Design & Decorating Books: The Vintage Editions

I think that it’s always fascinating when you hear about something new, and then all of a sudden that thing pops up all over the place in your life. I was reminded of this, in a way, when I read an article in the Wall Street Journal’s Off Duty section over the weekend. The article (here) talked about vintage design and decorating books which have stood the test of time. Her Holy Grail is the 1938 edition of Dorothy Draper’s “Decorating is Fun”, which I am pretty certain I have (from the Book Thing). Yep, I’ve gotten a few copies.

The author, Gillian Fassel, talks about five essential books that someone interested in vintage design should own to start a collection. First up, of course, was Billy Baldwin' target=_blank>Billy Baldwin Decorates and Billy Baldwin Remembers' target=_blank>Billy Baldwin Remembers.

And then Terrance Conran’s mid-70’s series of books about The House' target=_blank>the House Book, the Kitchen Book and the Bed & Bath Book.

Funnily, as soon as I walked into the Book Thing, I spotted two of the classic Conran books! Naturally, I posted this funny coincidence on Facebook, and one of my best friends immediately drove down and scooped up both of the books! I am not big in 70’s era design, so I was glad that she got them.

Here’s some of what I scooped up in the design section.

 

Although I am relatively sure I’ve got a copy of this book, it’s always fun to give a copy to someone new to the area. This book, in addition to being filled with classic Maryland recipes, has a number of hand-written notes about the recipes, as well as newspaper clippings dating back 30-40 years.

Speaking of the Book Thing, it was mentioned in Buzzfeed as a “bookstore” with an interesting name.

The Book Thing is always a fun place to take out of town visitors… if they’re here over the weekend!