Today I have an exciting new book that will inspire the interior designer in you: Elements of Style: Designing A Home & A Life by Erin Gates. Charming, inspiring, witty and funny, this is a beautiful book from start to finish that would not only be a great addition to your interior design library, but would also make an excellent gift.
Erin has a wildly popular blog called Elements of Style Blog that can provide you with even more inspiration.
Here is the description of the book from Simon & Schuster:
From the rising-star designer and author of the hit blog, Elements of Style, a full-color, fully illustrated book packed with honest advice, inspiration, ideas, and lessons learned about designing a home that reflects your personality and style.
Elements of Style is a uniquely personal and practical decorating guide that shows how designing a home can be an outlet of personal expression and an exercise in self-discovery. Drawing on her ten years of experience in the interior design industry, Erin combines honest design advice and gorgeous professional photographs and illustrations with personal essays about the lessons she has learned while designing her own home and her own life—the first being: none of our homes or lives is perfect. Like a funny best friend, she reveals the disasters she confronted in her own kitchen renovation, her struggles with anorexia, her epic fight with her husband over a Lucite table, and her secrets for starting a successful blog.
Organized by rooms in the house, Elements of Style invites readers into Erin’s own home as well as homes she has designed for clients. Fresh, modern, and colorful, it is brimming glamour and style as well as advice on practical matters from choosing kitchen counter materials to dressing a bed with pillows, picking a sofa, and decorating a nursery without cartoon characters. You’ll also find a charming foreword by Erin’s husband, Andrew, and an extensive Resource and Shopping Guide that provides an indispensable a roadmap for anyone embarking on their first serious home decorating adventure. With Erin’s help, you can finally make your house your home.
Simon & Schuster are kindly offering to give away 3 copies. Please enter the giveaway via the rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only (terms set by the publisher). The winners will be announced on the widget and contacted by email one week from today. Best of luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
To learn more about Erin Gates visit her blog, Elements of Style.
News
Check out my interview with Heidi Bock of Beauty in Believing blog.
A Domestic Goddess is loving the Madame Chic books.
At Home With Madame Chis is mentioned on the lovely In Sewtopia quilting blog this week.
Don't forget to enter the Christy Luxury Linens giveaway (for Daily Connoisseur readers only!)
Reading
43 Reasons Why Studying Abroad in Paris Destroys You For Life (You'll love this! Thanks to my readers who shared this with me.)
Upcoming Events
Southern California readers: come meet me at one of my upcoming book signings:
October 28, 2014 (next Tuesday!) DIESEL bookstore, Brentwood, CA Presentation, Q&A + book signing 7pm
November 2, 2014 Laguna Beach Books Presentation, Q&A + signing 4pm
(more venues and dates to be announced on my author website events page)
Visit my Author Website
Facebook facebook.com/JenniferLScottAuthor
Twitter @JL_Scott
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My design style is simple glamour. I have three girls and a very busy life, like so many of us. But at certain times when I see that little antique mirror on my entry table I smile. Comfort and function are at the height of good design.
ReplyDeletePS... I received your book last week and was SO inspired. It is so easy to get distracted and forget that how we run our homes may be one of the more impact full thing in our lives as well as our children's life. Thank you!
My decorating style is: all the weird stuff we like on a backdrop of blues and green (the exception being our master bedroom, it has quite a bit of red in it). I know it sounds weird, but we are weird (comparatively speaking to other homes we visit), so it all works.
ReplyDeleteI love our home decor.my husband did most of the decorating every piece special tom us.
ReplyDeleteMy perfect room has lots of bookcases in it!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a very interesting book to read!
ReplyDeleteI don't really have a decorating style, but I certainly need to figure it out!
ReplyDeleteI'm patiently (maybe not so patiently) waiting to redo our master bath. It looks straight out of the 70s right now! We want it to have polished and natural elements to create a cozy spa-like feel. Soon hopefully!
ReplyDeleteRecently I've been trying to introduce a more 'grown-up' feeling into my personal decor - cutting down on knick-knacks and choosing larger decorating pieces, etc. I'd love to read some good advice to help along the process. Thank you for hosting this give away for The Elements of Style!
