Gorgeous photography of rooms styled to perfection can have us interior enthusiasts drooling with envy but also motivated to get started on creating some perfection of our own.
For most of us, though, how-to tips are needed to boost confidence and not only try something new but to feel assured of making it a success.
Three new publications are out for spring whether you’re a retro and vintage fan, looking to get handy with paint effects, or just wanting to gorge on lush interiors.
Here we are well entrenched in the 21st century but it isn’t stopping us from looking back for design inspiration from the mid-century period. Even the colours associated with the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s are trending large, and there’s no sign of the style fading away.
1970s furniture styled with modern accessories offers a timeless look in ‘Retro Revival’.
Author and interior designer Andrew Weaving, one-time owner of online destination retailer Century D, looks at homes in places like London and Palm Beach inspired by the period. Awash with furniture by Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen and Le Corbusier, textiles by Lucienne Day, lighting by Isamu Noguchi and ceramics by Russel Wright and Constance Spry, it’s all highly aspirational, even unattainable until we see the home of American designer Jonathan Adler.
He doesn’t play by the purist rules as we saw a few years back when he designed a product range for H&M Home, but what he does with his mix of retro and contemporary is make the look relatable for those of us likely foraging for second-hand G-Plan to suit our budget.
- Retro Revival by Andrew Weaving, with photography by Andrew Wood, published by Ryland Peters & Small, €24.81
On a grey February day when there’s no convincing us of the alleged stretch in the evenings, try immersing in the pages of this read with a hot chocolate.
Tuscany has an irresistible hold on our romantic imagination with its citrus groves, vineyards, and a rich cultural legacy frequently reflected in the local interior style. It’s so attractive that the availability of oodles of abandoned and near-derelict properties snapped up by seekers of holiday homes, and relocators in search of reliable sunshine, means decades of renovation projects have brought life back to many, making the region a highly desirable destination.
An 18th-century Italian farm building constructed to shelter livestock has been transformed into a comfortable home inspired by the textures and atmosphere of the surrounding countryside.
Divided into four parts, the book starts with the Natural Charm section looking at more rustic style properties with earthy decorative colour palettes.
A substantial Italian farmhouse is restored and furnished in minimalist style while being sympathetic to the building’s history in Hidden Homes of Tuscany & Umbria’.
Stylish Simplicity looks at modern interpretations of Tuscan style including high-ceilinged barns and converted village schools. Classic Elegance is on another level, however, with country houses restored to grand decorative designs, but still offering a warm, welcoming vibe. Idyllic Artistry shows a more eclectic, colourful approach to modern Tuscan living.
There’s plenty of advice, too, for transferring some of the design ideas to homes outside of Italy. Then again, if you can’t be bothered, booking a Tuscan or Umbrian Airbnb gets you the full, authentic experience with sunshine thrown in.
- Hidden Homes of Tuscany & Umbria, by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, photography by Chris Tubbs, Ryland Peters & Small, €37.63
I’ve never been a fan of paint effects or one of the most well-known proponents of it, Annie Sloan. But as we’re saturated in colour these days, even in our neutrals which have warmed up dramatically, getting to grips with how to find your style in it all can be challenging for the amateur decorator, amid the fear of getting it badly wrong.
Paint techniques and contrasting colour are used to emphasise the quirkiness of an English country cottage in ‘Find Your Style with Anne Sloan’.
But Sloan once said, “Good taste doesn’t require a lot of money. Paint doesn’t cost a lot of money,” which is reassuring for the amateur decorator.
Her great reveal of how to determine your style and gain confidence with paint techniques is informative and step-by-step for the detail-orientated, with the old reliable planning tool, the mood board wheeled out and much talk of scale, display and layout.
Paint techniques are used to highlight coving in a period English home, from ‘Find Your Style with Anne Sloan’.
Nine style possibilities are mooted, from French, neoclassical and Swedish Gustavian, to vintage, boho and coastal style. It’s a great read for for colour lovers, DIYers and home crafting types, but minimalists ought to look away now.
- Find Your Style with Annie Sloan by Annie Sloan, with photography by Christopher Drake, CICO Books, €29.69