At Home with Town and Country

We wait with bated breath every month for  our hot-off-the-press, glossy copies of Town and Country to arrive in the mail slot. Every issue overflows with design inspiration and fantastic writing. So imagine our excitement at finding a book that could tide us over when the stretch between monthly issues feels like it’s getting a little long. The second to last photo with all the bookshelves is my favorite. A room where I can be surrounded by books is my dream. What’s your dream room?

Thanks to Decor Arts for the photos. If you want this beauty to adorn your coffee table, it’s available at Amazon.

Tabletop Tuesday: Perfect Porches

If you’re like us, your porch is one of your favorite rooms. Because some are big, some are small and they receive various amounts of exposure to the elements, designing these spaces can be a little trickier than decorating the average room. Fortunately, Paula S. Wallace has written Perfect Porches to provide a little inspiration whether you want your outdoor room to be casual, formal, modern or traditional. And, as is the reason we love books so much, even if you don’t use a lick of advice in the book, it is a great way to accessorize one of the indoor living areas in your house. Thanks to The Post and Courier and The Constant for this peek inside the pages. Enjoy!

Tabletop Tuesday: Rooms to Inspire in the City

New York, LA, Paris, London, Jakarta… Okay, so we live in North Carolina, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t appreciate — and adopt — elements of big-city style. Annie Kelly and photographer Tim Street-Porter have compiled some of the most beautiful and tasteful projects from big name designers such as Muriel Brandolini, Peter Dunham, Jonathan Adler, and Mary McDonald in their gorgeous book Rooms to Inspire in the City. Special tips on tight spaces, especially bathrooms and kitchens, make this book essential for those in the city, but universal design concepts make it a great find for anyone with fabulous taste. Thanks to Stylebeat for sharing the sample photos from this book:

Tabletop Tuesday: Room For Children

Of all the rooms in a house to decorate, a nursery or child’s room can be both the most fun and the most difficult. Creating a room that looks like a child, but is mature enough to grow with them, is age-appropriate but still jives with the decor of the rest of your home and has furniture that is both usable and chic can be nothing short of exhausting. Sure, you could just order a pre-matched set from Pottery Barn Baby and call it a day, but what fun would that be? When it comes to designing a baby’s room that is both functional and fabulous, Susanna Salk walks the walk. In her book Room for Children: Stylish Spaces for Sleep and Play, Salk displays a bevy of photographs that are bound to inspire. Check out these beautiful examples of what’s inside.

Tabletop Tuesday: Island Life

Who doesn’t dream, every now and then, of ditching his or her day job for the island life. For most of us, this idea remains just that — a dream. For India Hicks and David Flint Wood, on the other hand, the fantasy became a reality. Forgoing the rat race for the Bahamas, the model/advertising executive power couple took on a new project: decorating. Three houses and one hotel later, Island Life was born — not to mention three beautiful babies. You can’t look at this gorgeous book without wanting to take a vacation or, at the very least, wanting to add some island flair to your own home. Enjoy this fabulous peek inside!

Thanks to Lime in the Coconut for the photos!

Tabletop Tuesday: Carribean Houses

In a place that is known for its beautiful beaches and crystal-clear water, it might be a surprise to see a Caribbean book devoted to architecture and interior design. But, in his book Caribbean Houses, Michael Connors proves that there is a lot more to look at in the Caribbean than just sand. Connors, a West Indian decorative arts scholar, details the historically significant homes in the Spanish Antilles, the Dutch Leewards, the English Islands, the French Lesser Antilles and the Danish Virgin Islands.

But even if you’re not a scholar, the unique architecture and stunning design combining old and new, laid-back casual and sophisticated chic, is a real treat. We think the photos are simply divine. We think you’ll agree.

Thanks to Jamaica Byles Blog and My Design Secrets for the beautiful photos below.

Tabletop Tuesday: The Home Within Us

Home might be where we live but, sometimes, if we’re very, very lucky, it becomes such an expression of who we are that it is a part of us. In The Home Within Us, authors Bobby McAlpine and Susan Sully display 25 homes that exemplify the inspired work of McAlpine, a principal of McAlpine Tankersley Architecture. Each home is an articulation of the family who resides there, but, if you’re like us, you’ll think you could be right at home in any of McAlpine’s designs. The pictures below are just a few in a truly remarkable collection. Thanks to McAlpine Booth & Ferrier Interiors for sharing the beautiful photos!

