Gift Guides 2024: 9 Stunning, Soulful Books to Spark Creativity

Lately we on the editorial team have been hankering to make things: to host a craft night, bring back the art of the hand-written letter, or rearrange a room or two. And we’re not the only ones: Our most wanted books of 2024 all celebrate putting a personal stamp on your surroundings. From essays about creating a home to a collection of found nature assemblages; from an up-close look at Julia Child’s kitchen to ways to be a “craftivist”: here’s our unofficial, somewhat eclectic shortlist of recent releases to gift.


P.S. Please join us in supporting your local book seller; all of the titles here are linked to Bookshop.org.
Above: From Remodelista favorites Atelier Vime comes The World of Atelier Vime: A Renaissance of Wicker and Style, a celebration of their revival of a lost art. It’s $69.75 from Bookshop, though temporarily on backorder; check with your local bookseller (or peruse our stories on Atelier Vime to tide you over: Atelier Vime’s Just-Opened Emporium in a Restored House in Provence; An 18th-Century Childhood Home Lovingly Updated; and Pine Cones as Decor: Atelier Vime’s DIY Door Surround).
Above: For the gardener or art-maker: “Every day (every single day) for over a decade, Mary Jo Hoffman has made a photograph of found nature, no subject too small or too ordinary.” Still: The Art of Noticing is the result; $55.80 on Bookshop (though currently sold out).
Above: From the prolific Maira Kalman, Still Life with Remorse is an intimate look at “remorse, joy, ancestry, and memory,” complete with still lives and interior scenes in Kalman’s own signature style. It’s $32.55 from Bookshop.
Above: On making a kitchen: Julia Child’s Kitchen: The Design, Tools, Stories, and Legacy of an Iconic Space dives deep into the minutia of the chef’s home cookspace, down to the charmingly particular labels made by her husband Paul. (Above the garbage disposal: “No grease. No fat. Beware onion skins.”) The book is $46.50 on Bookshop.

Above: We’re longtime fans of Stephanie Housley, the textile designer behind the whimsical creations of Coral & Tusk. (Back in the days of our in-person Remodelista Markets, she was one of the original participants.) We’re thrilled to dig into her first book, In Stitches: The Enchanted World of Coral & Tusk, for at-home embroidery inspiration; $53.48 on Bookshop.

Above: We are acolytes of interiors stylist Mieke Ten Have—and every page of her gorgeous new book, Interiors Styled by Mieke Ten Have, is evidence of her excellent eye. Page through for inspiration: $46.50 on Bookshop.

Above: By Diana Weymar, otherwise known as Tiny Pricks Project on Instagram, Crafting a Better World is a call to action through making things: “Featuring essays, exclusive profiles of well-known creatives, and projects that readers can create by themselves or with their communities, this book is a means to stay engaged, make stuff, and hold ourselves together” ($23.25 on Bookshop).
Above: New from Woman of Color author LaTonya Yvette, Stand In My Window asks deeper questions about what it means to create a home. “In eleven meditative essays, accompanied by 25 beautiful photographs taken over the course of writing the book, Yvette illustrates how the act of homemaking can be revolutionary, liberating—and one of the most powerful expressions we have of self- and community care.” It’s $26.97 on Bookshop.
Above: Lastly, perhaps you know someone who would like a cookbook dedicated only to potatoes? Potato Total: Timeless Recipes for Every Home Cook elevates the humble spud into dishes both comforting and elegant; $46.50 on Bookshop. | bit.ly/3XLoEJb


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