Best Interior Design Books

Finding design inspiration isn’t easy unless you know where to look. Pinterest searches aren’t tailored to your style, so turning to tangible items like interior design books (see my always up-to-date list of home decorating books in my Amazon Storefront Favorites) are a great option. Reverting back to paper can be comforting and familiar – bonus – your time is spent device-free. Curling up in the living room on the sofa with a cozy blanket and flipping through a beautiful decorating book…sounds like my kinda afternoon.

Ultimate Guide To The Best Interior Design Books

Click on the book cover thumbnails below to shop or simply click on the links. 

Now that I’ve set the mood, here are the best interior design books that I tend to read over and over again. These decorating books are more than just pretty coffee table books. They will help you find what resonates with your personal aesthetic and teach you how to decorate a room like a pro.

Quick Links To My Favorite Interior Design Books

Click on the SHOP IT HERE link to purchase or scroll below for a quick and honest book review.

Best Interior Design Books For Beginners

1. Living With Color: Inspiration and How-Tos to Brighten Up Your Home — SHOP IT HERE
2. Living With Pattern: Color, Texture, and Print At Home — SHOP IT HERE
3. Design The Home You Love by Lee Mayer and Emily Motayed — SHOP IT HERE
4. Habitat: The Field Guide To Decorating — SHOP IT HERE
5. Rental Style: The Ultimate Guide To Decorating Your Apartment Or Small Home By Chelsey Brown — SHOP IT HERE

Best DIY and How-To Interior Design Books

1. Your Home, Your Style: How To Find Your Look & Create Rooms You Love — SHOP IT HERE
2. Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, from Tabletops to Bookshelves by Emily Henderson — SHOP IT HERE
3. The New Bohemians: Cool Collected Homes by Justina Blakeney — SHOP IT HERE
4. Feels Like Home: Relaxed Interiors for a Meaningful Life by Lauren Liess — SHOP IT HERE
5. The New Design Rules: How To Decorate and Renovate from Start To Finish: An Interior Design Book by Emily Henderson — SHOP IT HERE
6. This Is Home: The Art Of Simple Living by Natalie Walton — SHOP IT HERE

Best Interior Design Books On Decorating and Shopping For Vintage

1. Big Thrift Energy by Virginia Chamlee — SHOP IT HERE
2. Kabinett & Kammer – Creating Authentic Interiors — SHOP IT HERE

Modern Home Decorating Books

1. A Tale Of Interiors by Louisa Pierce and Emily Ward — SHOP IT HERE
2. Live Beautiful by Athena Calderone — SHOP IT HERE
3. Home With Rue: Style For Everyone by Kelli Lamb — SHOP IT HERE

Best Interior Design Books For Teaching Fundamentals

1. The Interior Design Handbook: Furnish, Design, and Decorate Your Space — SHOP IT HERE
2. New York School Of Interior Design: Home: The Foundations Of Enduring Spaces — SHOP IT HERE

Traditional Home Decorating Books

1. Design Remix: A New Spin On Traditional Design — SHOP IT HERE
2. The Beauty of Home: Redefining Traditional Interiors — SHOP IT HERE

Interior Design Coffee Table Books – Decorating Books For Inspiration

1. May I Come In by Wendy Goodman — SHOP IT HERE
2. Architectural Design At 100: A Century Of Style by Amy Astley — SHOP IT HERE
3. DISC Interiors: Portraits of Home — SHOP IT HERE
4. Surf Shack: Laid Back Living by Nina Freudenberger — SHOP IT HERE

Best Interior Design Books for Home Organization

1. The Home Edit Life: The Complete Guide To Organizing Absolutely Everything at Work And Home — SHOP IT HERE
2. Beautifully Organized: A Guide To Function And Style In Your Home — SHOP IT HERE

 

Read on for a brief explanation of each title and a quick review of why they’re one of my favorite interior design books. 

