Condo Living: Design That's All the Page

| Print Post This | Like (0) | Comments (0)

Express' Jennifer Barger reviews 3 new books and magazines that reveal fab decor in Euro flats and U.S. lofts.

» APARTMENT LIVING, by Caroline Clifton Mogg ($30, Ryland, Peters & Small)

INTERIOR DESIGN BOOKS that globe-trot out photos of homes in foreign cities tend to be intimidating at best ("Wow, Marie Antoinette is alive and well and living in Paris!") and inaccessible at worst — think rooms full of furniture sold only in Bangalore.

But that's not the case with this photo-filled guide to apartment and townhouse style by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, one of the U.K.'s most prolific design writers. Yeah, the properties pictured span the globe — Paris, London, Copenhagen — but the ideas outlined and styles shown seem Elle Decor approachable, not Architectural Digest stuffy.

The house porn is lovely, but it wouldn't require a pro to do all this stuff. We're already planning on repurposing Granny's china hutch as a shoe showcase like one Bayswater bird did. Also quite stealable: a faux-mink duvet covered platform bed in London and the Jezebel-red walls of a Paris living room.

Clifton-Moog's common-sense tips are sprinkled throughout. These range from the obvious (use simple color contrasts in small spaces) to the wish-I'd-thought-of-that (remove doors to simplify and create a roomier vibe).

» LOFTS ($8, APG Media)

People who live in log cabins, on boats and in creaky Victorian townhouses all get their own magazines. ("Timber Home Living", "Houseboat" and "Old House Journal".) So it seems high time for somebody to publish "Lofts", a glossy new shelter pub devoted to those who lounge in high-ceilinged, post-industrial chic condos in New York, D.C. and, heck, Kansas City.

The first issue of the oversized mag showcases aspirational apartments, like a serene Manhattan space loaded with contemporary art and an old Hollywood-y apartment in L.A. with zebra rugs and a steely kitchen. The bright-colors-on-white mood of a Buenos Aires pad make it hard to believe the place is a mere 753 square feet.

Round-ups of merch that "Lofts'" perceived audience (loft dwellers hipper and richer than you, presumably) might like include a piece on warming items such as an $8,000 ethanol fireplace and a recycled fur rug shaped like a bearskin.

It's enough to make you want to move to a sleek condo in Logan Circle. But we take umbrage that D.C. doesn't make a "Top 10 Loft Cities in America" list. Since when was it cool to shack up in downtown Denver or — please — Detroit?

» DOWNSIZING YOUR HOME WITH STYLE, by Lauri Ward ($25, Collins)

The title of this rather text-heavy tome suggests its readers might all be pulling a Golden Girl and moving to Leisure World. Yet the book claims to be good for anyone relocating, which probably includes empty nesters, divorcees and recent parolees along with Bea Arthur and her gang.

And the advice in here is sound for anybody moving or even trying to clean up their crap. We love Ward's tips on secret storage spaces (hollowed-out columns, steamer trunks, cushioned window seats). And her "never keep" list, which includes books you hate and posters from college, should probably be posted on our fridge.

But why are the photos in "Downsizing" so lousy? The badly lit, seemingly amateur shots of bedrooms and living rooms look better suited for Craigslist or eBay than a book that's supposed to inspire readers both young and old to get their acts together.

Images courtesy Ryland, Peters & Small; APG Media; HarperCollins