apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The very thought that there is a decorating book "For Dummies" makes my stomach turn. Is there nothing sacred?

I say, to to the bookstore, and spend some time looking through decorating books (after you buy Maxwell's of course), and when you find yourself sucked into one of them, that may be the clue that it could be helpful.

I suggest that you read the design textbook, "Interior Design" by John Pile or "Beginnings of Interior Environments." There is no way to master professional-level decorating without much training of the eye and solid knowledge of products, construction, etc., but these books will get you on your way. I suggest that you purchase the high-end shelter publications like Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, House & Garden, etc., then use those as laboratories to help you understand the concepts outlined in Pile, et al. Please do yourself a favor and go to Walmar'ts craft section at least and purchase a proper color wheel as color will be the most difficult thing to master. If you are on a budget, aim for using the BASIC concepts because they will get you far even with inexpensive upholstery, etc. Even if you are on a budget, try to use luxury-level products where they count. For example, down pillowforms are now inexpensive. Don't use dacron unless you have an allergy even to hypoallergenic pillows. If you can't afford proper drapery, make it yourself using the techniques outlined in the basic drapery book at www.chfindustry.com or, if you're handier with a needle and thread than most, in Merrick & Day's encyclopedia. Fine down pillows, properly installed, lined/interlined drapery will make your budget-oriented room look high-end indeed.

i read hundreds of decorating books over the last 10 years of living in my apartment & trying to decorate it but the only one that really worked for me was maxwell's (which is what brought me to this site) in combination with domino magazine. the synergism of the two helped me articulate what i liked style & colorwise and taught me to understand for instance why a blue velvet couch in an otherwise warm toned living room felt off.

Room Redux is a fun workbook that can really help you analyze your space and make it work for you. It's divided up into sections like shape (arranging and selecting furniture), texture (textiles and decoration), color, etc. Pretty straightforward, explains a lot of architecture/design terms, and works for a lot of different styles.

My last two apartments have benefited from Enlightened by Design by Helen Berliner. It helps you take a closer look at what you like, and how to pull it all together in spaces that truly become your own.

Depending on the person you are, imitation may work better for you than book larnin' - I think it did for me.

I think the first step is finding what you like. Start out by tearing articles from newspapers and magazines that have rooms that you really like. If you're an Architectural Digest kind of person, tear out of AD, if you're a Dwell person, use that (although Dwell isn't quite as decorator porn-y as other magazines). Personally, I like British Elle Decoration best, with US Elle Decor and Metropolitan Home being quite good from time to time.

Once you've got a good-sized sheaf of loved references, compare it to your space and see what would work there; your love of the kitchen of Versailles with its 80 open roasting pits might not translate well to your 400 square foot Bed-Stuy studio, but you may find you've also torn out a photo of a farmhouse kitchen in Flanders which is more appropriate.

Depending upon your confidence in your own taste, you can use the image or text as an inspiration or as an exact model. I think imitation is an effective way to a result, but it's also a wonderful teacher. You may make mistakes, but if you're working from a template, they may be less dire than if you're working from a book.

I do like the Waterworks' bathroom design book, and Taschen's New York Style.

Oddly enough I did my masters thesis on interior design books. Most have lovely pictures and no useful advice. Remember the secret of interior design is space planning, not traffic control for cutesy dust-catchers.

Maxwell's book of course, any one of lauri ward's use what you have volumes, lowell's seven layers of design, whichever of the design on a dime/trading spaces books looks like fun, all might help. Going back in time, the first Conran's home book, the classic barbara d'arcy's bloomingdale's book of home decorating, and (from about the same late 60s/early 70s period) the new york times book of interiors (I don't remember it's exact title).

