Foundations: Timeless Design That Feels Personal

by Nate Berkus, Heather Summerville - contributor

Instant New York Times Bestseller

A practical tour-de-force that shows anyone how to make a home both timeless and personal—from one of the world’s most influential designers.

In this beautifully crafted yet accessible book, Nate Berkus shares how to layer a home with character and history to make a space that is uniquely yours—on any budget. Whether redecorating a nook, a room, or starting from the ground up, you will learn how Nate decodes the Four Tenets of Good Design. Foundational, they apply to any home and all budgets and apply when choosing paint colors, matching hardware, assessing flooring, or deciding about furniture—and every other decision big and small that goes into putting a home together. The tenets are not a recipe to follow as much as they are ideas to get you

Make it Personal—Nate explains how to draw inspiration from the places you’ve been, what you love, and who you aspire to be at home.

Embrace History—Nate shows you how to think about objects and details that have stood the test of time. Every room Nate designs nods to history, and you don’t need a lot of money to embrace it.

Build Character—You can think big or architectural details, classic materials, and timeless finishes make a home stand out.

Develop a Vision—Nate guides you to harness inspiration for a look that embodies who you want to be at home and how you want to live.

For Nate Berkus, enduring design is honest, emotional, and tailored to the people who live in it. That means creating rooms that can grow and evolve with you. Foundations is inspiration and an open invitation for anyone with any kind of space to design a place that is unequivocally yours.

Audible Audio

Published November 18, 2025

Reviews

[Sloan Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love nate and i love this book. this is not only such a resourceful design book with so many tools but a great story experience of his experience in design and life

[elizabeth sawyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chuckled as I noticed a typeset error page 54. “Primitive” is on bottom right instead of on the upper left heading page 55 where it should be. Yet, a little thing like that is almost a lovely period on exactly the sentiments Berkus has expressed in this amazing design book. His theme throughout foundational instruction is to embrace the imperfect, yet in the process creating a curated design that reflects intentionality and wholly reflective of your self/family. Comments about contrasts of him & Jeremiah were relatable. A fan of Berkus’ style since the Opera days, savoring his latest book today made my creativity buzz with inspiration… and crafting a list of things to really hunt for over time. The photography & words blended into a warm hug on a cold day in the NW, which is my only complaint that he didn’t go to the NW on tour. This book will be featured on my shelf and referred to before any interior project in future.

[Five 5 Five Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a true distillation of a clearly wonderful career. Discernment takes time, with this book you get the secret code. Somehow the book brings design to the ground accessible level for us all and still helps us elevate our understanding while we go on the journey. You can read the book front to back (I did) and/or you can skim around to get nuggets of inspiration and awe as needed. Invest in the book, it’s an investment in you.

[Nicole Faust Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is both a gorgeous coffee table book on interiors, and also a practical ‘how to’ make your home functional, comfortable and appealing. Nate takes you through different rooms and explains his design choices and offers suggestions for all budgets. As a design enthusiast, I loved this book and learned a few tips that I’m incorporating into our home.