Her conclusion: It's not hard to create a relaxed, stylish, and comfortable home. Just a few well-considered items can completely change the feel of your space, and The Perfectly Imperfect Home reveals them all.Ranging from classics such as "A Really Good Sofa" and "Pretty Table Settings" to unusual surprises like "A Bit of Quirk" and "Cozifications," the essential elements of style are treated in witty and wonderfully useful little essays. You'll learn what to look for, whether you are at a flea market or a fancy boutique--or just mining what you already own.Celebrated artist Virginia Johnson's original watercolor illustrations bring the items and the inspiring rooms of world-famous tastemakers to vibrant life. Styling tips and simple how-tos show you techniques to put it all together to create, say, a beautifully made bed (the fast way and the fancy way), an inviting reading nook, or an effortlessly chic display of pictures.According to Deborah, the point of decorating is to create the background for the best life you can have, with all its joys and imperfections. This book will show you how.Deborah Needleman is the editor in chief of WSJ. Magazine and creator of the Off Duty section of The Wall Street Journal. She was the founding editor in chief of domino magazine and coauthor of domino: the book of decorating.Virginia Johnson's illustrations have appeared in books by Kate Spade and on textiles carried in more than one hundred stores, including Barneys, Liberty of London, and Net-A-Porter.perfectlyimperfect.com

    Born in Milan, she grew up in pre-war Italy in a privileged gentler time. When war came to Italy her family had to abandon their apartment and the city for the countryside, where in war-torn Italy the peasants still ate well, but life was dangerous. As a teenager, Anna became used to throwing herself into a ditch as attack planes flew over, and was imprisoned, twice. She arrived in England in 1949 when much of Britain was a culinary wasteland, married an Englishman, and stayed on to eventually launch a culinary revolution. Her memories of a life seen through food are vividly, hilarious preserved—from the joys of unrationed horse meat to bringing up her children while writing the cookbooks that would inspire a new generation of cooks.

    Be conquered by the greatness of the Pantheon, St Peter's or the Roman Forum, discover seemingly forgotten frescoes and ancient mosaics or amble through sun-drenched piazzas and indulge yourself at Rome's best gelaterie. Choose your own Roman adventure with this stylish guide by our resident author.Full-Color Maps—make navigating the cobbled alleys and remote quarters of Rome easy.Art & Architecture—the lowdown on the most notable monuments and hidden galleries.Best Day Trips—all the practical information you need to explore beyond the center.Discerning Reviews—from designer restaurants to family-run trattorias, we'll take you to the best of this gastronomic heartland. Who We Are At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travelers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large. What We Do We offer travelers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages. We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time. We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent. We challenge our growing community of travelers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world. We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travelers; not clouded by any other motive. WhatWe Believe We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

    In Japan, one goes there to cleanse the soul. Bathing in Japan is about much more than cleanliness: it is about family and community. It is about being alone and contemplative, time to watch the moon rise above the garden.Along with sixty full-color illustrations of the light and airy baths themselves, The Japanese Bath, delves into the aesthetic of bathing Japanese style and the innate beauty of the steps surrounding the process. The authors explain how to create a Japanese bath in your own home. A Zen meditation, the Japanese bath, indeed, cleanses the soul, and one emerges refreshed, renewed, and serene.

    Following the popularity of Cozy White Cottage, Cozy White Cottage Seasons is a beautiful, full-color photography holiday lifestyle book with easy-to-do, practical tips to make your home a welcome haven—from New Year’s Day to spring, summer, fall, and all the way through Christmas.Cozy White Cottage Seasons equips you to:Create cozy celebrations, traditions, and memories indoors and outRepurpose furniture and decor for every seasonCultivate your flair for vintage, modern, farmhouse, or a unique style all your ownDesign a hot cocoa bar—and make other seasonally cozy recipesStore and manage holiday clutterAnd so much more!In addition, you’ll find fun ideas to celebrate and decorate for: Christmas Thanksgiving Halloween Fourth of July Father’s Day and Mother’s Day Easter Valentine’s Day And any special gatheringsCozy White Cottage Seasons is a great gift for Christmas, birthdays, and Mother’s Day or as a beautiful yet practical housewarming gift.A cozy enthusiast living in an 1800s farmhouse, Liz’s design tips and wisdom have been featured on the TODAY show, Better Homes and Gardens, and Country Living. With decorating tips, fun family traditions, and doable ways to make your home inviting in every season, Liz helps you create a beautiful living space and a grateful heart all year long.Look for Liz's other cozy home décor book full of DIY inspiration, Cozy White Cottage.

