Decorating & Design
The 17 Best Decorating Books To Give This Holiday
Updated on December 10, 2024
Our 2024 list of the best decorating books represent the top recent releases and cover a wide range of styles: traditional British country houses, calming family homes, French apartments and tropical escapes. Each book can transport the reader, and supply inspiring decorating information for every decorphile on your list.
Shop H&H‘s 2024 list of the best decorating books to give this season!
Interiors: Styled by Mieke ten Have
This book is overflowing with inspiring tips from stylist Mieke ten Have. Divided into four seasons, this book includes rooms she has styled for designers like Stephen Sills, Mario Buatta, Rita Konig, and Victoria Hagan. Expect lush tablescapes, stunning floral arrangements and striking textiles.
Inside Paris
If you have a Francophile on your gift list, present them with an exclusive peek inside the beautiful houses of Parisian interior and fashion designers, artists and influencers. Designer Vincent Darré’s green and white striped kitchen is a stellar standout.
The House Romantic: Curating Memorable Interiors for a Meaningful Life
Style director Haskell Harris opens up the doors to her Charleston, South Carolina home, as well as 17 homes of fellow creatives and designers in the United States, the UK, and Europe.
The Slow Down: For the Love of Home
Fans of designer and HGTV personality Leanne Ford love her laid back, “imperfectly perfect” take on Modern Farmhouse style. Leanne’s second book details the renovation of a down-at-the-heels century home in Pittsburgh that her family bought after leaving L.A. Leann’s favorite place, the bright, white basement art studio is where the family can gather and create.
English Country House Style: Traditions, Secrets, and Unwritten Rules
This book breaks down the rooms and signature features (like the Boot Room and Fireplaces) that are ever present in Brit country cottages and grand estates. A chapter on ‘The Dog,’ which depicts pets lounging in damask chairs, is a surefire people pleaser.
Beach Life: Home, Heart & The Sea
Host of HGTV’s Best House on the Block, Virginia designer Lauren Liess offers a look inside her own coastal homes, as well as client projects. Her breezy decorating style is simple: knotty cyprus–panelled walls accented with neutral schemes and minimal furniture.
The Novogratz Chronicles: Lessons Learned from Twenty-Five Years of Buying and Renovating
Husband and wife design team Robert and Cortney Novogratz share their trade secrets and personal stories from over 25 years of buying, selling, and fixing up homes. Gift this book to help inform anyone interested in renovating or flipping houses.
Reside: Contemporary West Coast Houses
This Canadian book clocks over 300 images that capture the best of West Coast Modern style by architects like Arthur Erickson and Ron Thom. The houses shown are as breathtaking as the natural settings.
Country House Living: Celebrating The Beauty of Life at Home
The eight homes in this book have some of the greatest country decorating hits: painted furniture, slipcovers, beachcombed shells, quilts and spool bed frames.
Stone Houses
This book’s array of 50 stone houses (showing both the inside and out) encompass mansions and quaint cottages to illustrate the beauty of stone.
Italian Interiors: Rooms With A View
This book is a visual escape, featuring 50 of Italy’s most beautiful homes, from historic palaces in Venice and mid-century apartments in Milan to sun-filled villas in rural Sicily. Opening this book is like a mini-vacay for those contending with gray winter days.
Veere Grenney: Seeking Beauty
Renowned British interior designer Veere Grenney (he worked as a director for iconic designers Sibyl Colefax and John Fowler) takes us on an in-depth tour of his residences in Tangier; Suffolk, England and his new London home.
The Maine House II
The 30 rustic cottages in this book are teeming with character and quirkiness, including a decommissioned lighthouse, former hotel and boat shed. Passed down over time yet remarkably unchanged, the preservation of these family retreats is poetic in scope.
Elizabeth Roberts Architects: Collected Stories
New York–based AD100 architect Elizabeth Roberts’ first book compiles photographs, sketches, and fictional vignettes to showcase her award-winning work. This book includes 18 projects, including chic city townhouses and brownstones, contemporary mountain retreats, and a restored country farmhouse.
Home at Last: Enduring Design for the New American House
American architect Gil Schafer is sought-after for his takes on contemporary traditional architecture. The book includes homes he has designed in the mist-covered Hudson Valley, a bluff above Lake Champlain, and the coast of Maine.
The Love of Home: Interiors For Beauty, Balance and Belonging
Illinois designer Kate Marker packs a ton of practical advice into this book, revealing her secrets for designing a home that inspires connection. Her own Italianate home is serene, with a calming neutral palette and timeless furniture and finishes.
Timeless By Design: Designing Rooms with Comfort, style, and a Sense of History
This debut book by Boston designer Nina Farmer features 9 classic projects, from a stone-walled ‘30s colonial to a beach bungalow on Martha’s Vineyard, and Nina’s own circa 1850 federal-style brownstone in Beacon Hill.