{"id":12259,"date":"2022-05-26T20:18:04","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T03:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=12259"},"modified":"2022-07-20T20:21:21","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T03:21:21","slug":"home-design-inspiration-for-all-free-resources-galore-from-the-santa-barbara-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=12259","title":{"rendered":"Home Design Inspiration for All: Free Resources Galore from the Santa Barbara Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Looking for some inspiration for your next home improvement project? For when Pinterest isn\u2019t quite cutting it, our Santa Barbara Public Library librarians Lisa Neubert and Kimberly Crail (have curated this list of books to check out.<\/p>\n

Small Spaces<\/h3>\n
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Small Space Style: Because You Don\u2019t Have to Live Large to Live Beautifully<\/em><\/strong> by Whitney Leigh Morris:<\/strong>\u00a0 Interior design maven Morris shares her ideas and practices for making any tiny space efficient and stylish\u2009\u200b\u2014\u2009\u200bwhether it\u2019s a rustic A-frame in the woods or a chic micro apartment in the city.<\/p>\n

150 Best Tiny Interior Ideas<\/em><\/strong> by Francesc Zamora Mola: <\/strong>\u00a0A smaller living space doesn\u2019t have to mean sacrificing sophistication or comfort. Here are loads of ideas for maximizing space while creating warm and inviting homes.<\/p>\n

Interior Design<\/h3>\n
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Design a Healthy Home: 100 Ways to Transform Your Space for Physical and Mental Wellbeing<\/em><\/strong> by Oliver Heath: <\/strong>Simple, practical advice on how to design your home for health and happiness through modifications in lighting, air quality, acoustics, temperature, color, and more.<\/p>\n

Design the Home You Love: Practical Styling Advice to Make the Most of Your Space <\/em><\/strong>by Lee Mayer:<\/strong>\u00a0 A fresh and accessible guidebook to the complicated world of interior design.<\/p>\n

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Made for Living: Collected Interiors for All Sorts of Styles<\/em><\/strong> by Amber Lewis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Tricks of the trade from a trendsetting designer known for creating effortlessly layered looks and modern eclectic styles.<\/p>\n

Home Stories: Design Ideas for Making a House a Home<\/em><\/strong> by Kim Leggett:<\/strong>\u00a0 Everyone has a story worth telling, and every room can become part of that story. Learn how to create rooms filled with warmth, meaning, and your own unique story of home.<\/p>\n

Feels Like Home: Relaxed Interiors for a Meaningful Life<\/em><\/strong> by Lauren Liess:<\/strong>\u00a0 Explore the emotional connection between home decoration and one\u2019s daily life through the lens of a popular social media and TV star.<\/p>\n

House to Home: Designing Your Space for the Way You Live<\/em><\/strong> by Devi Dutta-Choudhury:<\/strong>\u00a0 A modern guide to home improvement that will help you create a dynamic, comfortable space that supports your life and the way you want to live.<\/p>\n

Hygge & West Home: Design for a Cozy Life<\/em><\/strong> by Christiana Coop and Aimee Lagos:<\/strong>\u00a0 These notable tastemakers have curated a look into 20 covetable homes designed to promote feelings of coziness, companionship, and comfort.<\/p>\n

Bringing the Outdoors In<\/h3>\n
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Home Sweet Houseplant: A Room-by-Room Guide to Plant Decor<\/em><\/strong> by Baylor Chapman: <\/strong>Houseplants have the ability to instantly elevate the look of your home and add your own special flourishes. This book shows you where \u2014 and how \u2014 to begin.<\/p>\n

Wild Interiors: Beautiful Plants in Beautiful Spaces<\/em><\/strong> by Hilton Carter:<\/strong> A journey in greenery led by the bestselling author\u2019s unique eye and love of plants to show you how to create luscious interiors that not only look amazing but are good for your well-being, too.<\/p>\n

