home design - HOUSES HAVE A PAST - AND A FUTURE, TOO

THE BEST RENOVATIONS TOE THE LINE BETWEEN NECESSARY UPDATES AND ENOUGH SENSITIVITY TO ASSURE DESIGN INTEGRITY.

MANY DECORATORS gravitate toward trends, rather than considering timeless qualities that have staying power. This book gives you a head start on alternatives, many rooted in the past but adapted for today’s taste and use. From wide-plank floors to true linoleum, stencils to Arts & Crafts pendant friezes, big porcelain farm sinks to Sputnik chandeliers: you can find it. You may even discover a material or model that your roofer or hardware-store clerk insists “isn’t made anymore.”

Those with generic or boring homes, as well as those seeking to build a new house with character, are excited to find art tile and fusion furniture. What’s more, most of these goods are priced on a par with designer offerings—and often, because they are sold direct, for even less. Design inspired by the past can inform any decorating approach.