Books—they’ll never be out-of-style here

(This was my Leaf-Chronicle article on Sunday, May 15th)

Remember a few weeks ago when I stated: “I consider an orderly house representative of time misspent.” Now, take a look at the title of a book I saw on the shelf of a local (but not downtown—hint, hint) book store: A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of A Misspent Life: How to live creatively with collections, clutter, work, kids, pets, art, etc... and stop worrying about everything being perfectly in its place. (Yes—that’s the title!) I thought, this is my missing since birth, twin sister, but then I saw her picture and thought—I could only be so lucky! The author’s name is Mary Randolph Carter and I’m sorry to say this is my first encounter with her. I picked-up the last copy, but I’m sure you can have Books-a-Million or Borders order it for you. (You’ll note I’m not recommending you purchase it online—shop local!) She has another one I’ve asked them to order for me, entitled: For the Love of Old: Living with Chipped, Frayed, Tarnished, Faded, Tattered, Worn and Weathered Things that Bring Comfort, Character and Joy to the Places We Call Home.

I have to say, the other reason I think we’re related is her verbosity! She says a mouthful, too.

Well, this got me thinking . . . I always talk about my magazine addiction, but rarely bring-up my love for books. Boy, do we have some books! If ever the book I can hold in my hand disappears, I’m not sure what I’d do. I am not interested in those book tablets—at all. I’m a book holder. I love the paper stock, glossy pages are nice, but more and more I prefer matte. I don’t dog ear pages, but anything flat and within reach has been or will be enlisted as a book mark. In fact, those little solicitation cards that fall out of my magazines are my favorite recycled bookmarks! I prefer hard cover (when I can afford it) and I will almost always buy something related to home décor. Novels, on the other hand, are almost exclusively ingested in the form of books-on-tape.

Since I’ve often posted about repurposing items and about flea market decorating, I thought I’d share the titles of some of my favorite reference books for these topics. So, here you are:

I love Junk Beautiful: Room by Room Makeovers with Junk Market Style by Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer. These ladies have an eye for repurposing nearly anything they can get their hands on. Sue then partnered with Kimberly Melamed to write Junk Beautiful Outdoor Edition. This book has really inspired me to take our back yard to a new “junk” level! Next, I would recommend anything by Rachel Ashwell, but my favorite is Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting and Decorating Guide, because it’s her “how to” book.

Those are just a few of my “go to” favorites. I’d love to hear about your favorite home decorating books—be sure to visit my blog where you can mention the titles in your comments. Next week, my cookbook addiction!

Thanks for your indulgence!