Inspire Me! My Favorite Design Books and Recommendations

Grab your copy of Heidi Caillier: Memories of Home

Somehow I ended up with 2 copies of this book and I’m not mad about it. One of my favorite designers to follow, I LOVE the use of color and pattern mixing in Heidi’s spaces. If I want to be pushed outside my comfort zone and find interesting and unique but also timeless color pallets, I head here.

Grab your copy of Interiors: Styled by Mieke ten Have

One of my Christmas gifts this past year. Ugh, I love this book SO MUCH. The styling is incredible. I’ve been following Mieke on Instagram for a bit and when I saw previews of this book I just had to see more and add it to my collection. I knew it would become a favorite design book of mine. Thanks, Mom!

Grab your copy of Frederic: The Last Word in Chic

Another Christmas gift I received from my mom this past year is the book Frederic Magazine put out. I’ve purchased a few of their magazines when I can find them in my local Barnes and Noble and have loved them. They have been a source of fresh inspiration in the sea of magazine staples I’ve collected over the years. I’ve excitedly skimmed through and can’t wait to take a deeper dive.

Grab your copy of Sacred Spaces: Everyday People and the Beautiful Homes Created Out of Their Trials, Healing, and Victories

I love following Carley on Instagram. Her feed has some of the dreamiest spaces I’ve ever seen. What I love about her book is that it focuses on the history and the story of the people she’s featured and how those stories have shaped the design of their spaces. Making them true reflections of them.

Grab your copy of Stamps & Stamps: Style & Sensibility

I instantly fell in love with this book when I first flipped through it. It steps you through each featured home. Beautifully designed but approachable and comfortable spaces with lots of layers. There are so many spaces I want to curl up in with a good book and never leave. A must-add to your collection!

Grab your copy of The Colorful Past: Edward Bulmer and The English Country House

Lots of beautiful stately homes throughout this book with gorgeous textiles, stunning collections of antiques, and of course, pops of bold, rich colors. This is the kind of book you go back to a discover something new each and every time.

Grab your copy of Period Style

This book walks you through different periods of design, like the Victorian Age, and focuses on the elements that make up each. The history, the color palettes, furnishings, and more. It’s the author’s hope that with this knowledge and images for reference, you’ll have confidence in undertaking the restoration or renovation of your space.

Grab your copy of Enduring Southern Homes

Full of beautiful traditional spaces. This book is a fun one to flip through for inspiration. It’s one you’ll want to deep dive though to study each space in more detail and read the designer’s notes, tips, and tricks on each design.

Grab your copy of Perfect English Style: Creating Rooms That Are Comfortable, Pleasing, and Timeless

This book is like a cozy hug and is truly one of my favorite design books for inspiration. Beautifully designed spaces that invite you in and beckon you to stay awhile. Lived in and approachable design, these are the types of layered and eclectic spaces I strive to create in our home.

Grab your copy of Inspirational Interiors: Classic English Interiors from Colefax and Fowler

If you haven’t picked up on it, I have a thing for design books about classic English style and this one fits the bill. The image opposite the forward alone made my jaw drop with the pattern drenching. This book takes a look at color in a room as well as the elements that make it up such as the walls, windows, furnishings, and furniture.

Grab your copy of At Home in the English Countryside: Designers and Their Dogs

What’s not to love about a design book featuring designers in their own English country homes with their canine best friends? I have a couple of books by Susanna Sulk and they are not only inspiring in the content and designs they share but also in the beautiful details selected for the inside front and back covers of the book.

Grab your copy of Arriving Home: A Gracious Sothern Welcome

Another great design book with loads of inspiring traditional spaces with layered designs. Lots of colors, pattern play, and beautiful collections on display.

Grab your copy of Interiors

This design book takes a look at 8 decorative styles and the decisions and elements that went into the creation of the design. I like to flip through and study this book when I’m designing a room and I want to see aspects of the design have stood the test of time.

Grab your copy of Colefax & Fowler: The Best In English Interior Decoration

Although a bit older (printed in 1989) with darker images than the light and bright we are used to seeing today, this book discusses the history of how ColeFax and Fowler came to be. It explores the hallmarks of Colefax and Fowler’s design in various spaces, as well as how the firm has evolved.

Grab your copy of Blue & White Living

If you’re a lover of blue & white, then this book is a must-add to your collection. Each chapter explores spaces designed exclusively or predominately with the color palette. My favorite though is the chapter on blue & white collections. It’s drool-worthy!

When I heard this book was coming out I couldn’t preorder it fast enough. One of my favorite designers to follow on Instagram and probably the only design book I’ve read cover to cover. A MUST if you look color, pattern mixing, layered, collected spaces. New and old. The stories are just as good as the designs.

I found this book at HomeGoods when visiting my mom and realized that it was by a creator of a favorite Instagram account. This book is packed with color and pattern. Collected, layered, imperfectly perfect spaces. Everything I want in a design book.

A recent find. I didn’t read the title closely and it caught me by surprise when it arrived. Thinner than I was expecting, it’s like a hard-covered magazine and I’m a sucker for a beautiful magazine. Lots of beautiful images of English spaces to flip through. It’s like having a physical Pinterest in my hands.

Another a favorite interior design account I love to follow on Instagram and an immediate pre-order when I heard this book was coming out. I could Filled with beautiful English interiors. I could study the details of these rooms for hours.

My first of Gil’s books that won’t be my last. A look at the architecture and design of the homes he’s created on the east coast. Homes that reflect and support those that live within its’ walls and how you can apply these principles and ideas in your home.