Tips for Summer #3: The Stuff of Life

In her new book, sought-after interiors stylist Hilary Robertson reveals a multitude of different ways to style and display the 'stuff of life' - the flotsam and jetsam of possessions, from pictures and ornaments to hats and bicycles, that we all gradually accumulate. In the first chapter, How to Arrange your Stuff, Hilary identifies and illustrates four different approaches to arrangements and shows how each one can be achieved. Chapter 2, Where to Arrange It, considers the variety of display locations available and how to make the most of them, from blank walls to windowsills and tabletops. Finally, in Stories Told by Real Homes, Hilary shares knowledge drawn from the experience of creating interiors that fall into four different styles - Neatnik, Bohemian, Sculpture Vulture and Noble Salvage. Some people are magpies - they love stuff; finding, collecting, and displaying it, while their opposite, the minimalists, are on a mission to contain or tame it. The ideas in this book will appeal to both magpies and minimalists and everyone in between.

Hilary Robertson, The Stuff of Life, Rylandpeters & Small, London, 2014
Available at nb-notabene bookshop, via Bellezia 12c, Turin (Italy)

Tips for Summer #2: Monochrome Home

Sought-after interiors stylist Hilary Robertson celebrates the stylish simplicity of the monochromatic home - elegant interiors in black, white, and every shade of grey in between. In the first chapter, "Living in Black and White", Hilary analyzes successful monochrome interiors, providing moodboards for different schemes. Next, In the "Mix takes" a closer look at the effective tools of texture, light, and scale and pattern and the roles that they have to play. The third chapter, The "Dark Room", visits real homes that feature darker monochrome palettes, while, following on, "Let there be Light" provides examples of homes with a whiter, brighter approach. Finally, in Monochrome Home Hilary Robertson shows how to bring the look right up to date, visiting the fabulously inspiring homes of artists and designers from Europe to the US.

Hilary Robertson, Monochrome Home, Rylandpeters & Small, London, 2015 (€ 30)

Available at nb-notabene bookshop, via Bellezia 12c, Turin (Italy)

Tips for Summer #1: Design Bloggers at Home

A digital revolution is underway. A global network of creative, interior design bloggers has emerged, publishing fresh and inspiring content online every day. With diverse backgrounds and lifestyles, these individual bloggers combine to create a thriving online community of trend-setters and style gurus. The digital world brings with it design democracy; with the freedom to publish whatever they want, these bloggers offer a beguiling alternative to traditional media and have become an important source of inspiration for the homes enthusiast. In her first book, interiors journalist and stylist Ellie Tennant meets the characters and creative forces behind leading design blogs, exploring their online realms, their beautiful homes and their clever styling ideas. Fifteen in-depth case studies cover a panorama of cutting-edge bloggers' spaces - from a pared-back monochrome cabin in Scandinavia to a maximalist, colour-filled apartment in California - while the final chapter offers advice on setting up your own blog. The result is a visual feast of inspiring yet achievable interiors, with plenty of ideas to use in your own home.

Ellie Tennant, Design Bloggers at Home, Rylandpeters & Small, 2014

Available at nb-notabene bookshop, via Bellezia 12c, Turin (Italy)