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“I’m like an unruly child when it comes to design. There’s always a point where I say: “What if this weren’t the dining room.” ~Windsor Smith
HOMEFRONT: Design for Modern Living is Windsor Smith’s new gorgeous 260-page book. It is currently one of my favorite design books to recommend. If you are a lover of innovative design, this is a book you will want in your library. Her fresh vision for today’s lifestyles provides unconventional wisdom for designing a home to meet the needs of the dwellers rather than simply filling a home with furniture. The book is bursting with smart ideas that anyone can employ no matter what your design style. The book is well written and as carefully crafted as Smith’s exceptionally well design projects. She asks, “how do you want to live.” If you don’t need, a living room consider making it another room you will use. The book was intriguing to me because these are the very questions I have been asking clients and my family. Our homes should reflect how we live and serve the purpose of supporting our lifestyles.
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“A foyer is more than just a pass through; it’s the first impression people have of you and your home.”
~ Windsor Smith
I spoke with Windsor about her book at the debut of her new collection with Arteriors during High Point Market. I mentioned that I had received the book a few days prior to market and couldn’t wait to read it. She told me to make sure I did read the book because she wrote it herself. She said that ghost writer often write the copy for design books rather than the designer, but she wanted this book to be written from her design perspective, not just fluff to fill the book. She said, “I wrote the book from my heart and shared my approach to design. Her agent told her the copy would likely be rejected, so she was thrilled when the manuscript was returned with a few minor corrections and approval to print.
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“Renoir spent forty years discovering “the queen of all colors is black.” She has always enjoyed an uninterrupted reign in whatever home I’ve lived in ~ Windsor Smith
Studying this book and her inner thoughts on how to design confirms why I have admired this designer for so many years. Her work is glamorous, yet livable. Her projects read like a carefully crafted painting with the perfect balance between color, style, scale, and light but not so precious that you can’t imagine yourself or your family living in them.
Windsor describes herself as a “lifestyle architect” because her work is about designing for the way people live. Thoughtful interviews with questions about how the person lives is the foundation of her design process. Everything else with the design grows from the foundation of how the space will live and best function for the family’s needs. She elevates mundane tasks by adding refined features like marble countertops or custom designed furniture to suit a particular family lifestyle. In her book, Windsor shares her secrets for the “how and why of creating rooms that work for the modern day family.”
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“The salon-like retreat is in the center of the house, where every living room ought to be – we might really live in them if they were. ~ Windsor Smith
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“Design doesn’t just end at the front door: interior and exterior elements should flow seamlessly across your threshold.” ~ Windsor Smith
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“Equestrian design elements celebrate a unique combination of grace and power. Displaying horse brasses, trophies, ribbons, or boots shouldn’t be limited to the barn. ” ~ Windsor Smith
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“The art on your walls can be as revealing as reading the pages of your diary. It should never be an arbitrary choice just to fill an empty wall or ~even worse – to match the sofa. ~ Windsor Smith
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“Giving the old a new perspective is critical to good design. The craftsmanship of pieces with a provenance makes them irresistible. ~Windsor Smith
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This book will make you think more intently about how you are living in your home and help you make a more meaningful choice of how you choose to live.
Buy the book you will enjoy it as much as I do. Homefront has become a favorite in my design library.
It’s a keeper! I think you will agree this will be
an instant classic!
Click Here to have a copy of Windsor Smith’s Homefront: Design for Modern Living delivered to your door.
All photographs credited to Windsor Smith HOMEFRONT: Design For Modern Living
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