Bunny Williams' Scrapbook for Living [Hardcover]

Bunny Williams (Author), Amy Archer (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2010

Bunny Williams is renowned for her glamorous design and atten­tion to every little detail in her clients’ homes. Using her incredible knowledge of design and decor, and drawing on her wealth of experience, Williams takes the reader through several homes room by room, showing creative ways to organize and add personal touches. From dining rooms (place a chest of drawers near the dining table to store flatware, napkins, place mats, and votives) to lighting (place sconces on the wall at eye level to cut the glare from ceiling lights), and pets (find interesting flat-bottom bowls for water—small Chinese fish bowls or the bottom of a porcelain tureen work perfectly!), Williams empowers the reader with her practical and inspiring tips for making a house a home.

Praise for Bunny Williams' Scrapbook for Living: 

"chock full of beautiful, instructive pictures . . . many nuggets of practical advice" 
-- The New York Times 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bunny Williams, a world-renowned interior designer and garden expert with her own Manhattan-based company, is the author of STC’s An Affair with a House and Bunny Williams’ Point of View. With her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli, she owns Treillage Ltd., a home and garden decor shop in New York City. Williams has homes in Manhattan, Connecticut, and Punta Cana.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stewart, Tabori & Chang; 1 edition (November 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584798599
• ISBN-13: 978-1584798590
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 1.1 x 11.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #436,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Her other books are great....this one so-so October 15, 2010

By Sigrid Olsen

Format:Hardcover

Like other reviewers, I love Bunny Williams. She is one of the best interior designers out there...a respite from retro-chic, domino style. However, this book was a big disappointment. The photography is jarring and haphazard. I know it was meant to represent a scrapbook, but the small squares were a big distraction. She does provide some good hints...but these are available in her other books. I do not think this book is worth the investment and am wondering who was her advisor on layout. Still a fan, though! (Just not of the book...)

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Pamela October 16, 2010

By Pamela

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Bunny Williams creates beautiful spaces and has previously published a wonderful book (Point of View) which I highly recommend. I was intrigued when I saw she had published another book "Scrapbook for Living." After spending time reading it I found a lot of good information and helpful guidance that could have been put in a much smaller book. What I found so bothersome were the pages dedicated to what I call a "maze-montage" of the same photograph which left me with a headache. The art direction of photography has fallen short from her earlier publishing endeavor.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Infinite Information October 19, 2010

By Missy Sanford

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Bravo Bunny--I have read "Scrapbook For Living" and my head is spinning with obtainable information.This book must be put next to your bed and not just flipped through-it must be read. It is not just a coffeetable book but a textbook.It goes quickly but has infinite information that all of us are hungry for.
Bunny shares her knowledge like no one else. Whether it is her lecture at a function or her beautiful books-starting with one of my favorites,"On Garden Style", she gives concrete information that we can all use-not just information that we can only dream about.Her knowledge is based on tried and true facts. This book is proof of that."Scrapbook For Living" is not written by someone being "coy" that gives you part of the information you need and you have to figure out the rest.It is written by someone trying to help every reader achieve their dream home no matter what the size or location.
I love the photography in this book. It is interesting and unique as it should be. It catches the attention and holds it through the last page.
I can hardly wait to rearrange my linen closet using her suggestions-Brilliant

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing December 28, 2010

By 12321

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As much as I respect Bunny Williams as a designer/decorator, this book was a joke. The cover looks promising, but photos of her interiors might as well have been left out, as the "collage" motif presented throughout the book would have been much more effective had she used 1 or 2 good photos instead of 20 or so pics of this corner or that chair leg. The photos didn't even have much to do with the content of the book. Nothing that would inspire. The advice for how to live in one's home, such as making sure you have a box of tissue next to a guest bed or using a large vase for an umbrella stand by the door, might be applicable for an 18 year old living on his/her own for the first time, but for those already familiar with basic house necessities (such as using a basket to store wood by the fireplace, another pearl of wisdom I paid $40 for) this was worthless. You're better off getting a copy of The Domino Book of Decorating.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed in Scrapebook! October 15, 2010

By Judith R. Gries

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Ii adore Bunny Williams! but, bought this book and was so disappointed, I sent it back. Thought most of the photography, especially the filler repeated over and over again snapshots, not to Bunny's top notch design ethic.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Have a Well-lived and Well-loved Stylish Home October 15, 2010

By L. M. Keefer TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

How many of us would love to follow around a favorite aunt in her home who happens to be one of the U.S.'s premier interior designers--like Bunny--while she drops her design pearls of wisdom for us to catch and record? That's what the experience of reading this book feels like. Since Bunny can't adopt all of us, she compiled the precious design insights that over 30 years of designing and living in beautiful rooms has taught her.

In SCRAPBOOK FOR LIVING, Bunny's emphasis is on living: how to create rooms that are beautiful AND livable. If you've seen rooms decorated by Bunny Williams--especially her own homes--you know they combine style with livability. They're homey. They're rooms where dogs are allowed on the furniture--but they still look great in magazines. Bunny shares the inside details of how she accomplishes this.

Bunny stresses function in this book--how to make rooms work in an attractive way. There's tips for every room--from mudrooms, to living rooms and libraries, to project rooms, to bedrooms and baths. Covering A to Z design topics such as selecting chairs to bringing a home to life with flowers, scents, art and fireplaces, Bunny teaches the essentials of comfort. It's the gems she shares along the way--any place you want a window and don't have one, put a mirror--that make this book invaluable. Another favorite tip is take a camera with you and photograph what you love for your own design scrapbooks. It's intriguing to read what inspires Bunny, including her nine favorite design books and design resources. Bunny says when she sees a home full of books, she knows the owners are likely to be interesting. This book's pictures are MORE about illustrating the ideas in it--less about seeing all the beautiful rooms she has decorated....

What I loved about this book is it provides a personal look at how a top designer, savvy entrepreneur, wife, mother, dog-lover who loves to travel, entertain, read, and learn lives in her homes. What are her priorities in combining beauty and function?

In writing classes, you learn the ABCD elements of fiction books: Action, Background, Character and Dialogue. There's a fifth element in books, I've realized, and that's the personality/character of the author which can't help but leak through. Likable, nice authors write likable books which touch your heart. You hear people who have met Bunny say how darn likable she is; reading her books is heart-warming. You can almost hear her: "honey, after polishing the silver, keep it in an airtight bag...my favorite fragrances for rooms are....you can use the seating fabric in a room to create a matching dog-bed the dogs will want to be on...." Priceless and personal tidbits for well-lived and well-loved lives & homes fill this scrapbook for living. Read more ›