Decorating with Plants: What to Choose, Ways to Style, and How to Make Them Thrive<\/em><\/strong> by Baylor Chapman:<\/strong> Nothing can add energy, style, and that essential \u201clived-in-ness\u201d to home spaces better than a little bit of green. Chapman shows us where to begin.<\/p>\n

Houseplants for All: How to Fill Any Home with Happy Plants<\/em><\/strong> by Danae Horst:<\/strong> A useful guide to selecting and growing plants for your home, including a plant profile quiz.<\/p>\n

Handpicked: Simple, Sustainable, and Seasonal Flower Arrangements<\/em><\/strong> by Ingrid Carozzi: <\/strong>Organized by season, Carozzi\u2019s book reveals her secrets for creating flower arrangements that are modern, original, and organic in style.<\/p>\n

Mindfulness and Minimalism<\/h3>\n
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The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter<\/em><\/strong> by Margareta Magnusson:<\/strong> In Sweden, there is a kind of decluttering called d\u00f6st\u00e4dning<\/em> (d\u00f6 <\/em>=\u201cdeath\u201d and st\u00e4dning<\/em> = \u201ccleaning\u201d). Magnusson gives instructions for this surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings sooner, rather than later.<\/p>\n

Minimalista: Your Step-by-Step Guide to a Better Home, Wardrobe, and Life<\/em><\/strong> by Shira Gill:<\/strong> Help to find your own style with this fresh and accessible guidebook to the world of interior design.<\/p>\n

The New Mindful Home: And How to Make it Yours<\/em><\/strong> by Joanna Thornhill:<\/strong> Our spaces can play a big part in our emotional well-being. This book explains how to harness the power of mindfulness to help your home support a more considered lifestyle.<\/p>\n

The Home Edit Life: The No-Guilt Guide to Owning What You Want and Organizing Everything<\/em><\/strong> by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin:<\/strong> The New York Times<\/em> best-selling authors of The Home Edit<\/em> show you how to contain the chaos and organize every aspect of your life.<\/p>\n

Living Simply: A Teen Guide to Minimalism<\/em><\/strong> by Sally McGraw:<\/strong> A discussion of minimalism as a way of living for teens, this book provides a number of suggestions and resources for young people who want to scale down their carbon footprints.<\/p>\n

Color and Creativity<\/h3>\n
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A Colorful Life: Gere Kavanaugh, Designer<\/em><\/strong> by Louise Sandhaus and Kat Catmur:<\/strong> The designer Gere Kavanaugh is an irrepressible force of nature who epitomized the craft and folk vibe of the \u201960s and \u201970s California design scene and remains a larger-than-life personality today.<\/p>\n

My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation<\/em><\/strong> by Donald M. Rattner:<\/strong>\u00a0 Written by a noted architect, My Creative Space turns the rich trove of psychological research on workplace productivity and innovation into practical techniques for shaping a home.<\/p>\n

Jungalow: Decorate Wild <\/em><\/strong>by Justina Blakeney:<\/strong>\u00a0 A guide to designing creative and personal interiors with bold choices in color and patterns, cues from nature, and inspiration from personal heritage and travels.<\/p>\n

Wonder Walls: How to Transform Your Space with Colorful Geometrics, Graphic Lettering, and Other Fabulous Paint Techniques<\/em><\/strong> by Phoebe Cornog and Roxy Prima:<\/strong>\u00a0 Learn DIY wall-painting techniques to help discover the possibilities of paint and see walls as a canvas. This book covers wall preparation and paint selection, as well as step-by-step instructions.<\/p>\n

Living in Color: Color in Contemporary Interior Design<\/em><\/strong> by Stella Paul and India Mahdavi:<\/strong>\u00a0 An inspirational visual journey along the color spectrum, brought to life via the best contemporary residential interior design.<\/p>\n

A Sense of Place<\/h3>\n
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At Home in Joshua Tree: A Field Guide to Desert Living<\/em><\/strong> by Sara Combs and Rich Combs:<\/strong>\u00a0 This beautifully illustrated lifestyle guide from the creators of The Joshua Tree House shows you how to infuse your life with desert vibes, from home designs and entertaining plans to wellness rituals.<\/p>\n

