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books

Best home decor books of 2017 + 2018

January 25, 2019

Interior Portraits - best home decor book of 2018

Are you feeling screen fatigue? I’ve been exhausted by social media lately, so I’ve been returning to one of my favorite analog sources of inspiration: books! It’s been a couple years since I rounded up my favorite books about home decor, architecture, and minimalist living — my last guide was back in 2016. Lots of great titles have come out since then, plenty of options if you’re looking for inspiration beyond Pinterest and Instagram.

Here are my picks for best interior design books from 2017 and 2018.

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Interior Design Tagged With: books

Best Home Decor Books of 2016

March 9, 2017

Simple Matters by Erin BoyleI was hoping to share my favorite home decor books from 2016 before the end of the year… but better late than never! These books are just as relevant as ever, and I think you’ll find lots of great decorating tips and interior design inspiration in each of these picks.

Living with Pattern by Rebecca Atwood

Living with Pattern: Color, Texture, and Print at Home by Rebecca Atwood

I love Rebecca Atwood’s painterly prints, and this book was a lovely peek into both her life as a textile designer, as well as a handbook for adding pattern to your home with style and flair. The watercolor illustrations totally charmed me, and I relished seeing photos of her studio and pattern making process.

The real-world examples of homes brimming with pattern were beautiful, and I loved the way she broke down how to decorate with pattern, while still maintaining balance and keeping a room from looking too busy. The DIY projects felt advanced, like upholstery projects and dying fabrics, but I still felt confident that they were achievable — It’s nice change to feel challenged by projects like this, rather than underwhelmed.

Simple Matters by Erin Boyle

Simple Matters: Living with Less and Ending Up with More by Erin Boyle

I pre-ordered this book back in January, because I’ve been a fan of Erin’s blog, Reading My Tea Leaves for quite a while. Her perspective on living minimally, and making thoughtful choices about everything you keep in your home is so valuable. The book is divided into nine chapters, and my favorites were the sections on decluttering, simplifying, and decorating.

Erin’s personal insights on small-space living and conscious consumption were really compelling. We agree that it’s important to adopt sustainable approaches to living, and that those efforts are beneficial to both the environment and our own well being. Her thesis is a powerful one: that “living small” is beneficial and accessible to us all—whether we’re renting a tiny apartment or purchasing a three-story house.

The Finer Things by Christiane Lemieux

The Finer Things: Timeless Furniture, Textiles, and Details by Christiane Lemieux

This lovely gilded tome is a comprehensive guide to selecting heirloom-quality pieces for your home — the unique, and well made items that imbue enduring style into your home. This desk-worthy reference helps you select, install, and style high-quality  decorative elements in your home, from wallpaper, art frames and floors to furniture, fabrics, light fixtures and more.

The World of Charles and Ray Eames

The World of Charles and Ray Eames edited by Catherine Ince

The more I learn about the Eames’ influence on the world of design, the more I realize the impact they still have on the design world have today. I’m particularly drawn to Ray Eames’ textile designs, and this impressive archive of their work was fun to pore over. The book contains handwritten notes, sketches, and snapshots, as well as beautiful photos of those modern interiors and furniture that we know and love.

The Best New Home Decor Books - Cotton & Flax

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes Tagged With: books, home decor, interior design, pattern, round up

Best Decor Books of 2014 + 2015

November 23, 2015

The best new home decor books

So many fantastic decorating books were published in 2014 and 2015, so I thought I’d put together a roundup of my favorites! If you’re looking for home decorating ideas, these books are a great place to start.

You’ll find 11 of my favorite recently published interior design books below!

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Filed Under: Inspiration, Interior Design Tagged With: books

Great Sewing Books for Beginners (and non-beginners, too)

April 30, 2013

Best Sewing Books for Beginners - resources for learning to sewI mentioned in a previous post how lucky I am that my mom taught me how to sew, and in my cranky teenage years, no less! She taught me the basics on a machine that is quite similar to the one I use as my primary sewing machine now. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time poring over sewing books in bookshops and libraries, and investing in the ones I found most helpful. Today I’d like to share some of my favorite sewing books for beginners, although I think many of these are great resources even for more experienced sewers….

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Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: books, diy, sewing

Top Five Interior Design Books for Happy Modern Homes

April 11, 2013

Design Sponge at Home

I’ve been taking advantage of the public library lately, checking out some relatively new books from famous designers, and revisiting some of my favorite interior design books. I wanted to share a roundup of my top five favorite interior design books, the ones that I’ve been mining for inspiration for my own home….

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Filed Under: Interior Design Tagged With: books, diy, home decor, interior design

Print It Yourself – My favorite DIY printing books

September 18, 2012

The best DIY printmaking books - Cotton & Flax

I meet so many creative people, both in person at sales and events, and online on Etsy and Pinterest. Lots of people ask me about how I learned to print on fabric, and the truth is, I’m almost entirely self-taught! I learned traditional printmaking techniques (relief printing, intaglio, lithography, etc.) in college, but I didn’t learn to print onto fabric until after graduation.

Learn to print on fabric

I learned fabric printing, both silkscreen printing and relief printing with hand carved blocks, by reading lots of books and by experimenting. The best way to learn to print on textiles is by trying it out for yourself, and you don’t need a fancy studio to get started. These books will help you learn the basics, and guide you through some basic and intermediate project that you can give as gifts, or keep to decorate your home.

Learn to print on fabric - Cotton & Flax

These books are invaluable parts of my library, and I return to them often. Some of them focus completely on printing on fabric, but a few are great introductions to printmaking in general, and cover the basics of printing on fabric as well.

Print Liberation / Mastering the Art of Fabric Printing and Design / Dyeing and Screen-Printing on Textiles / Little Owl’s Little Prints / Lotta Prints / Printing By Hand / The Printmaking Bible / A Field Guide to Fabric Design

Yellow Owl's Little Prints - Learn to print with kids

This book from Christine Schmidt of Yellow Owl Workshop is a great way to introduce young ones to printing – the projects included in her book are absolutely adorable, and will keep you entertained all afternoon.

Made By Hand - Lena Corwin

DIY textile printing

Lena Cowin’s new book Made By Hand also has some fun printing projects. I didn’t include it in the roundup because it’s not strictly about printing or textile design, but it’s worth picking up!

Do you know of a textile printing book that I shouldn’t miss? Let me know on Twitter or Instagram!

Want to learn more about printmaking? Check out my screenprinting class for CreativeLive, and learn to print your own designs!

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: books, diy, printing, printmaking

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A textile designer’s journal

Welcome! I'm Erin Dollar, the textile designer behind Cotton & Flax. I create patterned home decor that's rooted in creative exploration.

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A textile designer’s journal

Welcome! I'm Erin Dollar, the textile designer behind Cotton & Flax. Here I'll share peeks behind the scenes, recent inspirations, decor ideas, and more. Read More…

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