The Imperfectionist

The Perfectly Imperfect Home

How to Decorate & Live Well... tips for effortless style—and living the life you want

You’ve probably walked into someone’s home and instantly felt like you’d entered another dimension, gone through a looking glass, and ended up in the pages of a catalog (or one of those fake rooms in a furniture store). If, instead, you want a house that walks that blissful path between soullessly showroom-perfect and happily pigs-in-mud chaotic, you should definitely read this new book: Deborah Needleman’s The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate & Live Well.

Style is a luxury, and luxury is simply what makes you happy. Over the years, design expert and founding editor of domino Deborah Needleman has seen all kinds of rooms, with all kinds of furnishings. Her conclusion: It's not hard to create a relaxed, stylish, and comfortable home. Just a few well-considered items can completely change the feel of your space, and The Perfectly Imperfect Home reveals them all. Ranging from classics such as "A Really Good Sofa" and "Pretty Table Settings" to unusual surprises like "A Bit of Quirk" and "Cozifications," the essential elements of style are treated in witty and wonderfully useful little essays. You'll learn what to look for, whether you are at a flea market or a fancy boutique - or just mining what you already own.


Tips & Takeaways: Ways to be Perfectly Imperfect

'The Perfectly Imperfect Home" is crammed full of helpful tips on everything from arranging furniture to hanging pictures to setting a mood. Here are a few basics to live (well) by:

• The light from a reading lamp should be below eye level when you’re sitting; the goal is to illuminate the page, not your head.
• When you’re trying to fit a shade to a lamp, bring the lamp to the store. Even the pros can’t eyeball it, she says.
• In a small entryway (or powder room), “exaggerate the mood” with bold wallpaper or intense colors that would be overpowering in a bigger room.
• The key to reducing clutter is to create “designated storage” consisting of bins, baskets, boxes, and trays. With these “miracle workers,” there’s a place for everything.
• In the living room, it’s nice to have a taller, firmer upholstered chair for older people who might have trouble getting in and out of slouchy couches. It’s also great for all those who hate slumping into the cushions. 

Purchase 'The Perfectly Imperfect Home" on Gilt Groupe 

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