    Written and compiled by Holly Becker, founder of the hugely popular design blog Decor8, and Joanna Copestick, acclaimed lifestyle writer, this intensive home dcor program combines beautiful inspiration with nuts-and-bolts how-to for stunning results. More than 500 gorgeous color photographs provide motivation while line illustrations, checklists, shortcuts, and floor plans make it easy to get started. For those looking to make the most of their home and create stylish interiors, Decorate is the start-to-finish resource to keep on the bookshelf for years to come.

    In a short amount of time her lively interiors and custom furnishings have made her one of today's most in-demand creatives. Heuman's rooms, colorful spaces enlivened by exuberant elements and poetic inspirations, capture her signature quirkiness and Scandinavian attention to detail while staying rooted in practicality. Lauded for international residential and commercial projects, Heuman has also garnered praise for her growing collection of bespoke fabrics, wallpaper, lighting, homewares, and furniture.This beautifully crafted volume presents Heuman's innovative approach in book form for the very first time. Organized according to design principle, each chapter offers fresh ways to think about decorating a home, finding your voice, making ordinary details extraordinary, and forging a truly unique space. Vibrant photographs showcase standout properties--including several London town houses and a Nantucket vacation residence--that are brought to life by cheerful color palettes, unexpected contrasts, and a d�gag� use of bold patterns and texture. With original drawings and whimsical graphic details, this new tome is a dynamic look into the ethos and work of one of the most exciting names in interior design today.

    These botanical heirlooms, such as flowering almond, blackberry lily, and night-blooming cereus, usually can't be found in neighborhood garden centers; about the only way to obtain a passalong plant is to beg a cutting from the fortunate gardener who has one. In this lively and sometimes irreverent book (don't miss the chapter on yard art), Steve Bender and Felder Rushing describe 117 such plants, giving particulars on hardiness, size, uses in the garden, and horticultural requirements. They present this information in the informal, chatty, and sometimes humorous manner that your next-door neighbor might use when giving you a cutting of her treasured Confederate rose. And, of course, because they are discussing passalong plants, they note the best method of sharing each plant with other gardeners. Because you might not spy a banana shrub or sweet pea in your neighborhood, the authors list mail-order sources for the heirloom plants described. They also give tips on how to organize your own plant swap. Although the authors live in and write about the South, many of the plants they discuss will grow elsewhere. from the book Amid the clamor of press releases touting the newest, improved versions of this bulb or that perennial, what keeps people interested in old-fashioned plants? Nostalgia, for one thing. It's hard not to feel a special fondness for that Confederate rose, night-blooming cereus, or alstroemeria lovingly tended by your grandmother when you were a child. Such heirloom plants evoke memories of your first garden, of relatives and neighbors that have since passed on, of prized bushes you accidentally annihilated with your bicycle. Recall the time you first received a particular plant, and you'll recall the person who gave it to you.

