Nostalgic Inspiration
/Friends if you follow along on Instagram than you will have seen I added a book to the permanent collection here at the Chalet. The book is a reprint of the 1961 Better Homes and Gardens DECORATING BOOK.
I was chatting with a friend Lynn Byrne who is lucky enough to have her mothers’ original 1961 wire bound edition and during this chat I decided it would be a fun to take a bit of a dive and share with you.
The wire bound workbooks editions were published in 1956, 1961, 1968 and 1975. A hardcover edition of Better Homes and Gardens DECORATING IDEAS in 1960 and Better Homes and Gardens CREATIVE DECORATING on a Budget in 1970.
Who better than Better Homes and Gardens which was founded in 1922 by Edwin Meredith under the title Fruit, Garden and Home to assist young homeowners. The books were guides to decorating with confidence and included schematics.
1956
1956 Wire Bound Edition
Images from the 1956 edition.
1961
1961 reprinted 2017 hard cover
1961 Wire Bound Edition
Images from the 1961 edition.
1968
1968 Wire Bound Edition
Images from the 1968 edition.
1975
1975 Wire Bound Edition
Images from the 1975 edition.
Here is an earlier hardcover edition.
1960
1960 Hard cover
This 1970 hard cover is a title I’ve only seen here.
1970
Better Homes and Gardens NEW DECORATING BOOK offered readers design guidelines and reflected modern mixing of styles organized in two sections. The first filled with room by room decorating guides. The second organized by topic: color, furniture arrangement, flooring, lighting, etc. Like it’s predecessors it included workbook style illustrations to assist in completing any space and was published in 1981, 1990, 1997, 2003, 2007 and 2011.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into these wonderful books from the past. What edition most intrigues you?
Til next time see you over on Instagram.
