books Archives - Letters from EuroLux

We love living with antiques and heirlooms and vintage decor, and our customers who buy antique furniture in our online store also enjoy collecting and displaying these unique pieces.

This is why we were delighted when we found this book called Past Present: Living with Heirlooms and Antiques. Author Susan Sully's book shows how to blend heirlooms and antiques into contemporary homes in a beautiful way that is easy to live with.

Antiques and Heirlooms Tell a Story

As Sully says: "Antiques add the touch of time and the human hand. Every dented baby cup, mended tablecloth, perfectly or imperfectly preserved piece of silver or porcelain tells a story that began long ago and hasn’t ended yet. There are no rules about living with them, except to take what’s old and keep it young by making it part of daily life."

Every piece of antique furniture that we find in Europe and ship back to the USA certainly has a story behind it, and it is a joy to see these gorgeous hand-crafted antiques start a new chapter of their story in our customers' homes. You can see for yourself how good they look in our mini tours of customer homes in our series of Customer Spotlights.

Design Ideas Galore

Sully's book shows examples of 20 houses to illustrate how the past can meet the present in her guide to incorporating antiques and heirlooms into every kind of interior design scheme, including more contemporary looks. In the photo above, beautiful antique furniture like the painted Florentine chest are mixed with a contemporary leather sofa, a 20th century Lucite table and an exotic zebra rug! One of the key tricks in living with antiques today is to be brave about mixing and matching objects from different eras and in different styles. As we can see, the eclectic mix works perfectly!

Sully's book also shows how to pull together traditionally-inspired interiors that aren’t fussy or stiff, For example, this kitchen looks so welcoming and cozy for a family gathering. Although there are many antique and vintage pieces here, the bolt of teal blue color gives a firmly contemporary touch. Another of Sully's tricks is to change finishes and upholstery to give them new life, or to combine objects in unusual juxtapositions.

An Amazing Dining Room

Sully also takes it upon herself to show how to set inviting tables, like this formal dining room with antique furniture which features a clever display of artichokes in classic European style. She also gives hints on how to display collections creatively. The 20 houses featured in the book range from a converted 1915 fire station in Alabama, to a Greek Revival mansion in New Orleans. What a terrific celebration of living with antique furniture and heirloom pieces!

Aimee owns EuroLuxHome.com with her husband and best friend, Greg. Aimee sources amazing antique furniture, vintage lighting, & high-quality reproduction furniture to help her customers decorate their homes in a unique way. She loves her 8 (you read that right) fuzzy children and is renovating a 1920s bungalow in South Carolina. Find us on Facebook or connect with EuroLux on Google+. Or you can sign up here to receive this blog in your inbox.

Who doesn't wish they could live in a French Country house? If we can't actually move to France to live in the beautiful rolling countryside, then we can at least recreate this timeless and charming style in our home decor. The French Country look is elegant but still comfortable, welcoming and easy to live with. These recently published books explore what gives your home the French Country look and summon up the easy-going Country House style.

French Country Style Cottage

Author Courtney Allison shows the story of how she renovated her 1940's cottage in California with a romantic interpretation of French Country style. The rural cottage had been abandoned before Allison brought her magic touch to it, filling it with a combination of rustic and refined element to evoke the feeling of a French Country home.

Allison includes antique furniture in her home... of course! Antiques and vintage pieces are important to this look to give the romantic aged effect of heirlooms and things collected over the years. Other key elements include a muted color palette and fixtures such as vintage door knobs. Allison also believes that every room should have a beautiful chandelier! We agree with you, Allison!

French Country: Collected & Timeless Charm

More than 100 photographs of genuine French homes are sure to inspire readers with plenty of ways to add the French Country look to their own homes.

The dreamy color palettes, antique furniture, vintage styling and gorgeous details add up to a wonderful sense of visual delight and relaxed living, As well as interiors, the book explores the open-air lifestyle in French gardens too.

Nora Murphy's Country House Style: Making your Home a Country House

Although Murphy's book doesn't focus solely on French Country style, she does show readers the universal elements of the comforting and laid-back country living look. These translate to any country house influenced interior. Murphy shows how she has used the style in her own home as well as in other homes, from the city to the village, from the sea to the woods and the mountains.

Sometimes it is the little things that make all the big difference in a room. Murphy's book is packed with inspiration for a relaxed and refined countrified space.

French Country Style Furniture at EuroLuxHome.com

French vintage decor is always in style and it looks great in any kind of home. Whether you live in a city home or a country cottage, French vintage decor always looks comfortable and elegant and it lets you bring your own personal touch to your space. These new books are packed with inspiration to create a welcoming home with the charm of vintage French decor. Nothing like a vintage French bookcase! And don't forget that you can buy vintage French furniture and home accents on our website, too! Curl up with a croissant and a café au lait to get you in the mood, and enjoy!

