Top 10 Best Home Decorating Books

The official publisher's blurb for Renovating Old Houses says: For those who love to live in old houses or want to invest in one, this completely revised and updated book leaves no stone unturned. From evaluating a property to making foundation repairs to adding on a porch, it's a comprehensive guide to every aspect of making renovations and repairs - whether you already live in, or are contemplating buying, an older home. Over 450 color photos and drawings are featured.

That, my friends, is an understatement. We are already on our second copy after the first one survived being spattered with paint, covered with plaster dush, dropped from a 30 ft high ladder and going through some pretty scary events with us. We suggest you order two since it will be dog-eared in no time and it helps to have one clean copy handy to refer to where all parties involved in the projects know where it is.

Nash not only knows his stuff and has a passion for old houses - he has a knack for explaining things in clear easy-to-understand fashion that does not sugar coat the job at hand but that does also not exaggerate what is invovlved. In short - You can trust Nash to guide you through the jobs you decide to tackle and to know what you need to know to have them done by someone else. If you have only one book in your arsenal - This is the one we'd recommend.

Nash has empathy with the systemic construction methods of the past as well as with today's homeowners who are often urged to rip out, replace, "upgrade" or otherwise desecrate the wonderful features (no house we've lived in has ever been easier to appropriately ventillate, heat, and keep cool at the appropriate season than the 1880 we currently live in--once we got all of the transoms, pocket doors, porches, etc back in place with Nash's help!). List price $32.00.

Sorry, We've sold out of this one.
It costs a bit more at Amazon, but the book is worth it so we've provided a link below.

Publisher: Taunton Press | ISBN-10: 1561585351 |ISBN-13: 978156158535 | Publication Year: 2003 | Condition: Brand New

Engaging and highly informative, The Book of Upholstery by Candace Manroe is an indispensable tool for anyone who is considering purchasing or commissioning a piece of upholstered furniture. Step by step, acclaimed design writer Candace Ord Manroe will initiate you into the secrets of the upholsterer's trade, as she examines the entire process from framing to finishing.

Please note that this is not a basic instructional how-to book, although related topics are covered. It is a book that anyone who wants to be an informed, intelligent consumer should read before investing in upholstering or re-upholstering furniture.

An extensive questionnaire helps you identify your own personal style, so that you can be sure that your upholstered furniture works with your home decor and makes just the right statement about who you are. With its lavish illustrations, comprehensive information, and helpful guide to choosing an interior design scheme, The Book of Upholstery is a must for anyone considering an investment in upholstered furniture. List Price: $30.00 Our Price $18.95

Author: Candace Ord Manroe | Publisher: Random House | ISBN-10: 0517142724 | ISBN-13: 9780517142721 | Format: Hardcover

The Arts and Crafts House covers the design, interior decoration, furnishings, and gardens of historical period town and country houses the world over. Chapters cover themes such as: William Morris and his disciples; houses built by architects for themselves; the distinctive American response to the Arts and Crafts style; and the movement's relationship with the disappearing rural community.

The book includes a broad range of houses, including the Red House in Kent, England, that Philip Webb built for William Morris in 1859 and Frank Lloyd Wright's Storer House in Los Angeles, completed in the 1930s. Also includes chapters on C.F.A. Voysey, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and more! Within each chapter, the author considers, alongside the houses, Arts and Crafts themes such as literature, magazines, gardens, and furniture.

About the Author:
Adrian Tinniswood is an architectural historian who has worked for Britain's leading heritage organization, The National Trust, is an author, consultant, and educator. He is currently working on a biography of the English architect, Christopher Wren.

List price: $22.95 Our Price: $11.99

Publisher: Mitchell Beazley | ISBN-10: 1845330420 | ISBN-13: 9781845330422

Change your home décor with the seasons easily and inexpensively. Decorating With Fabric uses lush, full color photos and artwork that will tempt you to go straight to the sewing machine to try these charming patterns and home decor projects. Stitch slipcovers, blinds, curtains, pillows, table linens, lampshades, screens, and bed canopies.

For a spring awakening, look no further than the garden, and bring in the brightness and light with florals and other fresh prints. Airy, crisp, summery hues work beautifully on a garden canopy and stools. Or decorate a bedroom in the sea-and-sky tones of indigo blues and white. Make a cozy quilt cover for the blanket that wards off autumn's chill, and put a plethora of plaids everywhere for a timeless country look. Winter's choice might be exotic, rich, Asian fabrics, resplendent in color and detail.

Every design and project is inspiring. Instructions are clear and easy-to-follow. Beginners will find Decorating With Fabric a user-friendly tool for DIY home decorating and those with more experience will find it inspirational and will benefit from the numerous tips and examples. List price: $19.95. Our Price: $14.95 including shipping

Author: Rhoda J. Murphy | Publisher: Hearst Books | ISBN-10: 1588162974 | ISBN-13: 9781588162977 | Format: Softcover | Publication Date: 2003

Pillows provide the finishing touch to a room's decor. From needlepoint to painted, silk to patchwork, heart-shaped to hexagonal, country to Victorian, all you need to know to create designer pillows is packed into this book. (It even tells you how to transform a child's drawing into a pillow!)