Tabletop Tuesday: So Chic: Glamorous Lives, Stylish Spaces

Tabletop Tuesday: So Chic

Ralph Lauren. Roberto Cavalli. SJP. (Sarah Jessica Parker!) These are people’s homes that we’d love to tour. Unfortunately, Donatella Versace and Michael Smith — other celebs featured in this book — have not invited us for dinner. Margaret Russell and the editors of Elle Decor, on the other hand, have been more than willing to let us take a peek into the way that the other half lives in their divine coffee table book So Chic: Glamorous Lives, Stylish Spaces. Here are a few of the beautiful photographs from So Chic.

Tabletop Tuesday: So Chic

Maria Beatrice and Leonardo Ferragamo’s salon screams celebrity. Everything about it is just so luscious.

Tabletop Tuesday: So Chic

We are obsessed with the chaise lounge that graces the corner of Candace Bushnell’s living room… It’s the perfect place to curl up and read her bestsellers!

Tabletop Tuesday: So Chic

SJP’s dining room in her Bridgetown weekend home epitomizes simple chic. Black and white are so well done here, and the mismatched chairs and splashes of color show that this room doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Tabletop Tuesday: So Chic

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor’s terrace is a sunny retreat. We love the bowl of lemons — it’s a perfect finishing touch.

Tabletop Tuesday: So Chic

Now this is our kind of office. Amy Fine Collins couldn’t help but get inspired in such an eclectic space.

Tabletop Tuesday: The French Room

Tabletop Tuesday: The French Room

There is nothing more chic than classic French design, and Betty Lou Phillips brings it to life in her beautiful book, The French Room. The interior pops with color, but we have to admit that sometimes it’s nice to buy a book whose front cover blends with just about any decor. Our copies are in our living rooms.

Tabletop Tuesday

Although this home is in Dallas, it is a beautiful testament to the French art of living. Designed by Clint Pearson and built by Tatum Brown Custom Homes, this home screams of elegant taste that will endure. The landscaping by the Harold Leidner Company is the perfect finishing touch.

Tabletop Tuesday

Living rooms are great, but, these days, in the U.S. anyway, it seems like we do most of our living in the kitchen. So why not have a kitchen that is worthy of being lived in? Featured in the Les Couleurs De France section of the book, this kitchen is a showcase for warm glazes, which Phillips says create the illusion of age.

Tabletop Tuesday

We love this beautiful yellow-and-white check curtain. And the antique French apothecary jars are so charming.

Tabletop Tuesday

Phillips describes blue as “a color once believed to keep all manner of misfortune away,” and, in this outdoor-themed nursery, misfortune seems to be the farthest thing from anyone’s mind. Who could be sad with a rabbit cage for a changing table?

Tabletop Tuesday

We wouldn’t mind brunching at this table, handcrafted from old walnut planks from The Old Timber Company in Dallas.

Tabletop Tuesday: Glamorous Rooms

Tabletop Tuesday: Glamorous Rooms

Designer Jan Showers’ Glamorous Rooms is an eclectic mix of old and new, relaxed and high-style, traditional and modern. This beautiful collection of photos and design advice is a treat in every sense of the word. Showers divides her work into six sections, detailing entrance halls, living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, private spaces and outdoor living, so if you’re stumped for ideas for a particular project, this book offers a wealth of inspiration.

Tabletop Tuesday: Glamorous Rooms

We love the starburst mirror in this beautiful entrance foyer. Showers advises using lamps in foyers to create a space that is inviting and welcoming for guests.

Tabletop Tuesday: Glamorous Rooms

We are obsessed with mirrored furniture, especially when it is used subtly like the mirrored accents on the bottom of the chest on left above. And the unexpected use of the animal skin rug takes the glamour up a notch.

Tabletop Tuesday: Glamorous Rooms

Light fixtures can be such a crucial focal point in a room. These unique and elegant fixtures are imposing enough not to get lost in these grand rooms but don’t overwhelm the space.

Tabletop Tuesday: Glamorous Rooms

Black and white makes a bold statement in these entrance foyers.