Rooms to Inspire: Decorating with America's Best Designers [Hardcover]

Annie Kelly (Author), Tim Street-Porter (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2007

In Rooms to Inspire twelve trendsetters bring a fresh point of view to creating interiors for a spectrum of living spaces-from houses to apartments and country retreats. This selective group-some professional decorators and others renowned for their taste making-includes Marian McEvoy, Kelly Wearstler, Muriel Brandolini, Jonathan Adler, and Simon Doonan. They offer their own very personal perspectives and advice using their own homes as examples-many published here for the first time. These intimate and inviting, absolutely non-formulaic interior spaces express the personal style of these highly creative individuals. Today's designers show how to experiment freely with every detail. This extraordinary sampling features the designers' own homes, ranging stylistically from the theatrical to eclectically modern. Common design issues such as color, balance, and comfort, as well as innovative approaches to kitchens and bathrooms are addressed. The designers also offer their favorite resources. This inspirational guide for professionals and novices encourages us to infuse our living spaces with style and personality.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"makes quality decorating seems attainable." -- Washington Post

"striking photography" -- Home & Design Magazine

What's New section "captures the work of some of our foremost native talents." -- Connecticut Cottages & Gardens

About the Author

Annie Kelly is a well-known decorator and journalist who has been featured in such publications as Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Vogue Living, The World of Interiors, and in many books including Hollywood Style. Kelly and her husband, Tim Street-Porter, live and work in Los Angeles. Tim Street-Porter is an award-winning architectural photographer, whose books include Los Angeles. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847829170
• ISBN-13: 978-0847829170
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 1.1 x 12.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author Annie Kelly is also a decorator, design writer, and magazine editor.
With her husband, photographer Tim Street-Porter, she is based in Los Angeles, and has a second home two hours outside of New York in Litchfield, Connecticut.
Born in Australia, Kelly first trained as an artist. In 1993 she started work in Los Angeles as a decorator, and her projects have been published in a variety of design magazines: House and Garden, House Beautiful, Australian Vogue Living, Elle Decor, Metropolitan Home, English House and Garden, Traditional Home, Country Living and World of Interiors. Kelly's renovation of Frank Lloyd Wright's La Miniatura in Pasadena was featured as a cover story in Architectural Digest. She is currently working on several decorating projects in New York and Los Angeles.
In the 1990s she was a contributing editor on House & Garden (USA), and worked as a stylist on shoots for them, as well as Town and Country, Western Interiors and many others.
Kelly's design work has been featured in numerous books including three written and photographed by her husband Tim Street-Porter. They are Freestyle (Stewart Tabori and Chang,) Casa Mexicana (Stewart Tabori and Chang) and The Los Angeles House (Clarkson Potter.)

She has been a guest in the past on many decorating television shows, and apart from her books, writes about design and decoration for national magazines both here and in other countries. These include World of Interiors, the Robb Report, German Architectural Digest, and Belle magazine in Australia. She is also an editor of the twice-yearly New York Observer Home magazine.
Kelly is currently reviewing design books for the on-line website magazine "Introspective," at the furniture-selling website 1stdibs.com where she writes for a weekly column called "Required Reading," as well as putting together designer profiles for "Style Compass." Her next book will be Litchfield County Style also for Rizzoli.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiration Indeed!, April 28, 2007

By 

style court (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rooms to Inspire: Decorating with America's Best Designers (Hardcover)

The title of Annie Kelly's new book is spot-on -- the rooms featured here truly are inspirational. Although many of the interiors have been published previously in magazines or books, the images here offer a fresh perspective.

For example, 12 pages are devoted to Kelly Wearstler's Hillcrest estate. The pictures show a slightly different view than what was published in Wearstler's second book, Domicilium Decoratus, and Annie Kelly provides detailed analysis of the residence.

Other designers included in Rooms to Inspire, but not mentioned in the publisher's description, are Miles Redd, Lynn von Kersting, Suzanne Rheinstein and Steven Gambrel. For me, one of the most inspirational homes featured is the author's -- Annie Kelly is a decorator and design journalist.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely gorgeous book!, June 26, 2007

By 

L. K. Royet (Clayton, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rooms to Inspire: Decorating with America's Best Designers (Hardcover)

This book is a feast for the eyes. I purchased it initially because I love Kelly Wearstler's decorating and it features one of her homes, but the whole book is amazing & full of wonderful interior decorators, from traditional with a twist to modern & minimalist. A great addition to any coffee table collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC RANGE, August 15, 2008

By 

Soul Spectator (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rooms to Inspire: Decorating with America's Best Designers (Hardcover)

I decided that it was my responsibility to make the rating higher for this book, after seeing what a couple of other reviewers said. This IS NOT a book that you would find at Home Depot, and the homes are not the style that you would see on HGTV. Of course Vidal Sassoon's home or Kelly Wearstler's are filled with rare furnishings, but the purpose is to show individuality and set a basis of thought for people to visit their local thrift store or vintage furniture store. These homes are personal, and Tim Street Porter's photography is wonderful. Don't forget that the book is a great price.