Books on house and garden for gift-giving or keeping
Source: OCRegister ()
When all else fails for gift ideas for the holidays, turn to books. Here, our staff’s favorites, including home and garden books that inform, instruct or simply inspire. All selections are available at book retailers:
By Diane Dorran Saeks (Rizzoli International, $45)
With an eye of a designer, author Diane Dorran Saeks explores 30 private residences and hotels in her newly released book on the famous desert community. Glimpse inside Cary Grant’s restored 1920s hacienda hideaway, interior designer Martin Newman’s Spanish-style hacienda, a dramatic home with a museum-quality contemporary art collection and a classic midcentury modern icon.
By Ina Brosseau Marx and Allen Marx (Watson-Guptill, $50)
If you’re an antiques collector or have a family heirloom in need of repair, the authors will guide you through the process of restoration. Do-it-yourselfers will find detailed descriptions on the repair of wood structures and the restoration of veneers, finishes and gilding. After reading this book, you’ll be able to examine flea-market finds with a more discerning eye.
By Susan Hershman (Gibbs Smith, $34.95)
Anyone aiming for a cohesive look for the outside of their home, or is involved in exterior design, or ju
st loves to look at houses, should take a peek at “House Colors.” The paint palettes are endless, the architectural styles are varied and each house in this heavily photographed book is a gem you’d love to own, that is, if you were collecting homes.
The book is about color, but is arranged by style: colonial, cottage, Mediterranean, modern, and more. Hershman points out why the landscape works with the style of the house and photographs the unexpected details that make this 335-page book eye candy for the home buff.
By Barbara W. Ellis (Storey, $19.95)
If you’ve been wondering just how you were going to replace …