Pretty PIllows is an attractive and helpful guide that shows you how to make and decorate 40 innovative pillows of all shapes, sizes, colors, and textures to complement your home decor.

Full-color photography and step-by-step instructions have been designed for beginners and experienced crafters alike. Tips on fabrics, style, decor, and display ensure successful cushions are set off to their best effect. Each pillow project includes a materials list, complete easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions with diagrams, relevant tips and excellent full color photographs. List price $16.95. Our Price: $8.95

Publisher: Todtri Books | ISBN-10: 1577172191 | ISBN-13: 9781577172192 | Format: Hardcover | Publication Year: 2002

Decorating Without Fear is an entry-level step by step, how-to book that will allow even the least experienced person to create their perfect home environment.

Everyone wants a beautiful home that reflects their personality and is a true sanctuary and retreat. While some people have an innate understanding as to how they can create a beautiful room and others have the cash to hire a decorator, many more are intimidated and unable to seek help.

This book takes the fear out of interior decorating and allows you to achieve a beautiful home that is right for you. It addresses the big questions to determine what type of environment best fits your personality through a trademarked color test and provides step-by-step instructions that will allow you to achieve just that in your home decor.
List price $19.99. Our Price: $9.99

Author: Sharon Hanby-Robie | Publisher: Rutledge Hill | Date: 2007 | ISBN-10: 1401602843 | ISBN-13: 978-1401602840 | Format: Paperback

Creating the Artful Home: the Aesthetic Movement and Its Influence on Home Decor covers the history of a movement that emphasized "art for art's sake" - and the influence it had on home decor. The Aesthetic Movement in America lasted just a few decades (1870-1900), but its influence is still felt today. The movement started among artists who used rich color, decorative patterns, and lavish materials simply for the aesthetic effects they could evoke. It was believed that a home that expressed an artful, harmonious soul would instill high aesthetic and moral merit in its inhabitants.

The Aesthetic Movement in America helped to popularize the idea that everyone should be able to enjoy beautiful, well-made homes and furnishings - not just the very wealthy. Artful home decor could be composed from antique finds, selective new store purchases, and items hand-made by the ladies of the house. It was the moment when people embraced the idea that only a beautiful home could be a happy home. Hardcover.
List price: $39.95. Our Price: $18.95

Creating the Artful Home: The Aesthetic Movement is the first in-depth look at late-nineteenth-century American home design and its cultural context. Average housewives transformed the radical premise of the Aesthetic movement - art for art's sake - into lush, nurturing, happy homes which in turn made society stronger and better. As it flowered in America, the Aesthetic movement became not so much a style as a process.

The Aesthetic movement grew out of the ideas and the products of English reformers, such as William Morris, and was flamboyantly promoted by Oscar Wilde in an 1882 lecture tour across America. Tastemakers rallied-Louis Comfort Tiffany became an interior designer while his father's firm, Tiffany and Company, produced Japoniste silver. Eastlake furniture invaded fashionable shops like Cottier's, and Oriental stores appeared even in small towns. Graphics transmitted the new design overtly through advertising and subtly through products like ubiquitous Staffordshire tableware. This book takes a thorough look at household furnishings, from the lavish productions of the Herter Brothers to humble Minton tiles.

Dozens of never-before-published illustrations, including rare color views of 1880s interiors and exteriors, shed new light on American houses. The author gives thoughtful insights into gender roles and the development of architecture as a moral imperative. Collectors will appreciate the thorough examination of historic architecture and furnishings and the glimpses of modern objects that show the same aesthetic. Most of all, the book gives modern homeowners insights into how American houses of the past have shaped our houses today - and how we might create our own artful homes in the future. This book is more in-depth than most but it is accessible to the general public and, IMHO, neither overly academic nor pretentious.

First edition | Publisher: Gibbs Smith | ISBN-10: 1586857665 | ISBN-13: | Year: 2006 | Format: Hardcover

Details, from the authors of Extraordinary Interiors: Decorating with Architectural Salvage and Antiques, is a whole new source of home decorating inspiration. List price: $21.95. Our Price: $12.95

From an old soapstone sink in a suburban bungalow or a Victorian wrought-iron railing recast as a fireplace screen in an urban high-rise apartment, architectural salvage can quickly add character and charm to any room. The possibilities are endless-and with the right amount of imagination and a slightly mischievous attitude, architectural salvage can pack a delightfully beautiful decorating punch.

Find out the answers to common questions such as "How do I use an old stained glass window that isn't the right size?" or "What exactly is the right type of mantel for my home?" Brian Coleman reveals the simple truth to decorating with salvage-embrace the imperfections, as they add a patina of time that is hard to reproduce. This book also includes a resource guide and contributions from a forum of salvage experts from across the country. Topics include doors and hardware for doors vintage lighting, mantels, sinks, staircases, stained glass, and more.