Best Interior Design Books For Beginners

Living With Color: Inspiration and How-Tos to Brighten Up Your Home is written by textile designer Rebecca Atwood and is absolute gold for decor fundamentals. This design book breaks down the right combinations of hues and helps you personalize a color palette. If you want to learn how to transform your home decor from ordinary to magical, buy this book.

Living With Pattern: Color Texture and Print at Home, also written by Rebecca Atwood, is a best-selling book that demystifies decorating with color and pattern — a design concept that stumped me for the longest time. This is my go-to book when I’m having trouble injecting a punch of color into my home design. Rebecca breaks the process down and teaches you how to seamlessly mix and layer prints and colors perfectly.

Design The Home You Love by Lee Mayer and Emily Motayed If you’re looking to add personality to your home, this is the book for you. Learn how to identify your style and bring that individual look into each room. This book shares all different types of decor styles and will inspire you to create a space that is uniquely yours. Because styles change, this book is one that I come back to over and over again, making it both practical and inspirational.

Habitat: The Field Guide To Decorating Laura Liess is one of my favorite home decor bloggers, and she has written 2 of the best interior design books. This book encourages you to bring nature inside by mixing foraged items with eclectic collections of modern and quirky vintage decor. You’ll learn the fundamental elements of interior design, how to create a mood, and how to tackle decor challenges.

BTDubs, Laura also has written two more books – one listed below and the other is Down to Earth: Laid Back Interiors for Modern Living, which focuses on creating a lifestyle that inspires creativity and functionality. She walks you through the decorating process step-by-step and shares her design aesthetic so you can create a home that is creative and functional. 

Rental Style: The Ultimate Guide To Decorating Your Apartment Or Small Home By Chelsey Brown is a great decorating book for small space living. From decorating on a budget to rental home hacks to organizing a small space, Chelsey has you covered with creative tricks that won’t get you in trouble with your landlord. Great for the home decor lover wanting to revamp their rental space.

Click on the book cover thumbnails below to shop or simply click on the links. 

Best DIY and How-To Interior Design Books

When I find myself in a decor pickle, my go-to decor.books happen to be written by a couple of my favorite home decor bloggers turned decor powerhouses. These next few interior design books are must-haves in your library and are also perfect for anyone wanting to learn how to easily DIY their home decor.

Your Home, Your Style: How To Find Your Look & Create Rooms You Love by Donna Garlough is a gem of a book by a friend of mine, Donna Garlough. She was the Style Director at Joss & Main and is now the founder and owner of Monroe Home & Style. Donna guides you through understanding your style strengths and identifying and overcoming decorating weaknesses. Learn the basics of styling a bookshelf like a pro and how to create a cohesive gallery wall. Personally, I think this is one of the best design books ever written.

Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, from Tabletops to Bookcases by Emily Henderson Now, let’s talk about the gal that inspired me to decorate and share my home online – Emily Henderson. When I first discovered the HGTV show Secrets From A Stylist, I snoopy danced. Emily’s sense of quirky, mid-century modern decor was my jam. This interior design book is written from the perspective of a stylist versus an interior designer. She teaches you how to create that lived-in, cozy look that is uniquely you.

Although this design book was released over five years old, I declare it the best interior design book of all time because her teaching method is relatable and easy to understand. My copy is a decorating book that I return to project after project. I also love the style quiz. In the book, she asks many questions and expertly tells you you’re design style.

Although my home decor is nothing like Justina’s coined Jungalow look, I love the knowledge she drops in The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes — which is one of the best design books for aspiring interior designers because she’s relatable and easy to understand. Unless you’re a hardcore traditional design lover, there’s something for everyone in this book. She shares 20 homes with incredibly unique styles along with interior styling and shopping tips.

Feels Like Home: Relaxed Interiors for a Meaningful Life by Laura Liess I mentioned Laura above in the Best Interior Design Books For Beginners category, but this is Laura’s third and more recent book. It explores the emotional connection to your home and goes beyond buying objects and looks at how design as a form can create an environment for a more authentic life.

