SELECTING STYLE BY THE BOOK
Homeowners are still embracing the Grey Era with enthusiasm. They like to be stylish. And they like new ideas. Janis Wallace looks at four new design books that offer inspiration for creating home interiors that reflect your lifestyle and tastes.
The Scandinavian Home: Interiors inspired by light Niki Brantmark What it offers:
A look inside 10 urban and rural homes in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, and the lifestyle they support. Brantmark organizes her book into Urban Living, Country Homes and Rural Retreats. They all portray the easy beauty of Scandinavian style. Clean lines, muted colours, functional and inviting are common points.
The interiors are often layered with texture from natural materials, such as wood, leather, sheepskin, linen and wool. No matter how simple or minimal, these textures create a warmth in the rooms.
Sleek modern designs cohabit with classic antiques and quirky handmade pieces. One of the homeowners, Marja Wickman, explains this approach: “It’s better to take time layering your home with items that tell a story and have a sense of purpose.” That’s a message many North Americans could take in our buy-the-latest, consumer-driven society.
Even if there are many greys, the spaces are original – they don’t look like sets for an HGTV special.
The Bohemian Chic house, for example, features a wall of art above book shelves. The art throws limited edition lithographs together with flea-market finds and works by an emerging Danish artist.
You can’t miss the inherent tranquillity of the photographs.
Who will like it:
You’re more at home outdoors than in.
You like things relaxed and rustic, but uncluttered.
You enjoy quirky accessories, especially handmade.
Why buy it:
You want to create your own Scandinavian-style sanctuary, furnished with carefully curated pieces that tell your story. You’ll be inspired by ways to use individual pieces to emphasize design. You’ll learn how to layer textures. You will see examples of dramatic contrast, with white walls and dark furnishings, or a dark entrance that opens into a white, light-filled room. You’ll discover how to display collections, such as pottery, for maximum effect – or how to mix objects from around the world. One homeowner plays with different surfaces to create unexpected combinations. By the end of the book, you’ll know how to keep it simple – without being boring. Simple Home: Calm spaces for comfortable living
Mark and Sally Bailey What it offers:
The authors bring their backgrounds in architecture, interior design and furniture-making together. They open this book by sharing their design philosophy, then take a look at colour and materials before a more detailed tour by room.
Their approach revolves around a muted palette. “The simple home is predominantly filled with soft colours that quietly complement each other and envelop your surroundings with a sense of calm.”
Both the colours and the materials are drawn from nature – stone floors, bare brickwork, wood beams. The goal is to create living spaces that are serene escapes from the stress of a busy day.
The photography is lush, soft-focused and emphasizes the calmness the authors desire. Even the shots of workplaces show uncluttered, organized and tranquil areas. And a dog lolling on a hardwood floor looks totally chill.
The book is best summed up in the authors’ own words. “By living without excess and surrounding yourself with just enough of the right things, you will feel an amazing sense of satisfaction.” Words to live by, but difficult to achieve in our modern world.
Who will like it:
You detest clutter.
You want everything to be useful.
You admire the traditions of craftsmanship.
You love the simple life.
Why buy it:
The Baileys will guide you through the process of editing your home, helping you to assess your belongings, mixing what you love and what you need. You’ll learn the importance of light in a home, and how it affects colour. You aspire to following Frank Lloyd Wright’s advice: “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature and it will never fail you.”
Urban Pioneer: Interiors Inspired by Industrial Design Sara Emslie What it offers:
Businesses in many cities have been converting old core buildings into modern, creative workplaces. Urban Pioneer might spark an interest among homeowners.
Emslie first describes the essentials: structural elements given a starring role, huge windows to let in light, and expansive floor plans. Add materials originally used in industry, such as cast iron, and vintage pieces and you can transform even a new build into a unique space with a sense of history.
The book first takes readers on a tour of lofts and warehouses. Then Emslie explains how to start, outlines the components of the style and illustrates each with beautiful photographs.
She then goes inside 12 homes around the world that exemplify variations of the industrial look: urban creative, urban boho, and urban utilitarian. From a hip former carpenter’s factory with a tin-tiled bedroom wall, to a waterside warehouse that juxtaposes a gigantic chandelier with a concrete floor, to a 1631 brewery that has been a fire station, Lutheran church and a squat before its latest transformation, the examples show the scope of the style. Some are spare and minimalist, others are a jumble of art and antiques. They all reflect their owners.
Who will like it:
You like the idea of a living in a converted industrial space.
You love the look of exposed brick, ducts and roof trusses.
You are creative and like the unexpected and unconventional.
Why buy it:
Readers will learn how to breathe new life into old structures and objects. You will understand the importance of planning. You will develop a strategy for adding industrial authenticity and discover how to score original pieces from salvage yards and vintage suppliers. You’ll learn how to select furniture, textiles and decorative finishes to complete the look.
Space Works: A source book of design and decorating ideas to create your perfect home Caroline Clifton-Mogg, Joanna Simmons, Rebecca Tanqueray, Rebecca Winward
What it offers:
The book jacket claims to be “the only home design book you need, containing advice on everything from configuring your space to the best lighting for each room.” That advice includes “ideas that work for every home, from a studio apartment to a country farmhouse.”
While anyone with a passion for design probably can’t be content with just one book, this one is certainly filled with ideas and details. It mixes inspiration with practicality. There are tips on planning and how to achieve the looks, which range from industrial-chic kitchen to a hotel-glam bath.
The book starts with advice on assessing your space: how do you use it, what do you need the room to do, what is or isn’t working? Each chapter is dedicated to a different area. The chapters finish with a selection of styles for that room, with inspirational photographs and how-tos.
For example, the chapter on kitchens explores big and small, fitted and unfitted, family-friendly and eat-in, taking into account appliances, layout, waterways, materials, lighting, flooring and storage. The styles include country, eclectic, industrial and allwhite. That attention to detail is provided for each room, including home offices, outdoor spaces and open plans. There are helpful boxes of do’s and don’ts.
The photography throughout is much more colourful than the cover shot, and anything but boring. Who will like it:
You want to feel comfortable at home.
You want your home to reflect who you are.
Your home needs to function for your lifestyle. Why buy it:
You want to understand how to make space work for you. You’ll learn the basics, from choosing colours to flooring. You will be inspired by the advice and the photographs. Whether you want to freshen your existing space or are moving into your first apartment, there is something that you will learn, appreciate and want to implement.