Home Sweet Maison: The French Art of Making a Home<\/em><\/strong> by Danielle Postel-Vinay:<\/strong>\u00a0 A lively, sophisticated, and practical illustrated lifestyle guide that shows how to live like the French every day, transforming your house into a home defined by beauty, family, and accessible elegance.<\/p>\n

The California Casa<\/em><\/strong> by Douglas Woods:\u00a0 <\/strong>A sumptuous and comprehensive look at Spanish Colonial Revival design, presenting a lavish portrait of the style through more than 300 color photographs.<\/p>\n

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Living in Mexico<\/em><\/strong> by Barbara & Ren\u00e9 Stoeltie:\u00a0 <\/strong>A breathtaking look at some of Mexico\u2019s most remarkable abodes. The authors have traveled far and wide, from Costa Careyes to the Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula, seeking out homes to surprise, delight, and inspire.<\/p>\n

Red Tile Style: America\u2019s Spanish Revival Architecture<\/em><\/strong> by Arrol Gellner:<\/strong> A comprehensive survey of one of the most widespread and popular forms of American architecture. From bungalows and mansions to gas stations and government buildings, Gellner explores this diverse category of design.<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara Style<\/em><\/strong> by Kathryn Masson:<\/strong> Explore the work of such architectural luminaries as Addison Mizner, Bertram Goodhue, Reginald D. Johnson, and George Washington Smith, among others.<\/p>\n

Santa Barbara Living<\/em><\/strong> by Diane Dorrans Saeks:<\/strong> A beautifully photographed book that takes readers inside the mansions and estates of contemporary Santa Barbara.<\/p>\n

Historical Influences<\/h3>\n
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Making Midcentury Modern<\/em><\/strong> by Christopher Kennedy:<\/strong>\u00a0 This book features 100 tips for bringing the principles of midcentury modern style to any home, from the acclaimed interior designer.<\/p>\n

American Bungalow Style <\/em><\/strong>by Robert Winter:\u00a0 <\/strong>Showcasing two dozen American houses that capture the bungalow spirit that enticed thousands of buyers during the form\u2019s heyday from 1880 to 1930.<\/p>\n

Spanish Colonial Style: Santa Barbara and the Architecture of James Osborne Craig and Mary McLaughlin Craig<\/em><\/strong> by Pamela Skewes-Cox and Robert Sweeney:<\/strong>\u00a0 An ode to these influential architects, whose designs included the historic Casa de la Guerra and the Plaza Rubio complex across from the Mission Rose Garden.<\/p>\n

Outdoor Living<\/h3>\n
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Private Gardens of Santa Barbara: The Art of Outdoor Living<\/em><\/strong> by Margie Grace:<\/strong> A peek into 21 distinctive private gardens: large estates, modest homes, and surf retreats that run the gamut from sublime and naturalistic to bold and urban.<\/p>\n

Organization Tips and Tricks<\/h3>\n
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Martha Stewart\u2019s Organizing: The Manual for Bringing Order to Your Life, Home & Routines<\/em><\/strong> by Martha Stewart:<\/strong>Tips, projects and ideas on how to organize everything from America\u2019s most trusted lifestyle authority.<\/p>\n

In addition to a wide selection of books, the Santa Barbara Public Library\u2019s Databases & Resources page has information on how people can get signed up for free with LinkedIn Learning, which offers a number of courses on interior design and related skills. It also has information about accessing Skillshare (provided courtesy of the California State Library\u2019s Career Pathways initiative), which has a great offering of interior design courses as well.<\/p>\n

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Santa Barbara Independent, May 19-25, 2002. ON THE COVER: Madame Ganna Walska, taken c. 1958. Photo by J.R. Eyerman\/Lotus- land Archives. Design by Ava Talehakimi.<\/p><\/div>\n

Originally published in the May 19-25 issue issue of the Santa Barbara Independent<\/em><\/a>. To see the story as it originally appeared click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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