This Is Home: The Art Of Simple Living by Natalie Walton is a home decorating book that will bring you back to the basics. This is one of the best design books that helps to teach you how to think creatively, not expensively. BTDubs, if you’re looking for ideas for decorating on a budget, click on that link. But back to the book. This decorating book will teach you how to create balance within a room while reflecting on your decorating style because, ultimately, it’s all about addition and subtraction. You’ll also learn how to refresh your space without totally rehauling the design.

Best Interior Design Books On Decorating and Shopping For Vintage

NEW RELEASE If you’re dipping your toes into vintage decor or want to learn how to find the best vintage deals, Big Thrift Energy by Virginia Chamlee is the book for you. I have followed Virginia on Instagram for years, and it was such a thrill to receive her book in the mail! She shares the best tips for shopping for vintage decor online, in thrift shops, and antique malls. You’ll also learn how to repurpose and upcycle the decor in your home. Do not sleep on this book.

My love of decorating with vintage and antique decor runs deep, so when I heard Sean Scherer wrote a beautiful interior design book filled with curated vintage collections, I immediately had to purchase it. Kabinett & Kammer – Creating Authentic Interiors teaches you how to best display your collections, beautifully layer vignettes and decorate in a way that is authentically you. Every page has interesting ways to curate your collections of whimsy and wonder.

Modern Home Decorating Books

A Tale Of Interiors by Louisa Pierce and Emily Ward I love Pierce and Ward’s work and have followed them on Instagram for years; however, their decorating style is not easily obtainable. The wallpaper costs thousands per roll, and the furniture is custom designed, but it’s included in this list because this inspiration is off the chain! This book is filled with eclectic decor and is a feast for the eyes. If you want to get your creative juices flowing, this book is for you.

Live Beautiful by Athena Calderone – oh, how I debated over including this book. I love Athena’s style, and yes, it’s on the best-seller list, but she shows more than she teaches. Also, this book is not for the traditional home decor lover or the lover of maximalism. So when I updated this list, I decided to add a category dedicated to modern style. The book itself is beautiful and aesthetically pleasing on a coffee table, but it’s more or less one of those decorating books you occasionally flip through for inspiration.

Home With Rue: Style For Everyone by Kelli Lamb was released earlier this year. As a long-time fan of Rue, this design book was on my must-purchase immediately list. (Side note, the living room makeover was featured on Rue.) It’s filled with beautiful homes lived in by real people and features advice, how-to information, and decorating resources — oh, and the foreword is by Nate Berkus, so if he approves, of course I do too.

Best Interior Design Books For Teaching Fundamentals

If you don’t know the rules, then how do break them? Enter books about interior design.

The Interior Design Handbook: Furnish, Design, and Decorate Your Space. The author teaches you how to design a room rather than focusing on what you decorate with. You’ll also learn the golden ratio, golden spiral, how to size a coffee table proportional to a sofa, how high to hang a light fixture, how to create a mood board, and more. This is one of the best interior design books for creating a cohesive space with a good flow, and one I refer back to over and over again.

When Alexa Hampton writes the forward, you know it’s got to be good. New York School Of Interior Design: Home: The Foundations Of Enduring Spaces teaches you the foundation of interior design — a comprehensive education on home design and decor, from color theory to choosing furniture for a room. It’s essentially the best book on interior design for both design students and decor enthusiasts alike.

Decorating Books For The Traditional Home Lover

Design Remix: A New Spin On Traditional Design by Corey Damen Jenkins If you love bold colors, chinoiserie prints, Hollywood Regency, or crazy maximalist decor, this book is for you. Design Remix is filled with unexpected mixes of old and new. I recently purchased this interior design book and love how Corey demystifies his approach to color and pattern and fearlessly breaks the rules. This ditty is also a perfect holiday gift-giving book for the decor lover in your life.

