A small selection of books that we love.

Being enthusiasts of the printed book, Dave and I will often turn to our own library when we need inspiration or solutions to a design or building question. We have a lot of books in our collection at this point and thought it would be helpful to share a few of the ones that we’ve reached for time and again.

These are three of Lee’s favourite design books.

01. THE INTERIOR DESIGN HANDBOOK

By Frida Ramstedt

This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in interior design and decorating because it’s full of useful, practical advice that can be applied to any space you might be working on. Frida shares all the basic principles behind interior design and styling and helps to distill why they make a space look appealing. There are no fancy photos of spaces to get distracted by (however there are simple illustrations) and I think this really helps the reader implement the information without influence.

02. PLAIN SIMPLE USEFUL

By Sir Terence Conran

This book explores the concept that objects and spaces that are plain, simple and useful are the key to living with ease. It sounds like Terence Conran, a British designer, was a complex person, but he also had an eye for creating spaces that looked beautiful and added ease to daily life. The book is full of timeless, Scandinavian inspired spaces with lots of useful notes on the materials and iconic objects that are worth investing in.

03. REMODELISTA: THE ORGANIZED HOME

By Julie Carlson and Margot Guralnick

This is the book I reach for whenever I need clever ideas for organizing a small space. It covers all the common heavy lifting areas in a home that can go under-utilized without some thoughtful planning. This book offers solutions for entryways, closets, workstations, laundry zones and all sorts of storage. There’s lots of sustainable product recommendations and just a whole lot of ideas that will help you settle your organizing struggles.

These are three of Dave’s favourite building books.

01. FIVE ACRES AND INDEPENDENCE

By M.G. Kains

This is a book that I read when we first started renovating. It isn’t about renovating though (it’s about farming for the most part). What is striking about it is the quality of the information and the breadth of understanding that Kains has. He covers off most parts of a 1930’s small farm operation in considerable technical detail yet quite concisely. Most recently I referred to one of the first topics: root cellars. I love everything about it and refer to it often for information and inspiration.

02. WHY BUILDINGS STAND UP

By Mario Salvadori

This is an interesting book that provides an approachable discussion of structural and architectural concepts. It is a good place to get a high level introduction to structural ideas.

03. WOOD DESIGN MANUAL

By The Canadian Wood Council

This is a technical reference. It is what I use all the time along with steel and concrete design books to determine sizes of structural components. It is very well done with an excellent supplement to code references.

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to share any design or building books you like in the comments.

6 OF OUR FAVOURITE DESIGN AND BUILDING BOOKS