The Creative Home: Inspiring Ideas for Beautiful Living

by Geraldine James

Let Geraldine James show you how to reinvent your home with new and exciting ways to make it uniquely yours.

Whether you live in a bustling home where a family of different ages with varying tastes and interests needs to be accommodated, in a compact city pied à terre, or in a country or seaside retreat, you will find inspiration here for your ideal living space. The Creative Home brings together the best of Geraldine James’s Creative series of books and shows how to apply these ideas in your own home. There are four chapters on different areas of the house—Cook and Eat features kitchens and dining areas, Relax and Socialize covers living rooms, Work and Create includes home offices and studios, and Sleep and Bathe, of course, shows bedrooms and bathrooms. A final chapter, Store and Display, shows how your home can be used to show off your treasures and store your collections. Each chapter features rooms of different styles—from sleek and minimal, to Aladdin's caves belonging to collectors of anything and everything, thrifty chic-style rooms furnished with second-hand buys, and renovated homes with no expense spared—as well as displays featuring designer items alongside inherited family heirlooms. However, the one thing every room has in common, whatever its style or purpose, is that it has been furnished and decorated with great attention to detail.

Genres: Nonfiction, Design, Interior Design

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 20, 2016

About the author

Geraldine James started her career in fashion as a contemporary designer buyer, and from fashion she moved to home and gift. Geraldine soon developed a passion for collecting and finding the most unusual and beautiful things. She now works as a home buying manager at Selfridges and, as part of her role, spends time traveling extensively to find exciting new products for the store.

Reviews

[Dana Al-Basha | دانة الباشا · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't feel comfortable with people who have ugly homes, or homes without character or creepy/empty places or places that don't feel clean or airy. I think homes tells us a lot about the people we meet or befriend, and I like homes that feel homey and colorful, that feel and look beautiful and creative, and that smell of flowers, clean air and home cooked meals.



Size is of no importance to me, it's how you work the size that matters. This book is truly inspiring and beautiful to look at. I love paintings, books and personal items in such photos, I don't go for hotel like homes, or homes out of a cocaine raid, just a creative loving space. Whither it's a rental or a villa, some people have a great taste, some are just plain boring.

[Marcy Graybill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book with pretty pictures. I do like reading decorating books, not that my house will ever look like the ones in the books. I consider decorating books a non-fiction version of a romance novel.

[Kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Everything is white. I counted maybe 5 pages with any color at all on them, and it was from blankets, daffodils, or like, one lamp. So if you want to design an all-white house (with black touches) this is a great book. But it didn't feel creative at all to me.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars; Design/reread

Funny how a few years changes the way you view things. I originally read this book in 2017 and was underwhelmed, giving it just two stars. I thought it was okay. Meh.

Fast foward three years and I’ve just revisited this title. The images presented here are solid and I’ve come a long way at better understanding the design elements and how they work together. Last time, I believe I was looking for inspiration that I could copy directly whereas this time, I studied more carefully the principles and ideas. Much more did I enjoy it this second time around!

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. What to write? It was fun to look at all the pretty pictures. However, I doubt that very few people would care for the almost entirely monochromatic schemes. I also suggest that putting any of these ideas into practice would be possible only for a) rich people with b) very regular cleaning staff. That said, if you aspire to serene palettes and many objet d'art, this is the book for you. It's pretty aspirational.

[Latara McCall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pictures were kind of nice to look at but nothing really stood out to me.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like her other books, this is full of gorgeous photography of fancy houses. There seemed to be quite a lot of crossover between this book and the two others I've read from her. Lots of pics I've already seen.

Lots of ideas for home decor too!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice publication meant for the coffee table. There was a good range of affordable ideas as well as the more opulent looks. Plenty of ideas for those with crafty and arty abilities