About the authors:
Brian D. Coleman, M.D., is a practicing psychiatrist in Seattle, Washington. Also an old-house enthusiast, he has grown his love for historic restoration into an active second career, writing numerous articles on historic home design for magazines ranging from Old House Journal to Period Living in the United Kingdom and is the West Coast editor for Old House Interiors. Brian is also the author of Extraordinary Interiors: Decorating with Architectural Salvage and Antiques, Window Dressings: Beautiful Curtains and Draperies for your Home, Scalamandre: Luxurious Home Interiors, and Classic Cottages.

Dan Mayers is a New York-based photographer whose work appears regularly in Country Decorating Magazine's Cottage Style, Country Collectibles, Country Victorian and Old House Interiors. His work has been included in books such as Extraordinary Interiors, Scalamandre: Luxurious Home Interiors and The Ultimate Kitchen.

Publisher: Gibbs Smith | ISBN-10: 1586855239 | ISBN-13: 978-1586855239 | Format: Hardcover | First Edition | Year of Publication: 2006

The most popular American house styles today are still the classics from yesterday--Capes, Bungalows, Victorians and Federals. The perennial struggle, however, is how to best live in them with our changing needs. Often, we need more space. The likely solution? Add on. The challenge? How to do it right.

Published in conjunction with The National Trust for Historic Preservation, New Rooms for Old Houses, by renowned architect Frank Shirley contains more than 300 full-color photos. It is a beautiful design guide and essential resource for anyone who loves classic American houses or is considering expanding an old home.

Through words and pictures, Shirley shows how to enlarge a home without sacrificing the charm and character of the original structure. Using the guiding principle of "harmony," Shirley walks readers through the four cornerstones of design on which, he believes, all old house expansions should be based: balance, public and private areas, the careful use of transitions, and the choice of appropriate materials. Shirley also offers expert interior decorating advice for your newly-expanded historic home.

Packed with photos, both before and after shots, and architectural drawings, New Rooms for Old Houses, is a fascinating tour through the golden age of architecture. List price $40.00. Our Price: $19.95

Sorry, We've sold out of this one.
It costs a bit more at Amazon, but the book is worth it so we've provided a link below.

Publisher: Taunton Press with The National Trust for Historic Preservation | Author: Frank Shirley | ISBN-10: 1561588857 | ISBN-13: 9781561588855 | Format: Hardcover | Year of Publication: 2007

On Display: Displaying Your Treasures with Style
by Lesley Dilcock and Catherine Gratwicke

As the popularity of Antiques Roadshow and sites like eBay, Bonanza and Ruby Plaza confirm, no hobby is hotter than collecting. Whether the subject is childhood toys, posters, shells, or doorknobs, the sky's the limit. In On Display: Displaying Your Treasures with Style stylist and author Lesley Dilcock coaxes these collections from closets and boxes by providing interesting and stylish ideas for displaying them with confidence -- all stunningly photographed by Catherine Gratwicke.

There are chapters on fashion and accessories, jewelry, textiles, ceramics, kitchenware, the natural world, books, glass, mirrors, pictures and frames, memorabilia, and tools and implements. The emphasis is on unusual and imaginative finds. In the second part of the book, Lesley shows you how to put together pleasing displays to enhance your home decor.

Collectors of Pottery, bowls, books, shoes, jewelry, linens, antique tools or hardware, or just about anything else will find this book delightful and inspirational. It is chock full of creative suggestions for showcasing a collection of one to "I lost count" in unique and effective ways. From modern minimal to opulent excess, On Display takes an artistic and sometimes eclectic approach that is refreshing and engaging and that the reader can easily adapt to her or his own needs. List Price: $27.50. Our Price: $16.95

About the Authors:
Lesley Dilcock took a degree in fashion and textiles before moving into design consultancy. She was a founder member of the British edition of Marie Claire in 1988, becoming its first Fashion Director and from 1996 to 1999, the Contributing Interiors Editor. Lesley is a leading interiors stylist, and her unique look is in constant demand by companies such as Habitat and Monsoon Home, as well as many glossy interiors magazines. She has worked with renowned photographers and art directors, both in the worlds of fashion and interiors, and has lectured about fashion at the Royal College of Art in London.

Catherine Gratwicke trained as a textile designer, using photography as inspiration for her woven designs. She then worked for a textile design consultancy as a designer and photographer before turning to a full-time career in photography. Her striking and distinctive style, with its richly coloured and painterly effect, has made her much in demand with leading style magazines such as Marie Claire, Homes and Gardens, Room (Ikea), Elle Decoration, and Red.

Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small | ISBN-10: 184172274X | ISBN-13: 9781841722740 | Format: Hardcover | Publication Year: 2002

Ceiling fans, lighting, and fireplaces. Find your statement. Love your home.