ReplyDeleteI would most like to redecorate my living/dining room area, making it brighter.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous giveaway! This book is gorgeous! We just moved and are currently redecorating everything. But most of all, we are focusing on the living & dining rooms and our master bedroom. We would love to host a dinner party with all of our favorite people!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice giveaway ! My design style is traditional, with a twist...a little cottage twist. My great room furniture is due for replacement and this would give me ideas of how to go...thanks, as always, for your great blog!
ReplyDeleteMy design style is eclectic. I love warm colors and lots of textures, with souvenirs that I've picked up traveling.
ReplyDeleteMy design style is beach cottage chic- comfortable and cozy somewhat minimalist so I can enjoy my home!
ReplyDeleteI would love to decorate the perfect bedroom. My style seems to be heading more towards classic but I like to put the quirky item in there or really bold color for a pop!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the great book giveaway! :)
I want to redecorate my bedroom. I need a desk to study and a new wardrobe, 'cause I gave my old (giant) to my parents.
ReplyDeleteI would love to finish decorating my combined living/dining room. It's a fairly small space for the two functions but has some nice architectural details like half-columns and crown molding that I'd like to use as a springboard. I just don't know how, really, so I'd love to read this book. Love your blog, Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteMy ideal bedroom would be completely white. White bedding, curtains, lamps, and a few pops of color with pillows and other decor. I love the cleanliness and freshness that white brings.
ReplyDeleteMy interior design aesthetic is probably traditional-artistic-rustic--or something. I like my real-deal window treatments and original art on my walls mixed with second-hand furniture and I only use 'accessories' that have actual meaning and stories behind them for my family. Everything must have meaning! I love our knotty pine floors--they wear so well and the soft pine is forgiving. Books seem to magically appear everywhere, so they are a de facto part of the aesthetic chez nous. People often comment on how at-home they feel here--I love that!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a beautiful book. I love an eclectic look- french country, bohemian, shabby chic- and I love lots of white!
ReplyDeleteIf I had to describe my style it would be repurposed chic. I like to update old pieces or incorporate them into my décor. This is not to be confused with shabby chic - you will not see chalk paint in my house!
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! I would love to redecorate my living room the most- it's where I spend the most time, so I want it to look cozy and clutter-free
ReplyDeleteThis looks great! I would love to redecorate my living room the most- it's where I spend the most time, so I want it to look cozy and clutter-free
ReplyDeleteMy current design style is jumbles chaos! I am looking to move that design to uncluttered and welcoming. I like contemporary and transitional pieces mixed with an antique accent here and there.
ReplyDeleteMy decorating style is simplistic traditional chic. I love the best elements of each. Simplicity in lack of clutter. Traditional in the overall feel of the home, and chic because who doesn't enjoy a touch of luxury? The best style is often a combination of styles.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite home design book is one you recommended, Jennifer: "The Perfectly Imperfect Home". It helped me tons! This book "Elements of Style" sounds wonderful, too!
ReplyDeleteThe room I would most like to decorate is our kitchen. It needs updated appliances, updated lighting, new counters, and new flooring.
ReplyDeleteMy ideal bedroom is serene, relaxing and spa- like. A place to relax, refresh and rejuvinate, but not too feminine as my husband has to feel comfortable there as well.
ReplyDeleteWe spend lots of time in our kitchen, cooking and socializing. It could use an update and more storage. Everything else is done except the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteMy interior design aesthetic is tasteful. I have recently transitioned from Mediterranean traditional to more transitional.
ReplyDeleteI must really want to win this giveaway.
My design style is mostly simple and classic with a little bit of quirky thrown in. I love blues, greens, and teals, so those are colors that I use a lot.
ReplyDeleteLove the studying abroad article! I was in Paris 31 years ago and just went back to France in August! Love the French way of life and the priority they place on high-quality food. Hopefully I can go back to Paris one day.
ReplyDeleteThe room I'd most like to redecorate id our office. I'd like a special, more feminine nook for me, and lots of built-in bookshelves.
ReplyDeleteI would love to redocorate our living room. The rest of our house has migrated to a gray/blue color scheme, but the living room is still brown. It feels dated. :/
ReplyDeleteI would most like to redecorate our eating area. I have no idea what to do with it. There's one huge blank wall and it drives me crazy.
ReplyDeleteMy design style is simple classic craftsman/cottage.
ReplyDelete