Pretty House, Quirky House

I’m loving the new design book by Christian Lemieux, Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design. I’ve always sort of hated the term “decorate,” which brings to mind stuffy lamps and knick-knacks chosen by someone who’s being paid by home decor stores to talk clients into overstuffing their space with impersonal items. Having passed out of my Room and Board phase into my Anything Goes phase, I’m thrilled to find a book devoted to the art of decorating for one’s personality and lifestyle, as opposed to decorating one’s house like a showroom.

About the author: CHRISTIANE LEMIEUX is the founder and creative director of DwellStudio, a fast-growing home décor and children’s furnishings company. Known for her colorful, modern patterns, Lemieux launched a full-scale fabric line in 2010. She is also a featured design partner with Target and a frequent contributor to leading design blogs, such as Apartment Therapy and Design*Sponge. She lives in New York City with her husband, children, and her Labrador, the design studio’s mascot.

About the book: Undecorate profiles twenty homes from all over the country, revealing their owners’ love of imperfection and penchant for surprise and unusual juxtapositions while inspiring readers to follow their own whimsy and practicalities in their personal spaces. An anglophile creates an English manor in Hollywood, mixing British flea-market finds with midcentury furniture. A car fanatic turns a vintage Airstream trailer into a master bedroom and situates it in the middle of a vast industrial loft in downtown Chicago. A couple transforms a log house in Nashville, Tennessee, by blending their modern and eclectic styles with the home’s rustic charm. Though the designs differ widely, the spaces all express an open-minded attitude. Some homes embrace their contexts, while others transcend them. All are shaped by instinct and imagination and share innovative ideas that readers can use to organically and elegantly create their home to match their lifestyle and tastes.