Featured
Book
Sugar Editorial Picks
12 Works of Art Made From Books
You needn't spend top dollar on oil paints and horsehair brushes to prove your artistic skill. These days, plenty of artists are creating magnificent works of art from things as simple as books and X-acto knives. Some of you may think that books are sacrilegious, and that they should remain as they were printed, from cover to cover.
Home Library: Downtown Chic
No academic course will teach you how to give a derelict house a gut renovation and turn it into a fantastically unique, high-style home. That skill comes with experience and serious design savvy, something which Robert and Cortney Novogratz accidentally learned they had.
After renovating their first home in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood 10 years ago, which then was a neglected, not-so-fashionable area, they realized they had a knack for building and decorating, together.
Cool Idea: Books by the Foot
I am on a never-ending quest to expand my home library, and fortunately my home is small enough that I'm not plagued with any bare bookcases giving guests the illusion that I'm illiterate. But, if I did live in a sprawling space with lots of storage, why not fill those built-ins with books? Enter Wonder Book, which sells books by the foot.
Do You Store Your Books on Chairs?
It's a trade secret for interior designers to set coffee table books on side chairs, creating an instant, elegant little vignette. You'll often see a small bowl or objet d'art set on top of the books as well. Although this is mostly a decorative trick, it's also a good place to store your coffee table books, instead of allowing them to hog your cocktail space.
DIY: Literary Clock
If you're stumped for a unique holiday gift, you could bring some timeliness to a friend's life with this book clock ($19.95) from Etsy seller Recycleeh. Or, if you're feeling handy, you might consider personalizing your friend or family member's favorite book by turning it into a clock.
To make this cool clock, simply choose a hardcover book, without a busy cover, so that the clock numbers are legible.
Home Library: Bazaar Style
After months of heated anticipation, I've finally had the blessing to read Bazaar Style, an interior design book from beloved Designer Spotlight, stylist Selina Lake, interiors writer Joanna Simmons, and interiors photographer Debi Treloar, which was just released in April. Chock full of salivating images of homes furnished with French flea market and Moroccan bazaar finds, alongside modern design classics, big-box buys, and inherited antiques, the book will reveal the potential in your beat-up furniture and a can of paint, inspire you to paint the surround of a window to frame the view, and liberate you to break conventions, be it by setting your table with mismatched china, or duct taping fresh flowers to the wall. While the photography alone would be enough to sell me on this title, unlike some of its contemporaries, the ratio of editorial advice to image content is not negative, let alone meager; Lake and Simmons have channeled their industry expertise into hundreds of tips, suggestions, and solutions for achieving this unprecedented style in your home.
Sale Alert: 50 Percent Off Home Titles at Taunton Press
Hurry! Until Thursday (yes, that's tomorrow), Taunton Press is having its biggest sale of the year on home, garden, design, and crafting titles. There are some excellent titles here that will help you renew your home in different ways, and if you're planning on trying the Thing-A-Day challenge, there are some inspiring craft titles as well.
Other Search Results
Do You Store Books in Your Bedroom?
In many homes I visit, books are displayed in the living room or other public spaces for guests to peruse, and many living rooms have built-in bookcases. But, seeing as I usually read curled up in bed, it makes sense to keep an unread collection of books in the bedroom.
Do You Store Books in Your Bedroom?
Roundup: White Dining Room Chairs
The Blind Side, which opens today, promises to be a tearjerker. The movie, which is based on the true story captured in Michael Lewis's book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, stars Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Touhy, the Christian, Southern mom who takes in Michael Oher, played by Quinton Aaron. Touhy's house is pretty standard for an upper-middle-class Southern family, but one element that caught my eye were these white dining chairs.
Share Your Thanksgiving Vignettes!
I hope by now you've joined my new group Lovely Little Vignettes, which is the place to share photos of the small vignettes you create in your home, or those you see online or at a friend's home. There were some great Halloween decorating vignettes shared in the group, but now I'm anxious to see your more autumnal and Thanksgiving-related vignettes! (If you're not sure what I mean by vignettes, this slideshow should make it clear.) So, show me what you got!
More on CasaSugar
Fall Award Season
Top Brands
Rick Cardona
Oliver Bonas
Hanky Panky