Customer Reviews

At Home with the Past: How the Love of Old Things Creates Beautiful Interiors

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My husband and I are buying our first apartment so I'm always looking for inspiration. After paging through countless decorating books I knew this was the one I wanted to own. Each of the 20 homes showcased exemplifies personality over cookie-cutter design concepts, each shows old objects used in unexpected ways, and finally, and maybe most importantly, the houses and apartments are intensely personal. You know people actually live there. From a railroad apartment to a renovated church, At Home With the Past consistently inspires me to follow my instincts and not the dictates of the style du jour. The clincher for me, however, is that anyone with an eye for the unexpected beauty in flea market finds or even curbside freebies can achieve a great look with a small budget. Another point to remember is that the furnishings and decorative items were acquired over time, which provides an added depth. As the personality of the owner changes and grows, so does her taste. It takes time to make a house (or an apartment) a home.

I bought this because I am a fan of their first book, OLD HOUSES, and this was such a refreshing surprise to see a repeat with a twist. What a treat to see these imaginative interiors with great use of color, objects and psychedelics.

Maybe someday the magazines will catch up to their way hip aesthetic. Can't wait to see what this rad photographer duo is going to surprise us with next.

I received this book as a gift as I am a great bargin hunter and garage sale person. I'm afraid this book was a disappointment as it showed arty photos of shabby old houses with shabby old furniture. Most people buy old things to preserve them and blend them in with their everyday life, not to accumulate a houseful of tatty old "stuff" and hope it is interpreted as the popular "shabby chic". The photography in the book is very good however.