The art of stacking

I have mentioned before on my blog, that I love books and here are some great examples of integrating them into your interior.

 

 A perfectly proportioned pile of books can complement the layered vignette on a  dresser.

Add a floral touch with flowers placed on a crisp tower of books

Coffee table books needn't be relegated to only your coffee table, arrange them on a low-lying ottoman for a rich, textured effect.

 

Stack hefty books on a table in your living room making a great pedestal to highlight favourite objects.

 

Give it a try.

Kris xx

 

 

Book wishlist

Plenty of new books on offer on the leadup to Christmas.... but I can't wait until then to order these three.

Currently reading

I'm currently reading (on the ipad - even thought I swore I would never do it...) The Glass Room by Simon Mawer. It was brought to my attention by a client that is currently traveling the world and has booked tickets to visit the recently renovated Villa Tugendhat, the main character in the book.

Sibella Court - Mr Wong

Here are a couple of images of the interior of new Sydney yum-cha restaurant, Mr Wong. The interiors evoke 1930s Shanghai - with period-style furniture, jazzy music and the gorgeous styling details including calligraphy, Chinese paintings, Asian furnishings and clusters of blue-and-white china on the walls, designed in part, by Sibella Court. Its a must see on my next visit to Sydney.

On the topic of Sibella, her next book called Bowerbird is due for release next month and if its anything like her other books, it will find its way into my bookshelves.

Summer Reading

Here are a selection of books I recently ordered from the US. A couple I was inspired to purchase after watching Million Dollar Decorators.

• Mary McDonald Interiors : The Allure of Style


• Undecorate - The no-rules approach to interior design


• Jonathan Adler on happy chic colours


• Martyn Lawrence Bullard - Live, Love and Decorate (he is also in Australia in Feburary, which is very exciting.

I have a free Sunday, yeah....so I look forward to settling down with some good books.

Stylists Guide to NYC

Sibella Courts second book, The stylist's guide to NYC is a great follow up to Etcetera. Beautifully presented Sibella outlines her favorite stores, markets are survival tips - picked up while a stylist in NY for over 10 years. Had this book given to me before I went away and I can't wait to sit down and read from cover to cover. With a cold, long weekend, it looks like lighting the fire and reading are top of the list.

Colour for your eyes

How amazing is this image -looks like a bookshop and is just alive with colour.

Another book for my Christmas Stocking

Here is another book to add to my Christmas stocking. Like a beautiful scrapbok, Summers in France celebrates summer living and entertaining in the French countryside. On display is Kathryn's renovated farmhouse, with fabulous fabrics and a casual chic flair.
Can't wait to read this one when its released.

What I want for Christmas

Books.....books and more books.

I love spending the summer break reading. Here is one of the books I covert...

One by Victoria Alexander

One is a celebration of individuality and life. Author Victoria Alexander writes with humour and wisdom about the importance of believing in and valuing ourselves. She reminds us to trust in ourselves, try things on for size, take risks and ask for what we want — after all, we might just get it. At its heart, this beautifully layered collection of stories, quotes, reflections and evocative images is about the power of choice and about enjoying life, with all its shifts and changes.

A Certain Style

To celebrate her four decades at the forefront of interior design, Tricia Guild presents a collection of international locations decorated with her latest & arguably most beautiful designs, in her latest book (available in October 2010).

According to Tricia, this is no retrospective, she never looks back, but is a confident statement encapsulating everything that is memorable about her, certain, style.

Can't wait to get my copy when it is released.

Books

I was looking through the latest edition of Elle Decoration UK and came across these two images of bookshelves and I love the way they have been styled.


Nothing better than colour blocked books....

Book - In the Pink by Carleton Varney

Dorothy Draper is a famous American decorator. Like Martha Stewart, Draper was a preacher and teacher whose how-to books and Good Housekeeping columns provided middle-class housewives with affordable ideas for making their homes more functional and comfortable. Thanks to her originality as a stylist and her daring as a businesswoman, she became one of the most respected career women in the United States. She shocked the design world in 1937 when she decorated the thirty-seven-story Hampshire House apartment hotel on Central Park South in New York City, delivering a project that became indicative of her signature touch "baroque fantasy."

In the Pink: Dorothy Draper, America's Most Fabulous Decorator, by Carleton Varney is a great book. Varney, who is uniquely positioned as the author of this book, joined the Dorothy Draper, Inc. in 1960, when he was twenty-nine years old. Forty-two years later, he continues to keep her legend alive.

Carleton Varney at a book signing

Interiors created by Carleton Varney, using Dorothy Drapers influence.

Glamorous Rooms

My family has asked me what I want for Christmas. I have a book obsession, so suggested "Glamorous Rooms" by Jan Showers.Jan Showers is a US designer, known for creating rooms that stand apart from the usual, and yet, are completely liveable and reflect her clients' lifestyles. Showers' favourite quote is "The first thing I tell my clients is that they need to look great and feel good in their own rooms, otherwise, why bother?" She is known for using luxurious fabrics, leathers, colours that are unexpected, and the ability to mix traditional with mid-20th century modern.

Glamorous Rooms showcases the elegant eclecticism of renowned designer Jan Showers’s interiors, including many projects unpublished until now.... here are some examples of her work.

Hue

Hue by Kelly Wearstler
Kelly is classed as a trendsetter in interior design in the USA. Hue celebrates the power of color in Kelly's work and the possibilities of color in interior design and decorating. Well worth a look....

Etcetera...

I was in Borders this evening and picked up Etcetera - a gorgeous book but Australian stylist Sibella Court. The book provides simple suggestions for styling interiors and the layout of the book is fab, in Sibella's signature eclectic, bohemian style... incorporating rich colours and textures, fabric and paper details. Can't wait to read it from cover to cover.....