"The point of decorating, as far as I can tell, is to
create the background for the best life you can have."
~From "The Perfectly Imperfect Home"
Deborah Needleman gets it.
(Available Tuesday, November 1st. HERE.)
Last Friday I received an advance copy of her brand-new book and honestly, it made my weekend.
Her practical advice and reassuring words on how to create a loved-up and lived-in home are exactly the reminder we need in these budget-tight times that what matters isn't provenance but personality. As Deborah puts it, decorating is about "elevating a room into an experience."
And illustrator Virginia Johnson's watercolors are so enchantingly alive they make you want to leap directly into them.
"The Perfectly Imperfect Home" teaches you how to design and arrange your house so that when people walk into it, they feel something.
Personality.
(Rita Konig tapes Polaroid photos above the mantel in her living room.)
Comfort.
(Caroline Irving doesn't mind if you put your feet on the "coffee table.")
Contentment.
(Kate and Andy Spade's entry foyer has the Big Four: light, storage, a mirror and a place to sit.)
Friendship.
(Miles Redd makes his guests feel at home by letting them help themselves.)
Relaxation.
(Peter Dunham makes sure everyone has a place to set their drink.)
Each chapter focuses on a specific style element ("A Bit of Quirk", "A Personal Narrative", "Cozification", "A Sense of History" and more) and gives you all the principles, tips and ideas to make it feel that way.
How do you arrange furniture so everybody feels included? (p. 58)
How do you use lighting to give a sense of depth to a room? (p.20)
Why are "mollifiers" (the stuff you allow into your home because it makes someone else happy) sometimes the secret ingredient to chic? (p. 68)
(Here, Miles Redd uses "the law of threes" to match the pillows to the rest of the room.)
Malcolm Gladwell and Martha Stewart offer words of praise for Deborah's achievement, but it's this last little blurb on the dust jacket that really touched me:
"This book is about moving stuff around in your house so it looks better."
Doesn't that say it all?