Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Interior Desecrations: Hideous Homes from the Horrible '70s

Interior Desecrations: Hideous Homes from the Horrible '70s

by James Lileks

“Sweet smoking Jesus, what was the matter with these people?” Who knows? But we do need to accept the fact that otherwise sensible American housewives who would never grind a quaalude into their morning coffee or sleep with their tennis instructor nevertheless went daft during the 1970s and performed heinous acts of design on unsuspecting homes. What James Lileks did for dinner with the critically... (more)

Found Style: Vintage Ideas for Modern Living

Found Style: Vintage Ideas for Modern Living

by David Butler, Amy Butler

For most folks, creating a home where the decor reflects their personal style and taste requires more than just simply perusing the pages of a catalog. Unique style comes with successfully blending the old and new, the unexpected with the familiar - a white antique stove and modern chrome refrigerator placed side by side, or a 50s kidney-shaped coffee table accented by an Adirondack chair. Enter Found Style, the... (more)

Meditations on Design: Reinventing Your Home With Style and Simplicity

Meditations on Design: Reinventing Your Home With Style and Simplicity

by John Wheatman

Renowned designer John Wheatman shares his decades of expertise working with apartment dwellers, country homesteaders, and city sophisticates. His design principles are based on the philosophy that a living space should be functional, comfortable, and life-enriching. From displaying personal collections to incorporating light and nature, the author shows readers how to make their homes reflect who they are. Color... (more)

African Style: down to the details

by Sharne Algotsson

"Today more and more of us are striving to bring personal meaning and beauty into our lives and homes. African style is the perfect way to express that joy in living, whether your look is formal, traditional, minimal, casual country, or eclectic," writes Sharne Algotsson in her stunning new book, African Style: Down to the Details . Following on the success of her first book, The Spirit of African Design ,... (more)

Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make

Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make

by Alan Richardson

Witty, one-of-a-kind imaginative cupcake designs using candies from the local convenience store. America's favorite food photography team, responsible for the covers of America's top magazines, shows how to create funny, scary, and sophisticated masterpieces, using a zipper lock bag and common candies and snack items.With these easy-to-follow techniques, even the most kitchen-challenged cooks can • raise a... (more)

The Christmas kitchen : the gathering place for making memories

The Christmas kitchen : the gathering place for making memories

by Tammy Maltby

The Heart of the Home Even in today's busy times, the kitchen is the heart of the home. Author Tammy Maltby believes the true meaning of Christmas is realized when families gather to share activities that make Christmas "the most wonderful time of the year." More than any other holiday, Christmas is when family and friends gather for a cup of hot chocolate, fresh-baked cookies, and lots of laughter. Look... (more)

The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details

The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating with Thrift Shop Treasures, Flea Market Objects, and Vintage Details

by Stan Williams

Sometimes you’re looking for it, sometimes it just finds you Treasures of home décor abound at flea markets, thrift shops, and garage sales. But how do you know a find when you find it? In The Find , Stan Williams and some of today’s most clever style makers, including Simon Doonan, John Derian, and Real Simple’s Kristin van Ogtrop–all diehard devotees of New York City’s Housing Works–show not just what to... (more)

Nest for Two: Creating a Harmonious Home

Nest for Two: Creating a Harmonious Home

by Allison Serrell

She loves her antiques. He's a modern minimalist. Bringing the best of both worlds together is a labor of love made easier with a little expert guidance. Nest for Two celebrates the shared dwelling with 225 inspiring color photographs showcasing the cozy corners, romantic details, and practical solutions that help couples savor the pleasures of home life together. From the living room to the bedroom, the homes in... (more)

The Emotional House: How Redesigning Your Home Can Change Your Life

The Emotional House: How Redesigning Your Home Can Change Your Life

by Kathryn L. Robyn

Most of us spend more time in our homes than any other place. For better or worse, this highly personal space has a powerful influence over the way we feel about our lives. Based on the program used by the authors in their successful home consulting practice, this book teaches readers to use psychological and design principles to transform their houses into nurturing and supportive living. The exercises in the... (more)

Weekend Decorating ProjectsGina Moore Amy Dawson

Weekend Decorating Projects

by Gina Moore Amy Dawson

Easy weekend projects for hallways, living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, garden rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms as well as sewing and paint techniques.

