Lauren Liess has it going on. Just seven short years ago, she wrote on her popular blog Pure Style Home that she had just moved into her parents' basement with her husband and (unexpected) baby. Since that that time, Lauren has become widely recognized as a hot design talent with a rack of press credits to show for it. She also has designed and launched her own line of textiles. In addition, Lauren has renovated and and decorated two of her own houses and recently moved to a third, having long said goodbye to that basement. And, drumroll please, she has recently written a design tome entitled Habitat, The Field Guide to Decorating, our topic today. Oh yeah, Lauren also had 3 more kids. I am tired just thinking about it.
Lauren is one of those designers with her own “look” and we love it. She imbues all of her interiors with a sense of nature, liberally sprinkling them with greenery and quirky vintage finds.
Her lovely textiles inspired by wildflowers and other flora often are prominently featured in her designs.
Everything is deeply comfortable, and pet and family friendly. In Habitat, Lauren painstakingly takes us through her entire design process, so we learn step-by-step how she accomplishes her rooms.
The book is divided into three sections. In the first section, Lauren addresses the fundamentals of design such as architecture, color and floor plans. In the book’s second section, Lauren writes about design’s intangibles, like mood and style. The third part sets forth the unique considerations for designing the principal rooms in a home in a room-by-room guide. Hello, perfect kitchen.
Budding decorators will find her advice invaluable. While Habitat can be read straight through, and makes a gorgeous addition to your coffee table, it also can be used as a reference guide. For example, Lauren describes a variety of options for choosing each of the primary elements that make up a room, like flooring, furniture, rugs and fabric. How handy to have a guide all in one place for something like fabric, for instance, that describes the properties of textiles such as wool, linen and cotton and sets forth their most suitable use. Lauren even offers a work sheet to help one achieve the mood and style they desire.
Seasoned decorators also will love the book. Lauren provides a comprehensive and invaluable resource list. In addition, since Lauren often makes unconventional choices, the beautiful images of her work are hugely inspirational. Her way of choosing and hanging art are particularly imaginative. Indeed, her ideas of what constitutes art are unique. She has even hung a large branch on the wall with great effect.
Habitat offers something for anyone interested in design. We can’t wait to see what Lauren will do next.
IMAGE CREDITS // All photography by Helen Norman. Thanks to Lauren for providing Lynn with a review copy.
EDITOR CREDIT // This post was developed and written by guest editor Lynn Byrne.