A beginner's guide on how to start your own art collection on any budget—to create a unique home that reflects your individual style. A work of art—whether it is unexpected, groundbreaking, or one of a kind—can personalize your interior and transform it into a place like no other. But actually purchasing a signature piece—or even crossing the threshold into a gallery—can be a daunting act. How can you develop your own taste or gauge whether you’re making a worthwhile investment? Drawing on a decade of experience at Christie’s, Olivia de Fayet and Fanny Saulay know that the world is full of artistic talents waiting to be discovered and they want to reframe who can access original works. On a mission to make art accessible to everyone, they compiled their advice into this step-by-step guide that takes the guesswork out of purchasing, guiding amateurs to cultivate an eye and to select favorite pieces. They cover everything you need to know about starting your own collection, from how to find artists and galleries to how to define your collection, along with advice on purchasing, framing, hanging, maintaining, and conserving the value of your artworks. With tips for designing unique interiors with paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other decorative objects, this essential book will give art aficionados the confidence to select pieces they will love forever.

Art Since the ’80s, a new series from Reaktion Books, seeks to offer compelling surveys of popular themes in contemporary art. In the first book in the series, Gill Perry reveals how the house and the idea of home have inspired a range of imaginative and playful works by artists across the globe. Exploring how artists have engaged with this theme in different contexts—from mobile homes and beach houses to haunted houses and broken homes—Playing at Home shows that our relationship with houses involves complex responses in which gender, race, class, and status overlap, and that through these relationships we turn a house into a home. Perry looks at the works of numerous artists, including Tracey Emin, Rachel Whiteread, Michael Landy, Mike Kelley, and Peter Garfield, as well as the work of artists who travel across continents and see home as a shifting notion, such as Do-Ho-Suh and Song Dong. She also engages with the work of philosophers and cultural theorists from Walter Benjamin and Gaston Bachelard to Johan Huizinga and Henri Lefebvre, who inform our understanding of living and dwelling. Ultimately, she argues that irony, parody, and play are equally important in our interpretations of these works on the home. With over one hundred images, Playing at Home covers a wide range of art and media in a fascinating look at why there’s no place like home.

Evoking memories of the past and aspirations for the future to create unique contemporary interiors. Interior design should not be sterile or static; it’s a living extension of art meant to be touched, used, and admired. This mindset is the heart of Brian Paquette’s interiors. Beginning with the motto, “Function and comfort, first and always,” Paquette explores each client’s interests and lifestyle to create homes that reflect their identity, history, and aspirations. Integrating the placement of furniture, exposure to light, surface texture, and art, a client’s memories are translated into an evocative presence in the home, anchoring them to their past while providing a space of comfort and function for their future. At Home provides inspiration to replicate these methods in your own home regardless of style or budget. How does a person keep their memories alive in a home? Through fabric? A particular scent? Surface texture? Light exposure? Considering these elements and others, this is how Brian Paquette builds a room. By sharing each unique process of design for the ten homes featured in his book, readers can begin to consider their own memories and aspirations for how they too can create a home interior that is a true reflection of themselves.

From Susan Sully comes this book of inspirations for those who are enamored with the ever-enchanting Southern way of living. The words "Southern hospitality" conjure up a wealth of welcoming images, from breezy porches with white colonnades and the seductive scent of magnolia blossoms cut from the yard to fill heirloom vases to tables laden with fine china on embroidered linens, illuminated by candles. Southern Hospitality at Home showcases the special qualities of graciousness and charm that define the American South's way of living. Learn from Southern style experts how to make your home an inviting place for sharing with family and friends--from designing welcoming entrance halls and inviting living rooms to comfortable kitchens, pretty guest rooms, and shady garden rooms--and weave your spell of hospitality. Featured are an array of exceptional houses including an eighteenth-century dwelling in Charleston with a bold, contemporary palette and a rustic plantation where high and low styles mix in perfect harmony. In Savannah, interior designer Chuck Chewning brings modern sophistication to a Greek Revival townhouse. In Georgia, textile artist Susan Hable Smith injects bright color and pattern into an old-fashioned cottage and a collector offers fresh ideas for displaying antiques. With tips for decorating and accessorizing, arranging flowers and setting tables, caring for silver and serving authentic Southern recipes, this beautifully photographed hospitality resource is practical and inspirational, true to tradition, and relevant for today.

This is Home is a back-to-basics guide on how to create authentic wholehearted interiors. It's about living simply – finding the essence of what makes you happy at home and creating spaces that reflect your needs and style. Filled with clever ideas and creative spaces it shows that you don't need a huge budget to create a beautiful home. This is Home provides examples and case studies of places with a global and timeless feel that haven't always been renovated in the traditional sense but are true homes. Featuring eight case studies from Australia, the US and Europe, and nearly 200 color photographs, This is Home will inspire you with beautiful, authentic places you want to be – today. Chapters include: The big picture: how to determine your decorating personality, and what's authentic for you. Starting over: let go of the past and create a home for the person you are today, with a focus on decision-making and the art of editing. Living for now: Work out a budget for your time and money using your values as a guide. Where you can spend and save when it comes to creating lasting interiors. The Art of ingenuity: Think creatively, not expensively, when it comes to making changes at home. Going beyond the usual suspects can help you to create a home that's distinctively yours. The poetry of space: Successful spaces are all about addition and subtraction, positive and negative. How to create balance within a room while reflecting your decorating style. The feel of a home: Create interiors that make you feel, and have an emotional connection. How to introduce decorative elements that make for authentic interiors. Surrounding spaces: Key ideas to consider when creating your place in relation to its environment - from the surrounding landscape to local community. Maintaining the focus: Ways to evolve what's important for you and keep focussed on your aesthetic and lifestyle. Happy renewal: How to keep your home fresh without exhausting or expensive overhauls. Rest and revive: How our homes can function as a place to rest our bodies, rejoice in our relationships and restore our values.

"The modern home visitor's introductory textbook for effective, culturally sensitive home visits with young children and families"--

An inspiring collection of the extraordinary private spaces of 250 of the world's most creative people, past and present