Peek-a-Boo: Deborah Needleman and The Perfectly Imperfect Home

There has been a recent buzz in the design world surrounding a wonderful new book by Deborah Needleman, 'The Perfectly Imperfect Home', and I was lucky enough to attend the book signing hosted by the WSJ and the NYDC.

Today's Peek-a-Boo post will delve into the book as well as Deborah Needleman's views on design and decoration. As editor of WSJ's highly coveted Magazine and founding editor of Domino Magazine, Needleman has been at the Design forefront, whether in print or online media, for many years. 

 "Good decoration solves problems elegantly.

A stylish home is highly functional and reflects the best possible look for your life, budget, and mode of living (even your peculiarities), and the problems and advantages of the place you live in.
This will lead to a home that enhances your sense of well-being, that inspires you and looks after you.

Luxury cannot be defined by expense or by grandeur. Style is luxury, and luxury is simply what makes you happy"...

 - Deborah Needleman (from introduction of book)

As an interior designer, I welcomed with open arms the beginning of Domino Magazine, and like so many, I was heart broken when I no longer had it to look forward to. Deborah Needleman and team Domino, every month would aim to put together a shelter design magazine to rival all others. Each and every member of that team has gone on to shape and define the world of design as we know it today, in print and online.

FUN GAME: Deborah Needleman let me know that ONE of these covers is a FAKE!!! Can you spot it??

Even still today, I find myself searching the Internet for images of past issues - they still inspire me, and many times are the source for a creative spark on a project.

As I begin to read the Introduction to The Perfectly Imperfect Home, I am struck by how
similar my home was, when I was growing up.
 "..certain rooms, like the dining room and the living room, that we rarely entered.."

This was how our homes were decorated - there was the room for the family (kitchen, den, etc) and then there were the rooms for "The Guests" - Heaven forbid that we enter and play in those rooms..Times are different (thankfully!) and every room needs to be used, loved and cherished to create that comfortable, loving home.

That is absolutely I how approach design, for myself and my family, as well as for my clients. I hope to bring my understanding of design, form and function to help my clients create what they dream of and desire for their family...


Over 13 Chapters, we are told a story and guided through 'Dinner with Friends' to 'A Sense of History'; 'A Personal Narrative' to 'A Doted-On Bedroom': No room or topic has been left out in this guide on "how to decorate and live well".

Through helpful hints, lists, and tips as well as very beautiful illustrations by Virginia Johnson, each chapter will make you laugh, pause, and help you find your own happy equilibrium ....

 

 

"the most stylish homes are ones that are comfortable and inviting, in large part because they are imbued with the sensibility and spirit of their owners —

and the life that goes on there"

And if there were ever any doubt, Needleman definitely practices what she shares in her book, whether in her home in New York city

The Tribeca living room of Deborah Needleman and Jacob Weisberg is a happy mix of design periods and maturity levels.

(Photo: Melanie Acevedo via NY MAG)

or in the country, as she shared in this feature from Garden Design.com

Photos via Garden Design.com (Photos by: Ngoc Minh Ngo)

The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well  - 
This is the sentiment that is recurring not only in the images that Domino Magazine, under her leadership brought to every page, but through her books as well as in her leadership of WSJ Magazine.


Thank you to the WSJ, and Mr. Jim Druckman and the New York Design Center, who was kind enough to spend some time sharing with me his thoughts on the dedicated NYDC floor to 1stdibs.com (alot more images of that this week)

Deborah Needleman, Jim Druckman            

as well as big thank you to Deborah Needleman for a lovely conversation and of course, signing my new book.

Looking forward to more - and in the meantime I might just keep reading my new book.




Want one of your one: you can buy "The Perfectly Imperfect Home" too - Here


For more related articles:
10 Odd, Yet Essential, Elements of Style on WSJ - by D. Needleman

Deborah Needleman on interior decorating and home improvement | Home Front - Washington Post

http://nymag.com/homedesign/spring2007/31805/
http://curbed.com/archives/2011/11/08/heres-a-pic-of-deborah-needlemans-country-housegardens.php