Vintage French Style: Homes and gardens inspired by a love of France

Interior designer Carolyn Westbrook shows her love of French style and vintage charm in this new book. She takes us on a tour of ten homes with vintage French style, including a fabulous chateau, a Mid-Century Modern interpretation, and even her own family's Texan plantation home,

Mixing old and new is a basic element of making vintage style work successfully, and Westbrook also shows the reader how to combine and display your collections and precious items such as vintage store finds to inherited heirlooms.

French Accents: Farmhouse French Style for Today's Home

"I love all things French," says author Anita Joyce. "I love creating a relaxed home that is also graceful and beautiful, a place that embraces family and friends in a comfortable way while making them feel special and celebrated. I love all that goes into making a house a home. I love antiques, vintage items, rusty-crusty-chippy things, all things French, design, photography, writing, and spending time with my friends and family."

We agree with every word! In her new book, Anita Joyce shows how to create the warm elegance of classic French style, including a tutorial for making Joyce's own French bedspread!

French Vintage Decor: Easy and Elegant DIY Projects for Any Home

Jamie Lundstrom gives us even more Do It Yourself projects to decorate our homes in true French vintage decor style.
The 70 clever and beautiful tutorials with lots of photos include how to make dried flower ornaments or a flower garland or display plants in a mock 'cast iron' planter. Perhaps you'd like to know how to crochet pillows packed with French appeal or make a baguette bag with a drawstring? Decoupage, drippy candles, rusted frames.... the author has many tricks to help you create your own rustic and vintage style French decor and add a little "Je ne sais quoi" to your home.

Vintage French Bookcases

A quality vintage French bookcase or bookshelf could also be a great way to enhance your living room or home office. Whether you choose an inlaid Louis Philippe piece, a Baroque or Napoleon III style creation, an Art Deco or French Country piece, or even a Louis XV style bookcase, you are bound to be impressed. The solid wood construction, combined with techniques such as inlays and marquetry, brings shabby chic in addition to storage space in your home. From oak bookcases with open shelves to Louis XVI rosewood pieces, you'll find that French furniture covers all the bases. Quality vintage shelving takes inspiration from antique French craftsmanship of the 19th century, with more modern touches such as adjustable shelves creating a perfect way to display your collectibles! You could even put one in your dining room for dinnerware.

Now that we are deep into summer, I hope that these books about various gardens of style from around the world will help inspire you in your own garden! By now I hope your garden is blooming beautifully but if you want to look further afield for landscaping ideas, these recently published books are full of juicy images and inspiration from gardens in Italy, England and other parts of the world.

Italian Gardens of Lake Como

Lake Como in Italy is one of the heavenliest places on earth. Those Italians really know how to live la dolce vita! This new book on the Italian gardens of Lake Como gives a peek at some of the most beautiful villas around the lake, so we get a glimpse not just of the garden designs but also of the historic Italian architecture.

Against a backdrop of lake and mountains, the fourteen featured gardens range from Renaissance and Baroque Italian gardens to 19th century English style landscape gardens to 19th century romantic natural designs. Of course we get a glimpse of the famous Villa Carlotta and the magnificent palazzo turned luxury hotel, the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este. And now, for some strange reason, I'm really in the mood to make pasta tonight!

Gardens of Style: Private Hideaways of the Design World

Written by design, architecture and travel writer Janelle McCulloch, this lavish new book looks at the private gardens in the homes of famous movers and shakers in the design world, from fashion to interior design. It also explores how these gardens have inspired their owners in their creative pursuits. For example, fashion designer Christian Dior's garden boasts the lavish roses that inspired his beautiful couture gowns. The tastemakers' gardens are all around the world, so the author takes on us a journey from the East Coast of the USA to the French Provence region, to the country manors of England, to the always elegant Milan, and to the exotic foliage of tropical Dominican Republic.

Walled Gardens

Written by BBC presenter Jules Hudson, this lovely book about English walled gardens is wonderful if you enjoy looking at photos of period gardens to get inspiration for your own garden.

Once upon a time, every English country house would have had a walled garden. The walls provided shelter from the elements as well as keeping wildlife out. The new book explores the history of walled gardens and how they were used to grow plants for food, flowers, and medicine. In the late 18th century, some gardens even had heated walls! The book is from the National Trust, an English organization that protects the houses and gardens of many beautiful old stately homes. The National Trust has renovated many gardens that fell into disrepair in the 20th century so you can browse them in the pages of this book and take heart for your own garden renovations!

