Book Review | Deborah Needleman – The Perfectly Imperfect Home

Former editor in chief of WSJ and The New York Times Style Magazine and founding editor-in-chief of Domino, Deborah Needleman needs no introduction on my part. Her creativity and editorial talent have left a considerable mark in the design world, while her books on the art of decorating – The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well and Domino – The Book of Decorating – have become design classics. Published more than a decade ago, The Perfectly Imperfect Home is a collection of principles distilled throughout Needleman’s successful career as an editor. Although not a decorator herself, Needleman’s astute observations and impeccable taste (no doubt honed by looking at thousands of pictures of beautiful rooms) are as real as they are insightful.  Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn a commission on all qualifying purchases. Thank you!

While many designers impose their own style on a client, replicating the same look over and over again, Deborah Needleman is a strong advocate for homes with personality and life, homes that are loved and real and perfectly imperfect. Luxury to Needleman has nothing to do with money, but rather with the ability to craft and live in a home that is first and foremost functional, and unapologetically expresses your unique point of view, your DNA and your life’s journey.  

Her message is clean and crisp and her words, while gentle and simple, speak volumes.  The book is made upon 13 distinct chapters that cover all the different aspects of decorating by dissecting not design elements but rather feelings. It’s an inside out approach is you will. By figuring out what our emotional needs are at home, the decorating puzzle starts filling itself up. Isn’t that a most wonderful approach? Add to that some wonderful illustrations by Virginia Johnson of famous rooms by equally famous designers, and you get yourself a fabulous crash course in decorating for living well. 

I hope you enjoyed today’s peek inside one of my favorite decorating books – The Perfectly Imperfect Home: How to Decorate and Live Well, by Deborah Needleman. Deborah Needleman’s own home which she shares with husband, political journalist Jacob Weisberg, can be seen in the current issue of Architectural Digest magazine. Click here for a tour.

For more book reviews, make sure to check out the following Café Design stories:

Book Review | Country Living – The Peaceful Home

Book Review | Michael S. Smith – Houses

Book Review | British Designers at Home by Jenny Rose-Innes