the perfectly imperfect home

I. love. nesting.

The thought of arranging a space with all of the personal touches that elevate an empty place to a home is something I've come to appreciate.  A vase of crisp and delicate tulips, a chair that you can't help dozing off in, the table you can always trust to catch your keys as you peel yourself out of your winter coat, the bed that envelopes you in layers of down and won't let you up until you're rested.  H-O-M-E;  a place that is beautiful in its imperfection, where every crevice is known and lived-in, a place where the subtle pretense of living can fall away.

Enter Deborah Needleman's book "The Perfectly Imperfect Home".  From afar, it looks like your typical home-decorating coffee table book, but inside, you'll find Canadian artist and textile designer Virginia Johnson's gorgeous watercolors instead of the usual glossy photos of immaculate living rooms.  I must be honest and say that I have not had the pleasure of reading through this book but I have seen these watercolor illustrations and for me that's enough to want to bring it home.  Reminiscent of the whimsy and quirk of Maira Kalman,  Johnson's images evoke the vibrant, delicate, unprecious, and improvistional tone of both art and decorating.  I am enamored.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!