Book Review: The Perfectly Imperfect Home

When preparing to decorate any room, there are always a few go-to books that I pick off my shelf and immerse myself in. One of those books is The Perfectly Imperfect Home by Deborah Needleman.

This will probably be the weirdest book review you've ever read. I start off by slating it and then get all lovey-dovey. Confused?

 Read on and all will become clear...

You see, The Perfectly Imperfect Home (published by Jacqui Small) is the antithesis of most of my other favourite interior books. When I'm browsing Amazon, it's usually the pictures that I devour and the text receives only a cursory skim. {fully aware that makes me sound about three years old.} And luring me in is where this book fell right down.

 The Perfectly Imperfect Home is illustrated with beautiful water-colours by Virginia Johnson but the pictures, in my humble opinion, are wrong, wrong, wrong. While they are exquisitely put together, they leave me utterly cold. Is it just me or is there more than a sniff of the gawdy eighties about them?

{I should add that this disagrees with all the other reviews I've read of this book, 

which raved about the paintings so I'm bracing myself for a tumbleweed moment.

Hello? Hello? Anyone??}

Yup, if I hadn't seen this book over on Gg Notes On The Journey, 

I'm not sure that it would have caught my interest at all

and my picture-prejudice would have cost me dearly.

The Perfectly Imperfect Home has become one of  my very favourite interior books. The text is outstanding and more than makes up for the rather not-my-taste-at-all illustrations. Comforting, warm and gentle, Deborah Needleman guides the reader through the process of decorating their home. Chapters include Nice Lighting, A Bit Of Quirk, Delicious Scent and Dinner With Friends.

Her writing style has the tone of a best friend, who also happens to be an expert in making your home the very best it could be....and is able to convey that information....over a cup of tea and a home-baked slice of gooey cake.... 

{that was the lovey-dovey bit I promised you...}

When do you ever get that feeling in normal interior books, I ask you? Gorgeous photos, yes...they come as standard. But sparkling, lively text that draws you in and makes you feel Yes! I can do this!!? Nope.....that's not normal.

The Perfectly Imperfect Home has that in spades.

You want it? Come and get it...

Buy it now over on the Amazon Widget in my sidebar...

And to be stretched to the limits of temptation,

check out my other favourite book reviews: just click here...