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.

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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.