiration to create your own space.
I hope you enjoy some of these books. If you do purchase some, remember to tweet or email me your thoughts! And please like, share and subscribe :)
