Most Saturdays I wake up before Ian, usually around 7 o'clock. Since he doesn't get up until 9 or so I have 2 hours to completely dork out in my pjs. Usually I spend the morning on my big sofa, reading magazines & drinking coffee. I cut out pictures of things I like and paste them into what I call my Look Book. Another favorite activity is zoning out looking at home interiors books, of which I have quite a few. Last night I got a new one and as a result have had a very pleasant Saturday morning fantasizing and drooling over its loveliness.
I have never been to LA but this book is giving me serious neighborhood envy. It is called Bohemian Modern: Living in Silver Lake by Barbara Bestor:
This lady is the architect and aesthetic appreciator of my dreams. Take a look inside at my favorite house in the book:
The book is bound in the material used to bind old textbooks and/or library books back in the 80's and it has the most delightful illustrations that make LA living seem so relaxed and carefree. Not one fake boob in the whole book! I picked this up at Anthropologie but I am sure it can be found in your local well-curated bookstore.
Another interiors book that inspires me is one that Ian bought me a long long time ago at a Goodwill in Portland called The International Book of Lofts. I have been looking at this book for years and dreaming of the day I can implement some of these great ideas into my living space:
Some of the lofts in the book are really heinously dated and 80's loking but then there is that glorious kitchen that looks like a shrine to Guadalupe and I go all soft inside. That kitchen belonged to Design star Phillipe Starck back before he got famous making lucite neo-classical chairs.
The last book I will share with you is my favorite that I own, mostly for the volume of photos contained within. It is Terence Conran's House Book from 1974. I got this at the Brown Elephant when I first moved to Chicago and had only a rusty lawn chair and futon mattress on which to rest my weary bones. This book has inspired nearly every purchase of furniture, art or knicknack I've made since living in Chicago. In addition to its glorious photos and layouts it happens to be a very encouraging and engaging read. I often find myself thinking of a quote from the introduction:
"Two good chairs, a table, a bed, pillows, sheets and duvet, a heavy frying-pan and saucepan, and an excellent kitchen knife, one wooden spoon, two plates, two knives and forks and a couple of mugs and a teapot are almost enough to start your home. Certainly, this sparsness will allow you top consider how you want your home to be planned, and encourages you to think out carefully what you really need and want, before you rush out to the shops...The purpose of this book is to help you come to all these decisions. But what no book can do is to ensure that your home reflects your own personality. That's your job."
Here are some images that caught my eye today (every time I look at this book something new jumps out at me):
Now if I could just find 3 precocious children in 70's knitwear at the thrift store to complete my dining room!
