Book Review: A Life Less Ordinary by Zoe Ellison and Alex Legendre

Today, will you join me in reviewing A Life Less Ordinary? A Belgian Style treat, if ever there was one. It's written by Zoe Ellison and Alex Legendre {can I just interject here: how cool is that surname? Legendre. Nice.} and published by Ryland, Peters and Small. 

I grew up in Brighton, on the south coast of England, where, Igigi, the shop owned by the two authors is based. And, let me tell you, even within Brighton's heady mix of design and originality, Igigi's stands out a mile. 

The attention to detail, sense of style and boundless creativity oozes from every stunningly bare-plastered wall. Igigi's was one of the first shops I ever blogged about, back in 2010! 

You can imagine how excited I was, then, to have Zoe and Alex's new book in my hands. T.H.R.I.L.L.E.D.. A Life Less Ordinary is one of those lovely books that you can easily while away an evening reading; thoroughly immersing yourself in every moment. 

The first thing to note is that this is not some flimsy marketing after-thought. A Life Less Ordinary is a substantial, weighty tome, nearly 200 pages, and is beautifully put together. 

Little touches like tracing paper inlays, dinky envelopes and cards, as well as the absolutely stunning photography and delightfully personal text make the whole experience feel like a real grown-up treat.

And, though A Life Less Ordinaryis unapologetically on-trend, the feeling you are left with, when you finally tear yourself away, is not one of materialistic dissatisfaction, but rather a buzz of excitement at the design possibilities of your own special space.

Within the text, Alex and Zoe share the story of their meeting of minds, and you can sense what a pleasure the friendship has been, creating the wonderful balance they clearly have between business and art. 

We are, rather voyeuristically (but none the worse for that!), given a tour of their own stunning homes. Zoe Ellison's...

and Alex Legendre's... 



...as well as photos of Igigi and their own styling work....

where every last pared-back detail is considered...



If this doesn't go in the Favourites part of your bookshelf, 
I'll eat my hat. Can't say fairer than that, can I?! 

{Click here to buy your copy of A Life Less Ordinary.}


Love 
Sarahx

Enter your email address:

to subscribe to Modern Country Style