I have a weakness for books featuring small spaces -- cottages as well as apartments -- but I also like French, North African and Asian design elements. There are plenty of those. There are probably one or two styles to which you are more drawn. Indulge.

i don't have any specific book reccomendations, but here are some tips:

books that are full of rules like "don't mix patterns", "don't paint a small room a dark color", etc. are best avoided. design is SO much more subjective than a list of rules.

same for books that judge everything on things like resale value. live for now, not for the chance that you might want to sell in 10 years. do what you like, not what the current wisdom says will or won't sell.

i also find that books about the specific types of projects you're interested in are more helpful. a lot of those great 'NYC small space living' books you find are cool, except that they often deal with structural solutions outside the scope of the average apartment dweller. whereas there are other books out there (Readymade has a good one) that are more about small scale improvements. there are specific books you can get about color, bathrooms, kitchens, etc. so i'd look for books which are about specific things you're interested in, not just the general books.

though those design texts tim sullivan cited seem really cool, too.

Why don't you borrow a bunch of books from your library? You can search online and reserve books from all over NYC if you join your local library. Everytime I see a new interiors book out, invariably the library has a copy.

Some specific books that are very practical are:
"Yes / No Design" by Diana Love (http://www.yesnodesign.com/)
"Use what you have decorating" by Lauri Ward
(http://www.redecorate.com/)

These are intensely practical for the 'average' home owner - a lot of interiors books have lots of pictures and are more aspirational, and ofcourse look at those too to get great ideas and form a better view of what you like.

For basics, I really like Terence Conran's books. I have The Essential House Book and Terance Conran Space Spaces and refer to them often. Nice basic approach - his style is modern but with respect of good design of all periods - very livable. The books have good useful information that I reference when thinking about a change.
Also book I found worth owning is Home Comforts by C. Mendelson - not a design book but I find her information on materials and fabrics useful. For example, I was thinking about a velvet for my sofa - and it was helpful to read her thought on care and cleaning when making a decision. I did get the velvet but I got it understanding the work required to keep it looking nice.

read the apartment therapy archives :) :)

I second the Pile and Conran recommendations, both of which take interior decorating seriously. The Pile book (Interior Decorating) is massive, but great for mastering the basics. He stresses how unique and special a trained Interior Decorator's skills are. I think most people believe they can DIY, but the space never quite comes together. One thing I've learned about interior decorating, and artistic practices in general, is that imposing your taste might be something you should avoid. The way objects work together has more to do with THEM than if you like them or not. It's amazing to see an erstwhile uninteresting object look amazing and appropriate -- if not essential -- in a space where light, color, form, scale, and texture are all in harmony. Whether you "love" each individual object is often unimportant: you may need that fuscia pouf to make the space come together! And I think the Pile and Conran books will help you understand this.

Great thread. The John Pile book is fairly exhaustive and is more academic in nature than a how-to. It does have great case studies.

In terms of giving a framework for design, I second the Terence Conran books. I also highly recommend Meditations on Design by John Wheatman. It is a short book with a few tenets of wisdom that I keep going back to and re-examining.

As to a more practical step-by-step guide to decorating (vs. interior architecture/design), try The Art of Interior Design by Suzanne Wolosynska. It is a very well organized resource that is grouped by various themes and design aesthetics for all rooms in a home.

I just so happen to be decor addict/lame-o enough to have created a book list on amazon.

Check it out, maybe you'll find a few books that will help you. :)

I seriously need to update it, but it's a start...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/R1FH1QSI7ETN88

Holly

I consistently go back to Conran's The Essential Home. It doesn't focus on creating this or that specific style, but is more about analyzing one's needs and motivations for specific aspects of the home.

Hi-I agree with the comment about books that say don't do this and don't do that. Stay away from those. (With one exception, see below.)

