While the internet is a never-ending source of inspiration, one of my favourite ways to get the creative juices flowing is by curling up with a good book. As you can imagine, I have a fair share of interior design books stacked around my office and towered on my nightstand so I wanted to start a new feature here on the site– A Book By My Bed. This feature will give you a peek at some of my favourite interior design tomes and will hopefully introduce you to some amazing designers.
January’s indulgence is Styled by Emily Henderson.
Why did I buy this book?
Styled was recommended to me by a trusty Amazon pop-up box and I couldn’t resist it as I am fascinated by the ways in which stylists prune and primp and pull things together to look so perfect, and this is certainly true of Henderson! Emily Henderson has not just built a phenomenal blog but also has a great vlog, which has resulted in her now being a presenter and all-around hot property stylist in the US, so how could I resist her book and the opportunity to learn all her secrets?! (No pressure on styling these photos!!)
So, what did I think of the book?
I loved Henderson’s quirky and approachable way of writing and reading this book feels like you’re getting great advice from a fun friend. That being said, I did struggle with her Home Style Quiz as the selected answers bore no resemblance to my life; my favourite question was No. 3 – A Party at your Place Might Look Like This: with 6 multiple-choice answers that made me realise that I’m just not cool enough to hang with her crowd. However, the stroke of genius is the “Style Wheel” which really helps in blending the right two styles together and provides an easy way to describe a lot of my own style and taste.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I thought that Henderson made the principles of styling your home really approachable and easy to execute. The book covers individual rooms with a breakdown of how to style each of the spaces. It also has a really useful photo tips that pop-up now and then and give handy little bits of advice about how to style something for a photo and not the naked eye.
The houses featured in the book have a fantastic vibe but are also real homes full of stuff that reflected the owner and their interests. The photography by David Tsay is fresh and beautiful and makes this a real page-turner.
Would I recommend this book?
I loved this book and would highly recommend it. You too could fall in love with Emily Henderson’s style and personality!! 4 out 5 stars!
So tell me, have you read this book before? What did you think of it? Do you have a favourite styling book that I should read? What do you like think of this new Smartstyle feature? Please feel free to leave a comment below to share your thoughts.
