Do It By The Book
The Age
Monday January 15, 1996
Quality hardcover are the booming source for lifestyle inspiration.
AT A time when home-maker magazines are doing better than ever, the circulation figures for Vogue Living, Belle, Home Beautiful, Better Homes & Gardens are up. So are the sales of books that show how to create the perfect nest.
Glossy books are meeting the newsstand glossies head on. They are an increasing source of information and inspiration for home design, lifestyle, decorating and DIY topics. Each form of publishing has its place. Books show style that has already been proven; it has lasted for at least the couple of years that it takes to get from concept to bookshelf. Books present greater detail on a subject, depth of coverage and an enduring record. This is proven by the style books. French Style was first published 14 years ago; it is still a big seller at $85. Most of the upmarket titles are from overseas, so they show an international picture. Paul Donovan from Allen & Unwin says we have a shrinking globe. ``Design books are for an international market, not British or American but mid-Pacific or mid-Atlantic, and the market is growing at the better-quality end, books that sell on quality." Coffee-table stuff. Magazines on the other hand are directional, fashionable, sharp, urgent, shopping resources. Disposable. Looking at value for money, the books make good buys. Compared to the excellent World of Interiors magazine from London, arguably the best mag on the market, which sells for just under $10, it doesn't take many magazines to equal a substantial book. That magazine's writers and stylists are also the authors of some terrific books. Two that are worth looking at are Gift Wraps Baskets & Bows by Mary Norden (distributed by Allen & Unwin) and The Soft Furnishing Book by Katrin Cargill (distributed by Reed Books). Both are good, inspirational examples of deep investigation of a topic in truly high style. At the moment, the two current runaway bestsellers are The Essential House Book by Terence Conran ($59.95) and The Book of Home Design Using Ikea Home Furnishings by Anoop Parikh ($39.95). They show a consistent message for a clear, modern look. Everything is beautiful - the books and the content.
They are both big, heavy with luscious large pictures and excellent value for money. In fact, too good, according to Paul Donovan, the distributor of the Ikea book. It should have cost more than $39.95 but we are price-sensitive at $40, says Paul. The Ikea book has been the biggest interiors book of 1995 for Allen & Unwin; 5000 were copies brought into Australia.
Any book with a Conran credit appears to boom. Janet Coombes at Reed Books says her company started in this niche with Conran. His books cover all aspects of interior design at affordable prices. ``We take all Conran's titles because they are so gorgeous. Tricia Guild's books are very successful for us, too," says Janet. ``There is life in interiors publishing, and it could be at the expense of cookery books." Sue Brockhoff from Random House says that the lifestyle area is a growing area for publishing, so much so that it could be saturated. Sydney painted finishes authority Jennifer Bennell's Masterstrokes and Masterworks are the biggest sellers for Random House. With the huge volume of wonderful titles available, it seems extraordinary that there was a time these books did not exist.
Meryl Bartak from Black Mask books has seen the design and lifestyle niche in her excellent South Yarra shop grow from zero 18 years ago to the more than 100 titles they stock now.
``When we opened, photographic books were the go," says Meryl. Now interiors and upmarket DIY are hot. At Angus & Robertson Book World, Stephen Small plots the growth's acceleration to around six years ago. He puts it down to people moving house less and spending more time on making home better.
It is the international nature of publishing that makes the books affordable. ``The print runs are so big that the books prices have not increased that much. The prices have been stabilised," says Meryl. ``There have always been craft and handyman books," says Meryl. ``These quality books are different. We knock back a lot of craft books. A lot of soft furnishings books are dull or simplistic. The book has to be as lovely as the ideas.
" Meryl has an aesthete's taste in books. To appeal to her, the books have to be fairly quirky, beautiful books with beautiful pictures, as well as a clear message. This list of the top 20 was compiled with her guidance. The top 20, not in order: 1. Moroccan Interiors by Smith (Taschen, $69.95).
2. Flanders The Art of Living by Swimberghe and Verlinde (Stewart Tabori & Chang, $85).
3. Bali Style by Helmi and Walker (Thames & Hudson, $85).
4. San Francisco Interiors by Saeks (Chronicle, $65).
5. Los Angeles: A Certain Style by Vaughan Viladas (Chronicle, $65).
6. The Book of Home Design Using Ikea Home Furnishings by Parikh (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, $39.95).
7. The Essential House Book by Terence Conran (Conran Octopus, $59.95).
8. The Soft Furnishing Book, Katrin Cargill (Conran Octopus, $49.95).
9. The Simple Home by Bird (Ebury Press, $39.95).
10. Natural Decorating by Wilhide & Copestick (Conran Octopus, $39.95).
11. The Bed by Beldegree (Stewart Tabori & Chang, $44.95); new in paperback instead of $80 for hardcover five years ago.
12. Tricia Guild on Color (Conran Octopus, $29.95).
13. Design and Detail by Tricia Guild (Conran Octopus, $29.
95).
14. The Color Book by Laura Ashley (Ebury Press, $49.95).
15. The Curtain Book by Mogg and Paine (Mitchell Beazley, $69.95).
16. New Fabric Magic by Paine (Hodder, $25.95).
17. The French Room by Wilhide (Conran Octopus, $29.95).
18. Japanese Style by Slesin, Cliff and Rozensztroch (Thames & Hudson, $85).
19. San Francisco Interiors by Saeks (Chronicle, $65).
20. Living in Turkey by Yerasimos (Thames and Hudson, $85).
GIVEAWAY.
A TOTALLY DESIRABLE BOOK.
`SOPHISTICATED simplicity with natural materials" is the subtitle of Natural Decorating by Elizabeth Wilhide and Joanna Copestick, a new release from Conran Octopus. This book has all the ingredients to make it irresistible, excellent photography and styling, new ideas and instructions on how to achieve a home that is fit for Sir Terence himself. The book is a comprehensive guide to creating contemporary natural interiors using materials that are innovative and age well with finishes and furnishings that are simpoly gorgeous.
Elizabeth Wilhide was a contributor to Conran's blockbuster, The Essential House Book. In this book, she and her co-author present ideas for walls, floors, windows and furnishings. There are interesting ideas like exterior shutters made of planking with arrowhead cut-outs that look wonderful. The price is $39.95, excellent value.
We have five copies to give away. Just write your name, address and daytime phone number on the back of an enevelope. Address it to Natural Decorating, Home Weekly, PO Box 2417V, Melbourne 3001. Make sure we receive your entry by 23 January. The winners will be published on 29 January.
© 1996 The Age
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