Shabby Chic Interiors: My Rooms, Treasures, and Trinkets is a new edition of a title published first in 2009 by Rachel Ashwell, a designer with all the moves. She is a serial home dweller whose philosophy is “wherever I am, I make my nest, even in a rented home or hotel.” And of course, each move provides fodder for a new book. I have the theory that, when it comes to home decorating, doing it is more fun than having it. (I could certainly be accused of this myself.) And it’s easy to see that Ashwell loves the process.

The book takes you to her latest house purchase that occurred when her nest emptied. You have to get past the line that says, “So I then I began the curious mission of “unrestoring”; heaving out brand-new cabinets and deluxe whirlpool baths until I got back to the authentic and real.”

You got it. She ripped out all the improvements recently made by the previous owner who also wasn’t happy with them and so moved along. The sleek new kitchen cabinets made way for ones that are wonky and worn. And she tells you that her construction team cheered her on.

Don’t get me wrong. I like the pretty rooms she creates and the homes of others that she takes you to. Some of them, like the Milches’ house in the chapter “Dogs, Art & Literature”, might be properly labeled authentic.

This is one very stylish woman who has made a career out of being a very stylish woman. I’m just hoping that her style inspires you to live and work well with the comfortable old things you already own or discover.

On the other hand, you could just enjoy the pictures without reading the text and then you won’t have to think of it all as cultural commentary.

- Jane

Forgive the C-word, but Christmas is almost upon us. For workers in retail, the season arrived many weeks ago. However, no need to panic; it’s still not too late to work up a few gifts from the heart and give retail Christmas a rest.

Geek Chic Crochet shows you how to create 35 retro-inspired projects. You could whip up a bright red crocheted tie for the cool man in your life and cute colourful hair bows for your best girlfriends. The book tackles peter pan collars and neckerchiefs. And you could also channel Madonna with vintage lace gloves. (Is Madonna vintage yet?)

Warm Little Knits is another new title that provides patterns for classic Norwegian knitwear. Cozy socks and mittens feature a lively combo of stylized birds, flowers and geometric patterns. I'm thinking that it might be easier to embrace outdoor winter life with the stylish accessories of hardy Nordic people.

I browsed through the collection of crochet books and found a couple of older titles filled with many projects that appeal to me.

Super Cute: 25 Amigurumi Animals shows you how to make delightful stuffed toys. The designs are influenced by traditional Japanese doll culture crossed with the Japanese “kawaii” culture that produced Hello Kitty and manga. There are bears and bunnies, puppies with berets and fish with googly eyes.

Cool Crocheted Hats offers instructions to make a retro Rasta hat for both men and women. You could choose the Festival Olé pillbox hat with a zigzag brim and a variegated crown or an exotic Kufi-styled crown cap reminiscent of 1920s Morocco. All very Boho chic.

- Jane

The photo of delectable Greek food in a traditional blue-and-white setting in my last blog made me think about this wonderful colour scheme and all the delicious ways it is applied. If you search our catalogue with the phrase “blue in interior decoration”, the results reveal its ongoing popularity. Here are a few of my favourite titles.

Decorating with Blue and White shows the colour scheme applied to every style of décor, including Mediterranean. In a country kitchen, soft blue and white appears in checks on comfy armchairs with large striped ottomans. It is echoed in kitchen accessories like polka-dot mugs and enameled cookware.

Bathroom blues are expressed in glass tiles and pretty towels. Outdoor blues include the deep cobalt painted on a Moroccan door and traditional tiles around a pool.

350 Inspiring Ways to Decorate with Blue is a 2011 title from House Beautiful in a convenient paper-back size which makes it easy to browse on the C-train. Designers share their favourite paint colours and sources and talk about why the colour resonates with them.

You see blues from the sea and sky, as well as dusky navy and indigo. Sometimes blue dominates the room; in other spaces, it is used as an accent. As you would expect from House Beautiful, most of the décor is traditional or contemporary classic.

Although Blue & White Living by Stephanie Hoppen was published in 1998, many of the classic blue-and-white combinations remain fresh today. A large living room by John Stefanidis features furniture slip covered in blue-and-white ticking. Blue ikat cushions line a long bench in this light-filled room.

These books are bound to leave you singing the blues.

-Jane

Zesty eggplant stew, a dish of olives and fresh lemons against a backdrop of cobalt blue. That’s the delectable cover of The Country Cooking of Greece by Diane Kochilas. She is a chef and owner of a cooking school in Ikaria who also writes a weekly food column for Greece’s largest newspaper.

Kochilas provides more than just recipes; she takes you for a tour of the culture and people. You meet the mussel man who owns a popular taverna and cultivates mussels in “the rich, sweet-salty waters of the Thermaikos Gulf”. You learn about Greek oregano, the kalamata olive harvest and Santorini tomatoes that flourish unexpectedly in the chalky, volcanic soil of the island.

She writes an ode to the classic Greek salad which melds the amazing flavours of simple fresh ingredients. I can’t wait to try the Cretan beet salad with yogurt and walnuts. Pistachio-crusted feta and ouzo-glazed duck breast are calling my name.

I like that the recipes are as much about method as ingredients and that many of the recipes have an uncomplicated list of ingredients consistent with country home cooking.

The cover lured me in with a visual feast and the book lived up to its cover.

- Jane

Next blog:This beautiful blue-and-white tablescape reminds me of all the lovely decorating books that embrace the blues.