Bowerbird: Creating Beautiful Interiors with the Things You Collect

by Sibella Court

Sibella Court is bestselling author (Etcetera, Nomad, The Stylist’s Guide to NYC) and a renowned interior stylist and creative director who has styled for such retail giants as Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Saks on Fifth Ave, Pottery Barn, and Target, as well as for publications like Gourmet, Marie Claire, and Vogue Living. Often referred to as a “bowerbird”—an Australian avian known for decorating her nest with all manner of eclectic treasures—Sibella now offers a wealth of ideas on how to incorporate the things you collect and are passionate about into your home’s design to create beautiful and evocative interiors. With gorgeous photography by her brother, commercial photographer Chris Court, Sibella’s The Life of a Bowerbird showcases her unique eclectic vision in this gift for “bowerbirds” everywhere.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design, Interior Design, Reference

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 2012

About the author

Sibella Court is an interior stylist & creative director: from vision & concept through to direction & creation. Her most recent spaces for private clients & the Merivale Group include El Loco, 30 Knots, Upstairs at The Beresford, MsG’s, York 75, Bistrode CBD and Private Dining at Ivy.

She returned home to Sydney to launch her brand and shop, The Society inc., after 15 years living & working in New York. Her store is home to hardware & haberdashery & treasures collected globetrotting & adventuring into terrains less trodden.

In New York she was styling in demand for retail giants Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Saks on Fifth Ave, Pottery Barn, Target and West Elm as well as publications Gourmet, Marie Claire and Vogue Living. Sibella travels between her two homes regularly for jobs & inspiration. Her projects have been vast including concept, design and styling for commercial and residential interiors, magazine & advertising shoots, catalogues and product design with a nail polish, hardware and 110-colour paint range under The Society inc.

Her wanderlust has seen her accumulate over twenty years of global inspiration from trips frequenting South East Asia, India, Europe, the Middle East, the States, Central America and Australia (and that’s just in the last year). She travels alone, with the Anthropologie inspiration team & because she is a nomad.

Sibella is a best-selling author: award-winning, ‘Etcetera etc: creating beautiful interiors with the things you love’, ‘The Stylist’s Guide to NYC’ and ‘Nomad: bringing your travels home’ due for release globally in November. She has written extensively for publications such as CountryStyle, Grazia, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue Living as a feature writer & contributing editor.

A history degree allows Sibella a unique foundation on which to combine research, travel & inspiration into projects that are unique, magical & unexampled.

Reviews

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. The Life of a Bowerbird is one of four books by Sibella Court that I've looked at or read, the others being Nomad, Gypsy, and Etcetera. Of those four this is my second favourite.
See, the whole concept of collections and and the displaying of them that is presented in this book is not really something that I love. Most of the time I felt that everything was too cluttered. It overwhelmed me. I prefer simplicity.
However, parts of the book were very inspiring to me, specifically, the chapters "Smiths & Tinkers," "Draper & Mills," "Ephemera" and "Honest & Humble." These chapters featured objects that are more my thing, such as fabric, maps and dictionaries, books!, rope, blackboards, and the like.
So the low rating isn't at all because it is a terrible book, it is just because The Life of a Bowerbird is about a topic that doesn't interest me.

[Ambur Taft · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little bit creepy and a lot awesome. So many things to look at all with so much history. Some really great ideas on things to look for at estate sales and obscure little antique and thrift stores - minus the teeth for me, but LOVE the vintage glass and porcelain and especially the scientific paraphernalia. The photography of such treasures, and interesting and creative ways to display them, is fantastic. One of the best interior decorating/craft coffee table books I've seen in awhile. Also, the list of library museums and antique shops around the world and the list of curious books in the back are keepers for the to do list.

[Melanie Ting · Rating 2 out of 5]

While not my aesthetic, this book would appeal to those that like to collect antique bits and nature relics. It seems unnecessary to tell people how to collect, it's either in their nature or not, but she does display her many, many, many things beautifully. It was almost impossible to read since all the text was cunningly set on dark backgrounds of burlap, aged paper or distressed wood. The one thing I did enjoy was the list of museums and shops worldwide.

[Melanie Rippon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of Sibella’s books I’ve had for years & browse repeatedly. Arranged by collection type: Beachcombing; Objet Trouve; Zoologie/Entomology; Tinctures, Apothecary & Alchemy; Smiths & Tinkers; Draper & Mills; Ephemera; Honest & Humble; Oddities & Curiosities; Magic, Tricks & Lucky Dips. Unlike some of the other reviewers on here, I don’t mind the taxidermy so much - it’s the dolls I find creepy! Like Sibella’s other books, it would have a higher rating except for the annoying fact some of the text is, again, printed directly over photographs & really difficult to read.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for inspiration around the home if your style is all things natural, vintage and a bit rough around the edges. Now for a day of antique shopping!

[Amanda up North · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visually stunning book.

[Relyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sibella Court creates the most beautiful books. I love every one of them. I could never live with all the stuff she keeps, but it sure is gorgeous.

[Jenny Ekberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sibella Court makes amazing visual and tactile books; I love some of her others, particularly those based on her travels with colour palettes (which you can get inspiration from without buying her specific line of paint). Though beautiful, however, Bowerbird is not my favourite. It is not at practical for most of us; how do you keep all those beautiful collections even half-clean?

While I love Sibella's aesthetics and passion for the old, forgotten and weathered, I get a sense of someone who hasn't really ever had to be concerned about the "daily grind" in life (most of us have to worry about making ends meet, clean our own houses, can't afford to travel that much or having large artefacts sent home from faraway countries, etc). Still, some of her other books (Gypsy, Nomad) are more relevant for the average person (including the broke student or overworked parent) as they convey a feeling of places (scents, colours etc) and ideas for your home that are adaptable for anyone regardless of finances and life situation.

[Gabrielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the collections in this book are very artfully presented and thought-out, I found many of them were simply too dreary for my taste. I connected with a few of the ideas she presented (particularly books), but many of them I found a bit too creepy to want to surround myself with (dead, birds, detached limbs of old dolls, dried seahorses). If you enjoy these antique, slightly sinister types of objects, you will likely enjoy flipping through this book. If you are looking for rustic, earthy decor ideas like I was, look elsewhere.

[Lisa Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had wanted to purchase this book for a long time and finally, gifted it to myself! I was not disappointed. I wanted to leap inside this book! With glee, I recognized so many items similar to what I have amassed all these years! I wish I could go shopping with the author!

[TheWellReadLady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another 'pretty' book from Court - just found some of the pages hard to read (like when the text is written on images of hessian, dark tiles etc).

Like her nature collections - but would hate to dust her house!!

[Clover · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has really gorgeous photos of the author's various collections. It's something nice to flip through over strong coffee, great for ideas!

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're looking for a low-text picture book on how to display grody natural collections in your house, like birds nests and dead birds and bones, this book will show you how.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! The collections, the photographs... Can I be Sibella Court when I grow up? :)

[Bea Araujo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures of the author's collections, but her extremely privileged life bleeds through in many of the descriptions. "Although I am very anti-hunting and concerned about extinction, I continue to have a somewhat romantic view of colonialism and hunting safaris." I guess the "somewhat" tempers it a bit, but still. Glad I read it, for the sheer beauty of the pictures, but I wouldn't buy another of her books.