    What she found and learned to love was a new life in a beautiful and celebrated Palladian villa in the countryside outside Venice. In Palladian Days, she takes us with her on a journey of discovery and transformation as she and her husband, Carl, become the bemused owners of Villa Cornaro, built in 1552 by the great Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio called by Town & Country one of the ten most influential buildings in the world.Sally Gable writes lovingly of the villa as she and Carl settle in and slowly uncover its history, the lives of its former inhabitants, and its architectural pleasures. She tells of her early days there, learning to speak Italian with the help of her engaging new neighbors in the tiny town that surrounds the villa, Piombino Dese, a place both traditional and busily modern with its old-fashioned street markets and its burgeoning economy.She writes with beguiling humor about learning to take care of a Renaissance palace with its 104 frescoes and 44 pairs of shutters (all of which have to be opened and closed daily). She tells of baffling encounters with the soprintendente di belle arti, who must give permission for even the smallest repair to the Italian national treasure Sally and Carl call home. And she describes the life she and her husband create for the villa itself, allowing it to be used for concerts, ballet performances, even as a movie set.In Palladian Days, we enter with Sally and Carl into their engrossing adventure, following along as they are woven ever more deeply into the fabric of small-town Italy and into its larger national history. Their story will delight travelers and would-be travelers; all who are fascinated by architecture, by art, by the powerful essence of place—and, especially, house-dreamers everywhere.

    Decorating ideas to achieve a cottage look that’s clean, simple, and light.New and remodeled homes that incorporate cottage style via architectural features and easy decorating choices.Secrets to creating harmony and simplicity with paint, furniture, fabrics, and accessories.Examples of projects in the country, the woods, suburbia, and oceanfront locations.Practical ideas and decorating techniques to create a comfortable getaway look.Effective color schemes that achieve a serene palette.

    She explores far-flung destinations and captures the essence of each in small details, exotic color palettes, exquisite textures, and traditional crafts. Along the way, she shows readers how to incorporate these elements into interiors and how to replicate the ideas in their own spaces. Overflowing with imaginative ideas from across the globe with breathtaking photos of each destination accompanied by examples of gorgeous real-life interiors, plus tips for applying the looks at home Nomad promises to serve as the ultimate lookbook for designers and wanderers the world over.

    and stop worrying about everything being perfectly in its place.For all those who choose to live "imperfectly" with the messy things they love, this book shows how to do so creatively, happily, and with considerable style ideas from leading designers. A beautiful and inspiring volume, A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of A Misspent Life focuses on living well with everything that makes a house a home. If you have been influenced by the picturesquely cluttered studios of Pablo Picasso or Alexander Calder, or by the art- and book-filled house of Vanessa Bell, this unique style book will stimulate you with its creative ideas.This volume explores how real-life tastemakers (photographers, textile designers, fashion designers, writers, artists) integrate their life and interiors to live well with their passions, histories, conveniences, and inconveniences. In inspiring essays, Mary Randolph Carter muses on such key housekeeping concerns as clutter versus mess; open windows; and unmade beds. Combining practical tips with liberating philosophy—"Don’t scrub the soul out of your home"; "Make room for what you love"—this volume celebrates living beautifully and happily, not messily. Lavishly illustrated with intimate photographs of different living spaces, Carter exalts in the beauty of imperfection and in living perfectly in our "imperfect" homes. Life isn’t perfect—why should your house be?

    Packed with travel information, including listings, deals, and insider tips:― CANDID LISTINGS of hundreds of places to eat, sleep, drink, and feel like a local― RELIABLE MAPS to help you get around cities, towns, and the countryside― Tips on how to SAVE EUROS without missing out on the full European experience― A wealth of study and work OPPORTUNITIES within each European country― INSIDER TIPS on the best nightlife from Dublin to Dubrovnik―A useful PHRASEBOOK to help you say "I'm lost" in fifteen different languages

    Introducing art in its international context, this accessible book explores core issues about how art is made, interpreted, and displayed, without any of the unnecessary terminology. Divided into themes, A Short Book About Art presents new ways of thinking about the relationship between artists and their work, as well as fresh comparisons between works of art from different periods and places. Thought-provoking and stimulating, it is the ideal companion for anyone who wants to learn about art without a dictionary in their hands.

    This book describes how they restored each room of this well-worn house and resurrected its abandoned gardens. It also includes simple decorating solutions.