• Decorate: 1,000 professional ideas for every room in your home
• Holly Becker & Joanna Copestick
• Photographs by Debi Treloar
• Chronicle Books, 2011
Decorate by Decor8's Holly Becker and Joanna Copestick came out in April but it's taken me awhile to work my way through it, mainly because it's HUGE. Packed full of pages, tips, quotes and pics from homes in the US and Europe it will make fans of Living Etc, Domino, Design Sponge and Apartment Therapy totally happy. It's like your first pack of Starbursts - exploding with color, homes and sunshine in equal measure.
While there's a lot of text formatted all over the place and quotes dropped in front of pictures (very much like a magazine), which I may eventually get to and can be a little distracting, the real treat here are the photographs of more than thirty remarkable homes from a really wide variety of people - a pretty stellar crew.
Having working on three books myself, my jaw dropped when I saw how much fresh, good images they had collected here from the likes of Amy Butler (Ohio), Alayne Patrick (Brooklyn), Vincente Wolf (NYC), Anna-Malin Lindgren (Sweden), Jonathan Adler (NYC), Amy Neunsinger (LA) and Emily Chalmers (London). The international mix as well as the variety of styles makes this a really refreshing reference for current design ideas. There's a lot to pull from.
And it has a decidedly looser, more European or world flavor, which I like.
The book is organized into four sections, with a healthy directory in the back (yay!):
1. Space Matters - this focuses on different types of space 2. Setting Your Style - all about different styles - 8 of them 3. Room by Room - self explanatory, but you never knew there were this many of them! 4. Attention to Detail - a nice little bit on lighting, mirrors, etc...
My favorite? Colorful Style. This section is so bright, fun and fresh I really responded to it. Even the floral wallpaper. Can this be in my future? Stranger things have happened.
Problems? There aren't many. Aside from the cover being one of the LEAST interesting picstures in the book, it would have been nice if the book were a bit more personal. You're not really drawn into reading it. It's hard to sense where Holly is in this book (she's the voice I know best) and the homes are definitely all high end with a lot of custom solutions which may budget conscious folks a bit uncomfortable, but really the inspiration is what it's all about.
It's all small potatoes. I think this book will do very well and recommend it.
Bravo Holly!
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior's Studio Space
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
On Saying No to Paleo: Why Eating Isn't One Size Fits All
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
I love this book. I think it's both beautiful and inspiring and great value for money as it has useful information as well as fantastic images.
I want!
I got the book and was pleasantly suprised to get a lot of inspiration although everything is really high-end and out of reach. There are many many beautyfull pics that focus details one can easily adapt on a smaller budget that will make an difference in your home. I missed a somehow supportative voice like in Maxwells "Small cool" book but overall I find myself flickering through Holly's book a lot.
I love this book. I really don't mind my inspirational design books featuring high-end homes. I don't think I've ever encountered a helpful and inspiring budget book, but there are plenty of ways to incorporate the details and ideas in it to a smaller budget and more modest home.
And as for the prediction that it "will do very well," it is already doing well--it has been the #1 interior design book on Amazon (US & UK) for months, and was reprinted before its official release in the US & UK.
I loved this book. The ideas are great and it's easy to find substitutes for the high-end things.
Loving the color I'm seeing in these few gorgeous photos. Will definitely be picking this up.
Lovely pictorial book but although home tours are global, the style is very Scandinavian-influenced