A Review of Elle Decor's Style and Substance by Margaret Russell

by POPSUGAR Home 1

For 20 years, Elle Decor's chic issues have offered readers ideas and inspiration for their homes. I've been collecting a giant stack of dog-eared Elle Decor issues for the last 10 years, so I'm excited to announce that the best of the magazine can now be found in Style and Substance ($45) by Margaret Russell and the editors of Elle Decor. I was thrilled to receive a (personally autographed!) copy of Style and Substance in my mailbox, and couldn't wait to review the book.
To hear what I think, and to get a sneak peek at some of the chic interiors featured in the book, read more.

The book's 240 pages are an embarrassment of interior decorating riches. Featuring inside peeks of the homes of everyone from Miles Redd and Sarah Jessica Parker to Yves Saint Laurent and Monique Lhuillier, there's plenty of inspiration to be found. Hundreds of spaces are featured, and each chapter is relegated to a different room, including living rooms; libraries and home offices; dining rooms; kitchens; bedrooms and boudoirs; bathrooms; children’s rooms; and terraces, gardens, and pools. Besides gorgeous images, the book also offers smart decorating tips as well as a source book that features Elle Decor editors' favorite shopping websites and stores. Style and Substance is a wonderful resource for armchair decorators of any style. With homes that range in style from bohemian to classic, there's something for everyone here. Margaret Russell writes in the introduction that

[Elle Decor's] most beloved design characteristics? Personality, passion, joie de vivre, and flair. It's true, our most dazzling stories feature people with fearless style who don't care what others think — and those who are curious, confident, and cosmopolitan will always find a place in our pages. We believe that luxury needn’t be expensive, and there’s no reason affordable furnishings shouldn’t be chic. And when offered a choice, we’ll take a bit of patina and wear and tear over brand-spanking-new decor every time.

I think that this is a timely decorating philosophy, and while we may not all be able to afford a marble-clad master bath or a custom-designed bejeweled chandelier, we can all aspire to create a more beautiful, confident, and chic home, and with Russell's tips, now it's a lot easier to do just that.