Happy gardening!

Aimee owns EuroLuxHome.com with her husband and best friend, Greg. Aimee sources amazing antique furniture, vintage lighting, & high-quality reproduction furniture to help her customers decorate their homes in a unique way. She loves her 7 (you read that right) fuzzy children and is renovating a 1920s bungalow in South Carolina. Find us on Facebook or connect with EuroLux on Google+. Or you can sign up here to receive this blog in your inbox.

Looking for some garden design inspiration now that it's time for us to all get out in the garden? These beautiful books on historic American gardens will help some new ideas to blossom. The final book in this trio of recently published garden books will help you put your inspirations into action to create your own gorgeous American garden!

Ellen Shipman and the American Garden

Ellen Shipman designed more than 600 gardens in the United States between 1914 and 1950. This book celebrates her work creating gorgeous formal American gardens for famous clients including the Fords, the Edisons, the Astors, and the du Ponts. She drew on the Colonial Revival and Arts and Crafts movements, with an original approach to color.

You can see the results in her gardens in places including the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida; the Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron, Ohio; the Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans, and Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University.

Seeking Eden

This new book celebrates the rich garden heritage of the state of Georgia, with the stories of nearly thirty public and private gardens. These include Colonial Revival gardens, historic town squares, college campuses, a conservation garden, rock gardens and ornamental 19th century parterres.

The book looks at the evolution of the gardens over the last couple of centuries, right through to the present day, with photographs to help bring their histories alive! If you want some inspiration from the luscious old gardens you've seen in Georgia, here's the answer!

Garden Renovation: Transform Your Yard Into the Garden of Your Dreams

I love that subtitle, as Greg and I have been working for the last few years on just that dream in our Newberry, South Carolina garden. You can see some of our landscaping and gardening challenges and successes for our vintage 1920 bungalow renovation in my blog posts: The "before" jungle of a garden when we moved in and The "after" garden: Roses in bloom.

American Gardens Done Right

We could have used this Garden Renovation book earlier! It's written by garden designer Bobbie Schwartz, who takes a practical approach to transforming a problem child yard into a delightful garden paradise. She shares tips, ideas on how to plan the landscape and tackle planting choices and also shows her ideas in action with case studies and before and after photos of her own clients' yards, featuring American gardens from across the country.

Happy gardening!

Aimee owns EuroLuxHome.com with her husband and best friend, Greg. Aimee sources amazing antique furniture, vintage lighting, & high-quality reproduction furniture to help her customers decorate their homes in a unique way. She loves her 7 (you read that right) fuzzy children and is renovating a 1920s bungalow in South Carolina. Find us on Facebook or connect with EuroLux on Google+. Or you can sign up here to receive this blog in your inbox.

The rustic and comfortable Farmhouse style of decorating is always popular because it is so easy to live with and it looks beautiful. The emphasis is on natural materials, craftsmanship, a sense of harmony and space, and also vintage pieces and antique furniture that looks naturally well-worn and loved. These recently published books provide inspiration for decorating your home in this style, whether you like the traditional Farmhouse style or a more updated version.

A Touch of Farmhouse Charm

A Touch of Farmhouse Charm: Easy DIY Projects to Add a Warm and Rustic Feel to Any Room might make your fingers itch to get decorating! The book is written by Liz Fourez and she takes readers on a tour through her restored 1940s rustic farm style house, showing how to make various handmade decorations. For example, a simple greenery wreath, a monogrammed door mat and a gingham check painted accent wall.

The aim of the book is to cultivate a connection between family, home and nature and "bring the warmth and beauty of simpler times to your modern life naturally." I feel more serene already!

Modern Farmhouse Style

The subtitle of this book published by Country Home is: 250+ Ways to Harmonize Rustic Charm with Contemporary Living. That gives plenty of choice of wonderful decor ideas, organizational tips, and DIY projects.

The book has suggestions for every room in the house as well as outdoor spaces, so readers can learn to “countrify” any area of the home to make it look "charming yet refined, homey yet chic."

The ideas show how to add the personal touch in ways that are easy and accessible for everyone.

City Farmhouse Style

This glossy book by Kim Leggett shows how even urban dwellers can catch a little of that fabulous Farmhouse style. Leggett is a designer for celebrity clients including Meg Ryan, Ralph Lauren and Sheryl Crow. She seems to have plenty of experience showing readers how to transform their city homes with unfussy Farmhouse style that keeps the spirit of the look while adapting it to an urban setting.

