In the market for design books for the holidays (or otherwise!)? We wrote a blog last week talking about why we love them for gifts, and now we’re going through our list explaining why each book we mentioned is great!

Why we love The Perfectly Imperfect Home

Unlike all the other design books we listed, The Perfectly Imperfect Home uses gorgeous hand painted illustrations of room designs and inspirational pieces (illustrated by Virginia Johnson) rather than typical design-book glossy photos. The use of these illustrations kind of goes along with the main idea of the book — not every home has to be a perfect full page, full color spread. Homes are imperfect by nature, and there are ways to embrace that and make them beautiful regardless. We also adore this quote by the author’s ten year old son on the back of the book’s jacket:

“This book is just about moving stuff around in your house so it looks better.”

Needleman offers useful wisdom with a splash of welcomed honesty; for example, a section entitled “I don’t do any of this, but I wish I did” (page 158). She answers age-old questions posed by the average person (Where can I put my tissues, remote control, and other useful things not typically scene in designer created homes?) and inspires the average home owner to create beauty from what they have, rather than creating something new from scratch.

Deborah Needleman is the editor in chief of the Wall Street Journal Magazine and creator of the Off Duty section of the Wall Street Journal.

The Perfectly Imperfect Home can be found at a variety of online retailers, including:

Amazon – New for $19.23
Barnes and Noble – New for $19.23 (Also available in select retailers)
BooksAMillion – New for $21.20 (Also available in select retailers)