books, DIY, inspiration

Reading for the Weekend / Weekendowe czytanie

During an all-day shopping spree yesterday, where I searched through half of London to get all the stuff needed for my Diploma in Professional Interior Design which is about to start, I bought a book and a magazine which I recommend a lot:

 Small Spaces: Making the Most of the Space You Have - by Rebecca Tanqueray and Chris Everard
Small Spaces: Making the Most of the Space You Have - by Rebecca Tanqueray and Chris Everard

Firstly: Small Spaces: Making the Most of the Space You Have. I really like this book as altough some spaces / floorplans perhaps are not the same as our flats and houses, it is very inspirational, and most importanly – offers a lot of ingenious storage solutions! Focusing on storage and multifunctional furniture, it is a good buy especially for someone who is not afraid of experimenting or DIY (or spending some money on professionals) to turn some of the ideas into reality.

The second buy is the Livingetc October issue:

Livingetc October 2009 issue
Livingetc October 2009 issue

Yes, I admit it – I bought it because of the stunning cover (I just LOVE yellow and grey and patterns!!). Yes, I admit also that this is NOT a magazine for decorating on a budget. But – it’s cutting edge and provides loads of inspiration and GOSH! I don’t remember when was the last time I loved every page of a magazine! It is just stunning… check out especially:

  • the ‘Living With A Flatscreen TV‘ section showing how to blend yout TV into your room using very original solutions,
  • the ‘Modern Romance‘ section (Alex! watch out some of that might inspire your room 🙂 )
  • and the astonishing ‘7 ways we boosted our space’ house presentation with super-smart and pretty DIY solutions for both storage and flexibility (furniture on wheels as an example). And – believe it or not – they downsized the house to make more use of the garden and outside space.

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Na wczorajszych calodniowych zakupach, gdy przelecialam z mezem pol Londynu starajac sie znalezc wszystkie materialy potrzebne do mojej nowej szkoly 🙂 (przypominam bom dumna:) – dyplom profesjonalnego projektanta wnetrz) natknelam sie na ksiazke ‘Small spaces‘ (czyli Male wnetrza) oraz pazdziernikowe wydanie magazynu Livingetc – no i oba druki mnie powalily 🙂

Small spaces to naprawde ciekawa ksiazka pokazujaca faktycznie male przestrzenie (w przeciwienstwie do niektorych innych wydawnictw) i jest bardzo inspirujaca, ale co najwazniejsze – skupia sie na wszelkiego rodzaju schowkach i sposobach przechowywania, a takze na wielofunkcyjnych meblach i sprzetach ktore sprawiaja ze mieszkanie na malej przestrzeni moze byc tak komfortowe jak w duzym domu. Swietna ksiazka zwlaszcza dla tych ktorzy nie boja sie projektow ‘zrob to sam’ badz tez moga wydac troche pieniazkow na specjaliste, gdyz wiekszosc rozwiazan jest na wymiar (podstawowa zasada zagospodarowywania malych przestrzeni).

Z kolei Livingetc wydanie pazdziernikowe zaszokowalo mnie tym, ze wszystko mi sie w nim podoba. Nie pamietam kiedy ostatni raz mialam taka gazete w rece. Przyznaje, nie jest to gazeta ‘oszczednosciowa’, ale ile w niej inspiracji! Wystarczy popatrzec na okladke ktora ma boskie polaczenie szarego z zoltym i duzymi wzorami. Mniam 🙂 Proponuje zwlaszcza artykuly o Nowoczesnym Romantyzmie (Ola! zdjecia niedlugo do Ciebie dojda :), sposobach umieszczenia plazmy tak by nie byla glownym elementem wystroju pokoju, oraz prezentacje domu, ktory o dziwo – zostal zmniejszony 🙂 po to by miec wiekszy ogrod i polaczenie z natura. Dom jest rowniez bardzo ciekawy pod wzgledem zabudowy, a takze elastycznosci rozmieszczenia mebli (kanapa na kolkach i tym podobne). POLECAM!

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art in interiors, books, inspiration

Interior design books

Another three books joined my interior design-themed collection yesterday, courtesy of T.K. Maxx (read: for much less than RRP):

1. The Colour Book: Use the Healing Power of Colour to Transform Your Lifeby Lori Reid

A psychological take on the power of color in interiors and how to harness it to your advantage. Also, nice intro about colors in general (colors of light vs. pigment colors, etc.) and 12 color cards for conducting a personality test. For the interested, it discusses the energy of color and its healing influence on chakras.

The Colour Book: Use the Healing Power of Colour to Transform Your Life - by Lori Reid
The Colour Book: Use the Healing Power of Colour to Transform Your Life - by Lori Reid

2. At Home With Art [Illustrated] by Tiddy Rowan

One of my ambition is to make art a natural element of interiors. Whether paintings by famous artists, or vintage posters, art beautifies and adds soul to any space. We face numerous problems when dealing with art, though – what to choose? How much to spend? How to hang it to its best advantage? But most importantly – no one wants to live in a gallery. How then do you get to be at ease with art, and make it manifest your personal taste? I hope this book will touch upon those questions and thus enrich my knowledge of art in interiors.

At Home With Art (Illustrated) - by Tiddy Rowan
At Home With Art (Illustrated) - by Tiddy Rowan

3. Home: A Practical Style Guideby Kerryn Harper

Giving overview of 10 interior design styles and asking questions about your preferences, the book aims to establish which one suits you best. To be honest, having looked through almost all of it, I had to glance back on the inside cover to make sure this book was published in this century. To be honest, not all of the photos work with my taste (especially the French chic and Scandinavian – I personally would have seen those chapters differently), but hey, the book aims at giving an overview, and it does (do not think it covers all the possibilities, though – far from that). The narrative is better, though, and some comments / tips are certainly valuable.

Home: A Practical Style Guide - by Kerryn Harper
Home: A Practical Style Guide - by Kerryn Harper

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