The book includes Farmhouse paints, wallpapers and textiles as well as general decorating and styling tips. I love Leggett's statement that: "Designing your home is a lot like falling in love." That is so true!

I hope you enjoy the inspiration from these books and if you want to shop for some Farmhouse style, here are some Farmhouse pieces on our EuroLuxHome.com website! You can also learn more about a similar style, French Country Farmhouse, right here.

I recently wrote a blog about French Country Farmhouse furniture and decor because it is one of the most popular styles in our EuroLuxHome.com online furniture and home accessories store. French Country look is a timeless style that looks charming and is comfortable and easy to live with. These new books will give you more ideas for decorating your home in this style!

Perfect French Country: Inspirational interiors from rural France

Showing how to live the good life wherever you are, author Ros Byam Shaw visits rural French country homes to share their inspiration.

A peek inside these private residencies reveals the details that create the comfort and joie de vivre of Frech life, whether we're looking at traditional architecture like stone fireplaces or simple decor details like a row of gourds and earthenware jugs decorating the top of an old wooden kitchen buffet.

My French Country Home: Entertaining Through the Seasons

Sharon Santoni lives in a countryside home in Normandy, France, and her new book focuses on ways to entertain in true French style. Of course, the French make entertaining look so easy, and this book tries to help the rest of us capture that same spirit. The book combines personal stories of her life in France with photos of table arrangements and room or outdoor settings. There are some recipes too!

The book is arranged by season with sections including A Table in the Forest, Picnic by the River, Breakfast on the Terrace, Fireside Cooking and many more. Santoni actually grew up in England but she seems to have gone native over her years in France! I mentioned her book My Stylish French Girlfriends in a previous blog post on French Country Style and Decor.

Country Living Salvage Style: Decorate with Vintage Finds

My third pick is published by the team at Country Living magazine. It is not specifically about French Country style, but the approach is definitely in keeping with the French Country idea of mixing old and new and repurposing simple everyday items. One of the key aspects of French Country style is that furniture and accessories look like they have been collected over the years, and every piece has a story.

The book is written by Leslie Linsley and she gives lots of inspiring ideas about how to decorate with salvaged and vintage items such as old windows, mailroom filing cabinets, wicker furniture, buckets and bathtubs to create very personal rooms filled with character.

If you’re looking for some home decor inspiration this spring, these recently published books offer plenty of beautiful ideas! This is the perfect time of year to start thinking about any interior design makeovers on your wishlist, so let's see what's new on the bookshelf.

A House in the Country

Although this gorgeous Greek Revival house in the hills of Millbrook, New York, looks like it was built a long time ago, it is in fact a new house created by architect Peter Pennoyer and his wife, interior designer Katie Ridder. The illustrated book tells the story of how it all came together and how Pennoyer used historical and classic Greek Revival houses as a basis, but put his own updated twist on his house to suit modern needs. The landscape is drawn from the style of traditional English cottage gardens, and the book includes a pullout of the garden plan if you want to try a similar approach yourself!

Wanderlust: Spring Interiors That Bring the World Home

We import antique French furniture and antiques and home decor from other parts of the world too, so we are on board with the title of this book! Designer Michelle Nussbaumer takes readers on a tour of interiors inspired by travel and furnished with antiques and other treasures from all around the world.

I love the cover of the book. The featured spaces inside are influenced by travels in Paris, Rome, Africa, China and Mexico. The chapter titles, including Sailing to Byzantium, Finding Shangri-la, and Dreaming in Color give a hint of the exotic flavor of the book!

Amelia Handegan: Rooms

Amelia Handegan is an interior designer based in Charleston, South Carolina, so she feels like a virtual neighbor! Handegan has restored many historic homes in Charleston and this new book presents an insight into her eclectic interiors. She likes to mix up Old World details, fabrics and finishes with antiques, cultural collectibles and modern furnishings.

Houses in the book include a beach cottage on Folly Island, SC, a Blue Ridge Mountain rustic cabin and a refurbished 18th Century Virginian plantation house. Handegan has been on the House Beautiful magazine 100 Best Designers in America list and in the Robb Report Guide to the World’s Top 40 Interior Designers so here's a chance to find out why!

My creative juices are flowing already, and I hope you are ready to dig in for spring home decor inspiration too! Please tell us about any home decor projects on your list this year in the comments box - we'd love to hear about your plans.