The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough (American Institute Architects)

The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough (American Institute Architects)

by Sarah Nettleton

For everyone who craves a simpler lifestyle, not only in how they live but also where they live, The Simple Home features 21 houses and presents six different approaches to creating a home that realizes its full potential both simply and elegantly. We are living in complex times, in a commodified, virtual, and overstimulated culture. One response to high levels of complexity and overstimulation is to look for yet... (more)

A Room of Her Own: Women's Personal Spaces

A Room of Her Own: Women's Personal Spaces

by Chris Casson Madden

"In speaking with many women across the country," explains best-selling author Chris Casson Madden in the introduction to her new book, A Room of Her Own: Women's Personal Spaces, "I have discovered that as much as we revel in the hard-won victories that have given us new freedoms in pursuing careers and in creating loving relationships, many of us long to find the time in a busy schedule to relax and refresh... (more)

Design on a Dime: Achieve High Style on a $1,000 Budget

Design on a Dime: Achieve High Style on a $1,000 Budget

by HGTV

• Design-conscious readers can examine creative makeovers that cost less than $1,000 • Highlights 20 rooms from the show, including before-and-after photos • In-depth instruction for projects from stenciling walls to customizing furniture • Show's talented design team provides plenty of practical tips and foolproof techniques to restyle, recolor, remake, and rearrange any room of the home • Includes a room... (more)

Nesting: It's a Chick Thing

by Ame Mahler Beanland

Check it out--the Chicks are back. Authors of It's a Chick Thing, with 110,000 copies in print--"A must book for the reader who knows that chicks rule" (Publishers Weekly), "a smart and sassy compilation" (Chicago Tribune)--Ame Mahler Beanland and Emily Miles Terry celebrate chicks nesting, or what it means to have a home filled with laughter, good friends, lovingly prepared foods and crafts, all with personal... (more)

Clutter Cutters: Store It with Style (Better Homes & Gardens)

Clutter Cutters: Store It with Style (Better Homes & Gardens)

by Better Homes and Gardens

Dozens of effective, real-life solutions to sort, organize, store, and pare down. Handy charts and guidelines detail how long to save important items. Photos show creative storage to control clutter in bedrooms, kitchens, basements, garages, attics, closets, and more. Instructions for simple projects, such as repurposing garage sale finds. Chapters are organized room by room with practical tips and examples.... (more)

Mary Engelbreit'S Home Companion Book

by Mary Engelbreit

This book contains fifteen chapters on everything from Kitchens, Tabletops, and Entries, to Cozy Corners, Cheap Tricks, and Odd Sports. The first in a series of books on the Mary Engelbreit look-- certain to be a decorating and lifestyle favorite.

Christmas with Martha Stewart Living

by Martha Stewart

A holiday grab bag of party recipes, entertaining ideas, table settings, decorations, gifts, and wrappings, complemented by step-by-step instructions and how-to color photographs, includes a Christmas calendar for planning ahead. Original. 150,000 first printing."

Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design: Fearless, Fabulous Decorating

Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design: Fearless, Fabulous Decorating

by Christopher Lowell

"If you can put together an outfit, you're already overqualified to decorate a room," believes Emmy Award-winning Christopher Lowell. Now, the most popular and colorful personality on the Discovery Channel brings his proven Seven Layers of Design system to readers in a lively blend of design theory and hands-on advice for do-it-yourself projects. In this book, as on his program, Lowell brings his humor, wit, and... (more)

Handmade Modern: Mid-Century Inspired Projects for Your Home

Handmade Modern: Mid-Century Inspired Projects for Your Home

by Todd Oldham

Love the look of mid-century, modern, retro design, but don't feel like dropping two weeks' pay on an Eames chair? In Handmade Modern, Todd Oldham shares his passion for mid-century modern homes with over 52 do-it-yourself projects for anyone who loves crafts and longs to add character to every corner of his or her home. Todd Oldham has received accolades during an impressive career bringing couture fashion... (more)

Mary Emmerling's American Country Cottages

Mary Emmerling's American Country Cottages

by Mary Ellisor Emmerling

This beautifully illustrated book explores the charm of 24 country and seaside cottages from Key West to California. Mary Emmerling and photographer Joshua Greene ventured across America and found decorating ideas and housekeeping solutions that will prove delightful and useful to anyone who enjoys living informally and intimately in small spaces. Full-color photographs.

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Tags: decorating