Inviting Interiors: A Fresh Take on Beautiful Rooms

by Melanie Turner, Mali Azima (Photographer)

The first book from Atlanta interior designer Melanie Turner, whose pretty work has a modern edge.

Inspired by fashion and borrowing a palette from nature, Melanie Turner's interiors possess a timeless quality that celebrates architectural details and classic design. In this fresh and serene first book, Turner shares her secrets for creating understated, sophisticated, and functional rooms. Balance, scale, light, and subtle coloration all factor into her designs, creating a timeless effect.

The elegant spaces featured in the book maintain an emphasis on simplicity and understated glamour, featuring a blend of clean lines, found and fine objects, and custom-designed, sculptural furniture. Divided by look, the book features multiple homes illustrating each style. "Calm" showcases cool, white interiors, accented by natural textures like wicker and bone. "Clarity" celebrates graphic, contrasting rooms filled with black and white. "Collected" revels in richer colors, accessorized with lush velvet, rich patterns, and metallic accents. "Color" celebrates the power of a palette-driven interior, from spring green, to pale pink, to midnight blue. "Cool" is driven by a funky 1970s vibe, with macramé chairs and Moroccan accents. Regardless of the style, these rooms are united in the power and promise of their seamless, edited beauty.

Genres: Interior Design

240 pages, Hardcover

Published March 2, 2021

Reviews

[Julie]

Do I love interior design books? The writing is so rich to me, all these descriptions and words and language for things I didn’t know existed. An ogee arch, window mullions, a woven pendant light, channel-tufted headboard, parquet, shagreen cocktail table, etc. Some of the rooms I didn’t like personally, they didn’t feel like a place you could have a real life, but they were always impressive. And the ones I did like were stunning. A few rooms had some of the most beautiful pieces I’ve ever seen and the sheer knowledge alone was evident regardless of preference or taste. She refers to this as her art and it is, but the sheer scale of wealth required to do work like this compromises the artistry in my eyes. But I would love to see her work within a budget and maybe she has. This is impressive but without seeing it’s budget counterpart I don’t feel like I can accurately form my opinion of it, this level of wealth is offensive. One vase the cut leafy branch didn’t meet the water and I was thrown. Mistake or plant temperament? She loves a folding screen and director’s chair which I definitely don’t and a lot of the art I found ugly but it always fit the space/design. Some details utterly gorgeous and that was exciting to me to see things I haven’t seen before. The black and white tiling with the opposite color circles which she describes as domino-esque I loved. The two parchment paper dressers I can’t find now. The books backward I understand for staging and photos but inherently hate because that would be infuriating. The octopus fireplace was so cool. Just as a sentence even. Loved that she didn’t put a rug in the entryway of one home because that’s where the girls practice their ballet. That’s a sign of a professional. The snake wallpaper was superb. The rose quartz dressing room stood out, as did the black and gold (orange) powder room. I found the dressers I liked which are actually verre églomisé chests (page 182). I never did find the ombré carpeting which she mentioned but I couldn’t see. Really cool book. Always fun to see into someone else’s mind in this way even if I don’t always agree. Talented

[Rochelle Palmeri]

I would say a 5 out of 5 for the images! Her style is super fun and a feast for the eyes! I knocked off a star just because I feel like I didn’t learn anything. But worth it for the cool images, such unique items her work!

[Sara-Kay]

I swooned over these photos! Not necessarily a practical guide, but man, I love her style.

[Kendra]

What kind of person turns their books spines to the wall in their library?

[Meow]

Beautiful photos