I admit it: I am a cookbook fanatic. My interest is not so much in the actual by-the-book recipes, but for the overall cooking (and sometimes design) inspiration that comes along with each one. Lately, publishers have been cranking out amazingly designed cookbooks that can add life to your kitchen's aesthetic as well as your palate!

1. What to Cook and How to Cook it by Jane Hornby, published by Phaidon, $39.95. One of my personal favorites, What to Cook and How to Cook It is as basic as they come in terms of recipes, but it's systematic photography and clean design make it a stand-out hit with typography and illustration.

2. Homemade: The Ultimate DIY Cookbook, Featuring Over 200 From-Scratch Recipes by Yvette Van Boven, published by Stewart Tabori & Chang, $45. A burst of color for your kitchen! Homemade focuses on DIY (preserves, kitchen scraps, etc.) to create gorgeous and colorful meals, and the cover illustrates just that. Hand-lettering and collage-like photography pepper the pages from cover to cover.

3. Fried Chicken & Champagne by Lisa Dupar, published by Southern Accents, Inc., $38. Photos by Kathryn Barnard. A local favorite in the Seattle area, Lisa Dupar of Pomegranate Bistro & Catering created this cookbook as a labor of love and a testament to fine cooking. This one is full of breezy, effortless photos and delightful comfort food recipes. Make it a point to try out those cherry pop tarts on page 211!

4. Fresh & Easy: What to Cook and How to Cook It by Jane Hornby, published by Phaidon, $45. An adendum to the wildly popular What to Cook and How to Cook It (above), Hornby created a summery, fresh-produce-and-barbecue-inspired book that is full of tasty treats. Plus, it looks great on your shelf!

5. A New Turn in the South by Hugh Acheson, published by Clarkson Potter, $35. This one is for all of those meat lovers. Hand-illustrated and quirky in it's approach, this cookbook by Top Chef favorite, Hugh Acheson, is fun, lively and beautiful.

(Images: as linked above)