Design Books Under $20!

I've done a lot of book reviews here on the blog, most of them being interior design books. I'd really love to believe that even with the advent of pinterest, blogs, tumblrs, and google, there are still some of us who love to sit down with a glass of wine, or a cup of coffee and indulge in the crisp, thick paper of a well laid out design book featuring beautiful homes finished by notable interior designers.

These books can be expensive, sure. But they make for wonderful inspiration, great coffee table or shelf decor, and provide infinite information and reference for your projects. Sometimes though, you can really luck out, and find some great deals on Amazon on older books that still pack quite a punch for inspiration in today's decor.

Rizzoli and Potter Style published a total of seven "The Way We Live" books by Stafford Cliff and Gilles De Chabaneix. (Not ALL of them are These thick, heavy hardcover books provide amazing inspiration, even though some of them are now turning 13+ years old.

Again, these copies are incredibly inspiring, with a ton of beautiful photos cataloged in brilliant color photography from stunning homes and locations from around the globe. Each of them have more than 250 pages, making them impressive coffee table stationary books on top of being wholly fulfilling when looking for design inspiration! I highly recommend all of them! 

Moving on, I have always loved books on England and France. I have countless copies of books on English Country design, architecture, gardening, and French design and architecture. One of my FAVORITE books, is "Parisian Hideaways", which is mostly a collection of photos from fancy hotels and manor homes the let rooms in Paris. 

Another great book, is John Stefanidis' "An Island Sanctuary" about his house in Patmos. You've seen it in magazines over and over and over again, now you can take a peek at rooms that haven't been photographed for mass publication, that are even more inspiring! And the views? OH! I'm moving to Greece! 

If you're as in love with architecture as I am, I highly recommend "Architecture of Democracy" by noted architect Allan Greenberg. It's one part architecture, one part design, one part history all wrapped up in a beautiful heavy book that I assure you'll go to again and again. I know I have. 

Sometimes it's nice to have a book that's topical and design related, so when I found "The Summer Cottage: Retreats of the 1000 Islands" I knew I had to have a copy. It's since become relatively inexpensive to add to your collection! The 1000 Islands is a grouping of out islands in the Great Lakes of New York. A wonderful place to visit, if you're ever in the area. 

Another wonderful collection that can be had are the Style/Rooms to Inspire series of books by Annie Kelly! I have all of them, and even though some are quite dated, they are among my TOP collection of books to go to for inspiration. Litchfield Style is one of my very favorites, just a gorgeous collections of homes small and large, all done in varied classic traditional country aesthetics.

So there you go, just a few that I have in my collection that upon review have dropped so significantly in price I can't keep from sharing! Hope you like them as much as I do!