Bookmarks: Style Me Vintage – Home

We’ve been looking forward to reviewing Style Me Vintage – Home by Keeley Harris. It’s just our cup of tea!

We first met Keeley a few years ago at the Vintage Home Show at Victoria Baths, a regular vintage event she curates (the next of which is happening this Sunday – 15th March).

As well as the VHS in Manchester, Keeley organises the Festival of Vintage in York, owns the Vintage Emporium – which has concessions across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. She co-runs the Vintage Academy and weekly Twitter chat #VintageBizHour with fellow vintage expert, Kate Beavis. In addition, she regularly writes for and contributes to various vintage magazines and appears on TV. Goodness knows where she found the time or the energy to write this book!

Anyhow, on to the book! If you’re only just putting your toe into the water of vintage homewares and interior decoration, this book is a great starting point.

There’s an initial overview on how to get going, writing checklists and possible sources for items.

The book then breaks down the collecting & styling into eras – the decades from the 1920s through to the 1970s. Each decade is further sub-divided into useful sections.

‘Main Design Influences’ – the external factors that filtered through to home styles – think Art Deco and Hollywood glamour in the 1920s or Pop Art and the space age in the 1960s.

‘Get the Look’ – takes the home, room by room, and advises on key furniture pieces & accessories that will help you achieve the feel and appearance of an era.

‘Details’ – those essential touches such as wall coverings, lighting and artwork.

Peppered throughout are lots of tips on what to look for and home owners’ quotes such as this from Ste & Kat, “We’re big fans of simple design and smooth lines with masses of functionality and think most classics from the Midcentury have both in bucket loads. We like to mix Midcentury with modern and classic design”. Our thoughts exactly!

If you happen to be ‘old hands’ like us, “Style Me Vintage” is equally satisfying. We love having a nose into other people’s homes. All the interiors featured within are ‘real world’ spaces; no unattainable staged sets here!

The are lots of familiar vintage items but it’s always a treat seeing how home-owners put them together and juxtapose with the new.

Towards the end of the book are chapters covering ‘Eclectic’, ‘Industrial’ and ‘Shabby Chic’ styles – popular looks that don’t sit easily into any particular decade.

There’s also a double page spread where Keeley recommends vintage shops, events and specialists that you can visit to help make your dream vintage home a reality… and we’re included – yay!!

We’d highly recommend this as a source of inspiration & information for both newbie and more experienced vintage homeware fans. Get your copy from the publishers or Amazon.

[Many thanks to Pavilion Books for the review copy]

All Booked Up!

We just wanted to give you a quick, little preview of some of the art and design books that have arrived from publishers in the past couple of weeks. We’ve got a few other blog posts already in the pipeline, but the next Bookmarks review won’t be far off!

Bookmarks: Creative Space

Today’s book review features a fascinating little read.

Creative Space – Urban Homes of Artists and Innovators by Francesca Gavin.

The book takes a peek inside the homes of creative types – artists, designers, writers, photographers etc.

…and explores the style of the spaces they inhabit.

Some people combine work & living space, whilst others keep some degree of separation between the two… but even in these cases, the taste & influences of the occupants is very interesting. How their interior spaces affect their work – and how their work affects their homes & contents.

The homes featured are located all over the world – with their unique cultural & social influences, environment and climates.

The book is quite a backlash against minimalism.

The rooms are filled with an eclectic array of furniture, completed and ongoing work projects, pieces by fellow artists, flea market finds, collections of objects, reference material and so on.

In fact, quite the antithesis of the cool, white spaces much loved by many glossy interior magazines. These spaces are inventive & spontaneous, less staged perhaps – less pristine and more chaotic in many cases.

They’re full of interest & colour.

In addition to the photos of each space, there are also Q&As from the occupants.

The narrative delves a little deeper into what makes them and their homes tick – why they’ve chosen to live where they do, any alterations they’ve made, details of their work, how they use the space etc.

There are 30 creative spaces featured – in cities such as Barcelona, Berlin, London, New York, Paris and Tokyo.

Just to highlight a few of the occupants:

Fafi – a Paris-based artist, illustrator and designer
Nicola Formichetti – a fashion director and stylist living in Shoreditch
Leah McSweeney & Rob Cristofaro – a fashion label couple who’ve made a New York loft apartment their base
Julia Schonlau – an illustrator and character designer who lives in a two-bedroom flat in Berlin
Juan Redon – a Barcelona-based architect, curator and pop collector
Yukinori Dehara – a figure illustrator, toymaker and animator in Tokyo

It’s certainly a great little book to dip in & out of – you’ll notice something new every time.

The photos full of ideas & inspiration…

…but having said that, we wouldn’t choose to live in all these homes, although there are a few that we’d definitely quite fancy!

If you’re thinking of getting yourself a copy, the book’s available from Hive and Amazon UK or USA

[Many thanks to Laurence King Publishing for the review copy]

Bookmarks: 70s Style & Design

In terms of style & design, the 1970s is sometimes dismissed as being a bit naff or as the decade that taste forgot.

This is very wide of the mark – its influence being both wide ranging and long-lasting.

This book, 70s Style & Design, by Dominic Lutyens & Kirsty Hislop clearly demonstrates this.

The decade was remarkable for its diversity – its range of cultures & counter cultures. It began with hippies & flower power and ended with punks & new wave!

There was a ‘loosened up spirit of fashion & design’ during this period. A strong sense of doing your own thing, experimentation, freedom and fun.

There were trends & fashions of course, but it never descended into a bland homogenisation.

It was a very eclectic decade in terms of style & design. Psychedelia & flower power spilled over from the 1960s; then there was the strong influence of Art Deco and Art Nouveau, nostalgic Victoriana, the folksy/back to nature style – and later on a harder edged industrial look.

It has been referred to as a decade of ‘the self’. Whether that be individuals looking towards & analysing their inner self – or an outward expression through personal appearance or living & work spaces. This resulted in a real blossoming of creativity.

The book highlights the influence of various music scenes, movements such as gay rights & women’s lib, the importance of an increasing awareness of the environment, the political & economic factors prevalent at the time, the increasing & diverse student population, the new DIY ethos in fashion & interiors, a craft renaissance – and the impact of shops such as Habitat, Mr Freedom, Biba and Granny Takes a Trip.

Divided into four chapters, From Pop to Postmodernism, Belle Epoque, Supernature and Avant Garde, the book tackles these subjects in great detail and does a remarkable job in drawing all these strands together.

The text is informative, articulate & well researched – the accompanying photographs capturing all the spirit of this fabulous decade.

The 70s isn’t a particularly well documented era in terms of style & design – this book helps redress the balance.

As well as having their own dedicated website, the authors write the Flashin’ on the 70s blog which features even more 70s (and 70s inspired) gorgeousness!

As usual, this book is available direct from the publisher, as well as Hive, Amazon and Abe Books.

[Many thanks to Thames & Hudson for this review copy]

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: book review

Bookmarks: Style Me Vintage – Home

All Booked Up!

Bookmarks: Creative Space

Bookmarks: 70s Style & Design