My favorite books that inspire creating your own unique home or space

Why am I passionate about this?

I am mainly known as an Interiors Photographer and although accidentally falling into photographing Interiors, it has become a passion, always interested in the story these places tell and alongside my husband we have built our own home creating a unique space using recuperated materials. As part of my work, I am always looking for interesting and inspirational books and places. It is how I train my eye, drawn to the unusual. I am as happy photographing a chateau in Provence as I am in a small and remote cabin in Norway. 


I wrote...

Book cover of The Foraged Home

What is my book about?

Artful home interiors are born from curiosity, creativity, and imagination, yet many of us fail to see a potential curtain rod in a bamboo stick or a kitchen counter in an old carpenter’s bench.

Anyone can create a beautiful home without expensive store-bought pieces simply by foraging and salvaging. Presenting the techniques and philosophies―such as beachcombing, forest hunting, and urban salvaging―of savvy foragers from across the globe, this book showcases how they created comfortable and stylish homes by breathing new life into what most would consider waste. In an era when sustainability, living off the grid, and reducing our eco-footprint have never been more important or appealing, The Foraged Home will provide guidance and inspiration to those looking to go beyond the world of mass-produced products.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Axel Vervoordt: Wabi Inspirations

Joanna Maclennan Why did I love this book?

As quoted by Axel Vervoordt his philosophy “is a belief that a home should be a personal expression of your soul. It should represent the way you want to live, the ideas that define your tastes, perspectives, and connections to the world. The spaces where people share private experiences with family and friends should restore and give energy.
Vervoordt is a master of Interiors and this quote sums up my belief towards my own Interiors. This book is outstanding. It has been a big influence in my life and as a photographer. He incorporates the Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi - acceptance of transience and imperfection - and I see this in many aspects of what we have tried to create in our own home. 

By Axel Vervoordt,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Axel Vervoordt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Interior design guru Axel Vervoordt shares his latest inspirations for the home. Axel Vervoordt€™s intense curiosity has fueled his work as an interior designer, spurring him to explore and draw inspiration from cultures around the globe. He was first exposed to Eastern art and philosophy years ago, but today it has become the guiding principle in his work, particularly the concept of Wabi. Developed in the twelfth century, Wabi advocates simplicity and humility, the rejection of all that is superfluous or artificial. Through extraordinary photographs from Japan and Korea to Belgium and Switzerland, Vervoordt invites us to explore the elements…


Book cover of Perfect Imperfect: The Beauty Of Accident Age And Patina

Joanna Maclennan Why did I love this book?

This book was not only an inspiration for my first book but a book that visually spoke to me not only through the photography, but the spaces and places included in it. There are many Interiors books on the market but this one is up there as one of my all time favourites. It inspires me to be a better photographer and I find myself looking at this book over and over again. 

By Karen McCartney, Sharyn Cairns, Glen Proebstel

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Perfect Imperfect as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If you have read The House that Pinterest Built, Smart Spaces, The Alchemy of Things, or Elements of Style you're going to love Perfect Imperfect.

Wabi-sabi and new creative interior design expressions: Perfect Imperfect is a stunning collection of homes and studios of creatives from all over the world, with thought-provoking text by Karen McCartney and stunning visuals by Sharyn Cairns and Glen Proebstel. Perfect Imperfect takes as its founding principle the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. Wabi-Sabi advocates the beauty to be found in imperfection, impermanence and the authentic. Importantly this is done without losing sight of the benefits of…


Book cover of Cabin Fever: Sheds and Shelters, Huts and Hideaways

Joanna Maclennan Why did I love this book?

A recent purchase, when I discovered this book on Instagram (secondhand) I immediately wanted to buy it.

First published in 1993 it is still relevant today as I am sure it was then. We are all in love with Cabins, sheds, corrugated iron, escapism and there are many books on this subject. Marie France Boyer works for The World of Interiors amongst other magazines and has a wonderful eye and this book inspires me in my research for cabins in the world.

By Marie-France Boyer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cabin Fever as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Intriguing and strangely magnetic, cabins fulfil the longing in all of us to indulge again in our childhood reveries of secret hideaways, built of branches and leaves or whatever is to hand; to enter our own private world; to commune with nature and with our own selves. Hidden in the forest, up in the treetops, by the side of still or moving water, down at the end of the garden, the cabin is the most magical of dwellings. Magical, but real too, as these photos from all over the world testify: fishing cabins in Maine; the shed in Wales to…


Book cover of Kabinett & Kammer: Creating Authentic Interiors

Joanna Maclennan Why did I love this book?

This book is one of my most recent purchases. I really love Sean Scherer’s style and it speaks to both myself and my husband.

The photography is great in this book and Sean has a wonderful eye for detail. It’s a feast for the eyes. It has that ‘cabinet de curiosité’ style and so many details I want to keep looking at. I have visited the Catskills area and this book certainly makes me want to go back there again. It is a well-thought-out and inspiring book.

By Sean Scherer, William Abranowicz (photographer),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Kabinett & Kammer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Interior designer, artist, and collector Sean Scherer shares his secrets about applying the principles of two-dimensional art to home design

Sean Scherer’s Kabinett & Kammeris equally a celebration and a guide to both collecting and showing how lively design can integrate disparate objects into beautifully layered ensembles. Scherer’s interiors feature vintage display cabinets housing discarded collections of whittled songbirds, stunning 19th-century maps and school teaching aids, ferns in cast-iron planters, and photomurals. The effect is a supercharged nod to American Gothic heightened by Scherer’s sophisticated palette and sense of proportion. Each photograph by William Abranowicz is a lesson on color…


Book cover of Casa No Name

Joanna Maclennan Why did I love this book?

I was given this as a present and what a wonderful present it was. Deborah Turbeville is a wonderful photographer whose work I admire. Her fashion photography was innovative, imaginative and so creative.

This book, a visual diary of her house and time in Mexico is filled with her signature blurred images, from black and white portraits to colourful interiors. It goes against everything we learn in Interiors but it’s magical, evocative, and gothic.

By Deborah Turbeville,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Casa No Name as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the tradition of Kahlo and Allende, Turbeville’s brilliantly stylish portrait of her Mexican house evokes both her vivid imagination and the mystique of Mexico. High-ceilinged rooms surround a central courtyard that is lined with faded frescoes of biblical scenes. The glimmer and shafts of diffused light that stream into the courtyards and curtained rooms add to the romantic atmosphere—one feels as though they have entered into a quintessential Turbeville photograph. Turbeville has captured the spiritual nature of Mexican culture by incorporating into candlelit interiors such traditional religious artifacts as colorful painted tin retablos, hand-carved saints, wooden tableau boxes, and…


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