The Beauty Of Home: Redefining Traditional Interiors by Marie Flanigan This interior design book was sold out for the longest time, and for good reason. When I finally got my hands on The Beauty of Home, I about hugged the UPS man. Marie’s style is classic, soulful, and timeless, with every room being better than the last. She gives you a peek behind the curtain and shares her creative process and the elements needed to recreate her signature look. This book is full of inspiration and one that I come back to again and again.

BTDubs, Marie also designed one of my favorite kitchens. Shazam, it’s gorgeous.

Interior Design Coffee Table Books – Decorating Books For Inspiration

May I Come In by Wendy Goodman is a decorating book that gives you a rare peek into homes that aren’t your typical decor homes. These are not homes that look like everyone else’s homes. They are unique, quirky, fun, and best of all, they are full of unique personalities. Page after page is filled with eclectic decor and inspiration.

Architectural Design At 100: A Century Of Style by Amy Astley is filled with the personal spaces of celebrity homeowners. This book covers the homes of the Obamas, David Bowie, Truman Capote, Michael Kors, and more. For me, this is one of those best sellers that everyone owns, and it looks beautiful displayed on a coffee table, but it’s not my go-to source for inspiration. It is, however, fun to flip through.

DISC Interiors: Portraits of Home. This design firm is based in California and has a one-of-a-kind vibe that is both modern and traditional. Much like the Pierce and Ward book, you’re not being taught but rather looking at beautiful spaces. This book is a fantastic source of decor inspiration but not very attainable.

Surf Shack: Laid Back Living by Nina Freudenberger If you want to find inspiration for that beachy vibe, this is the book for you. Like the others in this category, the homes featured are not necessarily attainable, but they are drop-dead gorgeous. When I flip through a book like this, I look at the color palette or vignette inspiration.

Best Interior Design Books for Home Organization

After binging Get Organized on Netflix, I was motivated to pare down, edit, and purge all the things. Never in a million would I think my ADHD brain would be buying storage and organizing bins, but these, how to organize your home, books have helped me greatly.

The Home Edit Life: The No-Guilt Guide to Owning What You Want and Organizing Everything book is the how-to-organize bible. Learn the basics along with tips and tricks on mastering home organization like a pro. And no, you do not have to live like a minimalist or purge everything you own. Contain the chaos and apply these genius ideas to every room in your home without having to Marie Kondo.

If you’re looking for a gift-giving idea, Beautifully Organized: A Guide To Function And Style In Your Home is the home decorating book for you. The author shares her five steps to organizing your home like a pro. Assess, declutter, clean, organize, and beautify. A step-by-step guide that covers every room in the house, from cupboards to the powder room. A must-have book for those wanting an organized space that is also peaceful and beautiful.

Side note: Don’t miss my Organization Tips For Home blog post!

Decorating Books As Gift Giving Ideas

My updated list of favorite decorating books can always be found here. All of the above books are perfect gift-giving home decorating books. But since these favorites are difficult to narrow down and always updated, here are a few that have dropped off my best interior design books list but are still incredibly inspiring.

The Remodelista book is a classic, as is Joseph Dirand’s drool-worthy book of residential interior design work in Paris. Both organizing books by The Home Edit girls are great, but since one was already on the list, I didn’t deem it necessary to include A Guide To Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals as well.

Another design book full of vintage decor inspiration is Steven Gambrel: Time And Place. His designs have a fresh approach to color and composition, and he’s a genius when it comes to mixing modern and traditional decor. Although it’s a notable design book, it’s more of an inspiring coffee table book versus one that teaches.

Travel Home: Design with a Global Spirit is an interior design book by Caitlyn Flemming and her mother. Together they share a laidback California Cool design that focuses heavily on neutral home decor. If you love Nate Berkus‘ decor aesthetic, this book belongs in your library…oh, and Nate and Jeremiah’s home is also featured here.

Discover More Home Decorating Inspiration

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Going on vacation? Check out my Best of BookTok to find that perfect beach read.