Spring Home Decor at EuroLuxHome.com

Your living room deserves the best Easter or spring decor. At EuroLuxHome.com, we can set you up with a set of throw pillows or centerpiece to reach this standard! Other decor ideas for your entryway and dining room include pastel spring decorations, wall decor such as wall art, coffee tables, and many other home decor choices for any color palette. Each new season is a chance to bring a new style to your home. Whether you're looking for light fixtures, home office furniture, vases for your greenery or a set of new pillow covers, EuroLuxHome.com has you covered. With so many spring decorating ideas, you're sure to find something for today's fresh spring home decor trends. For a different season of decor, check out our post about autumn decor!

These three new interior design books look so gorgeous and lavish and stylish, they are sure to provide home decor inspiration!

The Four Elements of Design: Interiors Inspired By Earth, Water, Air and Fire

Interior designer Vicente Wolf has very classic taste and in this book he turns to the classic elements of earth, water, air, and fire as a basis for home decor.

For example, Earth inspires interiors featuring natural materials such as wood and stone. Fire revels in dramatic reds and Air creates a light and open atmosphere. I'm guessing the image on the front cover is Air, don't you think? Lots of luminous white and shiny surfaces, accents of transparency and reflection. I don't know how we'd keep this room so pristine bearing in mind our brood of 8 cats and dogs, but it sure is pretty to look at!

Beautiful: All-American Decorating and Timeless Style

Interior designer Mark D. Sikes celebrates American style in all its classic and eclectic glory. Sikes offers suggestions for all kind of looks, from bright and breezy "Blue and White Forever" casual spaces to "Timeless Neutrals" -- semiformal rooms adorned with French chairs, chinoiserie, gilt, glass, mirrors, and banquettes. It really is America the Beautiful!

Film director Nancy Meyers wrote the book's foreword, saying that Sikes shows "how classic can look fresh, how style and comfort go hand-in-hand." That's what we like!

Around That Time: Horst at Home in Vogue

This book looks so incredibly glamorous, and it's not surprising. Horst P. Horst was a top fashion photographer for Vogue and when he turned his lens on some of the world's most stunning homes, his chic-o-meter was just as strong! From the 1960s through the 1980s, he created opulent images of the homes of the world's movers and shakers. Essays by Valentine Lawford give further insight into the houses and the people who lived in them.

Horst is famous for saying: "Fashion is an expression of the times. Elegance is something else again." Perfect and timeless!

I feel like I ought to be wearing a cocktail hat and a designer outfit just to open the cover of Horst's book. But shh... it will be a lovely guilty pleasure to read it curled up on the sofa in my Elvis pajamas!

In every one of our client spotlights you can see how beautifully our customers live with antiques or antique-inspired furniture. These three new home design books offer more inspiration on how to live with antiques in a modern world!

Past Present: Living with Heirlooms and Antiques

“Antiques add the touch of time and the human hand," says author Susan Sully. Her new book shows how every antique piece, "tells a story that began long ago and hasn’t ended yet. There are no rules about living with them, except to take what’s old and keep it young by making it part of daily life.” That's exactly what we think!

Sully's book shows how to blend heirlooms and antiques into contemporary homes. Photographs include rooms decorated by collectors, antiques dealers and design professionals to create lively settings for today's lifestyle.

Rooms for Living: A Style for Today with Things from the Past

The book title says it all! Interior designer Suzanne Rheinstein shows how well she can translate traditional style into something fresh, whether for casual or format interiors.

The examples she shows include how to turn a neglected living room turned into a space for reading and writing and how to use color to dress up an entryway. If you love the look of timeless elegance but want to keep a relaxed and inviting atmosphere for your real-life family to enjoy, Rooms for Living is worth a browse!

Home

Ellen DeGeneres says that she is passionate about interior design. She might even have been a designer herself if she hadn't made such a wonderful career for herself in show business.

She has renovated and decorated nearly a dozen homes and she's a big fan of antique furniture.

All of Ellen's houses that I've read about include antique furniture, from antique French furniture to exotic antique rugs and carpets and from Spanish colonial benches to Rococo Bergere armchairs.
She also seems keen on using antique architectural elements in her home decor. It all creates a wonderfully eclectic effect, combining Mid-Century Modern and Louis XVI, traditional French and colorful Asian pieces.

Ellen's wit and character shines through in the way she juxtaposes pieces that she loves. She really does have a good design eye and is a great ambassador to show how to live with antiques.

I hope you find some inspiration for how to live with antiques in your own particular style!

Aimee owns EuroLuxHome.com with her husband and best friend, Greg. Aimee sources amazing antique furniture, vintage lighting, & high-quality reproduction furniture to help her customers decorate their homes in a unique way. She loves her 9 (you read that right) fuzzy children and is renovating a 1920s bungalow in South Carolina. Find us on Facebook or connect with EuroLux on Google+. Or you can sign up here to receive this blog in your inbox.