My Mother was a professional designer, and her basic rules were few. Put the sofa on the longest unbroken wall in the living room. Put the bed on the longest unbroken wall in the bedroom. If you have a large piece on one wall, balance the opposite wall with something big, art, FP, another piece of furniture. My Mother taught me to choose four colors, two major and two minor, and then find those colors expressed together in a work of art, or a painting. I have an original Japanese wallcolor, major colors rose and green and minor colors red and white, (I have no fear of color, I studied in France), and I have dragged that painting to paint stores, fabric stores, rug stores, you name it. It really helped me get the exact hues of the colors I wanted. Also, find or make a focal point in everyroom. FP, large window, real or faux. Or a really large piece of art. But the most important thing she taught me is this: NEVER BUY ANYTHING BECAUSE IT WILL LOOK GOOD IN A ROOM. Only buy something because you really, really like it. As you build a collection of things you really, really like, before you know it you will have decorated a beautiful space that is a reflection of you.

P.S. The rules are the same no matter what the colors, even white on white on white on white. I am doing a white room now, and it is not as easy as I thought it would be.

decor8 Holly:
I didn't know Tricia Guild had a new book coming out until I checked your list. I love Tricia Guild!!

Team Decor:
I agree - only buy what you really love.

Yes Alex, she sure is... I can't wait for it to come out!

I never heard of Tricia Guild until I checked out your list Holly. Thank you, thank you, thank you... I think I'm in love.

I love Tricia Guild's "White Hot" -- it is a beautifully done book in its own right, and gives a lot of insights into how color can influence the look of a space, one's mood, etc. And buried in the texts are great hints -- such as one I just read about using a bright lime accent in a pillow or curtain to keep a pale lavender and blue paint scheme from becoming "insipid".

I don't know how many people here have the kinds of spaces she features in the book (I don't, although my place isn't bad at all...). Kudos to you if you do! But it's a great book for dreaming over -- a spark to fuel your own ideas and imagination.

I'm also getting a lot from the Apartment Therapy book, and a book titled "Calm Working Spaces" (as I work from home).

Check out Urban Center Books for a highly edited selection of interior design books, including very professional guides to matierials and color theory. On Madison between 50th and 51st if you're in NYC (walk into the little courtyard and go to the building on the north side -- the Urban Center), http://www.urbancenterbooks.org if you're not.

Megan,

I just wanted to second the recommendations for Lauri Ward's "Use What You Have Decorating." I don't aspire to be a professional designer - I just want practical, actionable, basic advice.

What I like about her book is that it has tons of before-and-after floorplans, and all the rooms/spaces are 'normal.'

There seem to be a lot of books full of pics of beautiful 24x20 rooms with 15' ceilings with crown moulding and see-thru fireplaces and 8' windows, and I personally have a hard time translating what I see in those spaces to a 500 sq ft apartment. (end of rant)

I just bought Ward's book yesterday, and read it all last night and this morning, and I'm going to go through it again later on today - it's that good. Hope you find it, along with all of the recommendations from others, useful.

JonathanB's list has several of my favorites. The one I'd add would be Lynette Jennings' "Straight Talk on Decorating," which has a brilliantly easy method of handling color schemes.

For technical details on what fabric content means what in curtains and rugs, and the names for different curtain styles, and other such minutiae related to big-ticket purchases or choosing dog-friendly flooring, Sharon Hanry-Robey's "My Name Isn't Martha but I Can Decorate My Home" is useful.

Living in Style Without Losing Your Mind by Marco Pasanella is one of my favorites for learning how to highlight the things you love.

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Style-Without-Losing-Mind/dp/0684850478/sr=8-1/qid=1157927001/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0324805-5841529?ie=UTF8&s=books

I agree with Rebecca : Marco Pasanella's book is one of my favorites too!

I found this site that has some good guidelines and articles on the basics.

http://www.ssew.com

I also lurk on a professional sewing forum, and one of the sites recommended there has a list of how to books specific for valances and curtains that drapery workrooms use. It is http://www.decoratenowpatterns.com

A lot of Carolyn Wrey's books are on the list that I've gotten. And the books come with instructions on how to make a lot of curtains and valances.

I love lurking on professional sites, as you get so many great tips. :)

I forgot to mention that I love swapping out the curtains and valances, because you can change the whole feel of a room by doing that.

Unless you are doing something completely ultra-modern, then a room just looks more finished to me with window treatments added.