I love design books. The shelves in our office are stuffed with our favorites, and the ones that I can't live without are in the cabinet behind my desk in my home office. I've found a couple of new design books to be particularly inspiring....
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Joe Nye e-mailed me about his book signing at Hollyhock for his new book Flair.
Joe is not only an amazingly talented interior designer, he is also a fantastic party planner. His attention to detail in all of his projects, whether they be a home or an event, is beyond compare.
In the first chapter of Flair, Joe outlines the elements of an elegant table setting, including dish ware, flatware, silver, and table linens.
In the second chapter, Joe focuses on Paper. We get to go on a shopping trip with Joe to see how he selects every detail of an invitation including the paper, the printing, the wording, the envelope, and even the stamp.
He also shows us how to design a simple, uncomplicated invitation using thick, white stock and a red Sharpie!
At the end of the chapter, Joe also gives tips on place cards, menus and party favors.
Chapter 3 is filled with all of Joe's secrets about flowers, including sourcing, selection, presentation, and Joe's personal favorites. I learned so much in this chapter about how to prepare the flowers as well as how to select interesting containers.
To complete our journey, Joe concludes Flair with a chapter that details all of the essentials necessary for creating a memorable get-together.
Filled with helpful advice and gorgeous images, Flair has become my go to resource for party planning! Thank you Joe!
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Because my daughter Leila and I are starting to gather inspiration for her new bedroom design, Susanna Salk's new book Room for Children is getting a lot of use at our home!
Leila is enjoying leafing through Susanna's book and putting Post-its on all of the images that she loves.
Leila found so many design elements that she loved in the images that were included in the forward by Kelly Wearstler. Leila's Post-it on this image said: "Bedding. Love!"
While Leila and I both love the images in Room for Children, I also enjoyed reading Kelly Wearstler's thoughts on her children's room designs.
I think we both were drawn to this book because the rooms aren't typical "kids' rooms". They reflect the abundance of options that are now available for children.
Leila is much more design focused than I was at her age. At 10, she wants to move on from the typical pink girl florals. She loves the idea of incorporating some modern elements into the design of her room, like the side table and desk chair in this room designed by Allison Tick.
When Leila saw this invitation to Susanna Salk's book signing at Hollywood at Home on June 10th, she begged me to take her. Hope to see you there!
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There are a couple more things that I want to share with you before the kids and I start planting the seeds we just bought from Renee's (thank you everyone for that tip!).....
Steve and I are working on simplifying our bedroom design, so we've decided to sell some of our furnishings at the Santa Monica Airport Flea Market tomorrow (including rugs, paintings, chairs, lighting, etc...), Saturday May 23rd! Charlie, Nick, and Leila will be helping us all day, and the wonderful Kelly, who manages our Giannetti Home Store will be there too (Thank you Kelly!!!).
Please stop by and say "hello", if you are in the area. I think you'll love the great things you can find at my favorite flea market. I'm sure I'll end up buying more than I sell ;)
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Last but definitely not least, I want to thank my blogging friend Julia at Hooked on Houses for including my Kitchen Garden Post in her weekend round-up!
Check out all of Julia's weekend links here.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xo
Brooke
If you would like help creating the home of your dreams, e-mail me about our design on-line services.
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