One of the 'home improvement' books available at Powerbooks.

Books offering their two cents on how to spruce up a home are dime-a-dozen. Embodying the concept of good design and engaging aesthetic, most of them are art objects in themselves: well-crafted goods that can occupy an appointed place on a coffee table or in a shelf. More than to educate or inform, these books aim to suggest and inspire by presenting, in lavish illustration and photography, alternatives on the notion of home, as refracted by the design sensibility of their authors or the designers they extol.

Some of the best “home improvement” books can be found in Powerbooks which incidentally did its own renovation in its flagship store located in Greenbelt 4. Envisioned by architect Joey Yupangco, the new look—boasting of accessible shelves, enlarged interior space and sinuous curves in the store’s new signage and furniture—basks in transparent light, welcoming readers to embrace the mysterious worlds that books reveal. With a toned-down commercial feel, the specialty bookstore, which will be on sale starting tomorrow, actually appears more like an upscale and vibrant library.

“The idea of the new store is similar to a plot twist in a particularly engrossing fantasy-fiction book: rather than knowing that you are entering a bookstore, the bookstore takes you to a place where the reality of outside and the fiction in literature are blurred together—a wonderland of sorts,” explains Robby da Silva, Powerbooks’ marketing manager. “It transforms the traditional consumer thinking of ‘I am going to buy a book to ‘I am simply walking around and I find myself wandering into a different world.’”

Here are some books that offer workable and enlightening suggestions on how you can add a boost of thoughtful design and style into your space.

Real Home Ideas 5 by the Real Living team

Now in its fifth edition, the Real Home Ideas puts the spotlight on small spaces such as condo units and apartments which are now the homes of choice of young families and the upwardly mobile. The team behind the book, spearheaded by Real Living editor Rachelle Medina, scours the best small spaces in the metro and takes note of the design solutions employed by their owners. One eye-popping suggestion is a floor-to-shelving unit complete with a stepladder which is the “piece-de-resistance” of a penthouse which has a large wall to spare. It also has generous tips on storage, renovation, and furniture placement, making this book a truly helpful guide to those who want to maximize every square foot of space.

Close Up: Attention to Detail in Design by Kelly Hoppen

If God is in the detail, then this book will show you how to unlock and make the most out of it. “Often, it is not the big decisions that make the difference between mediocre and superlative design, but the attention to detailing,” the author says. The sumptuous photographs, taken by Thomas Stewart, present the subtle shift of colors and textures, such as the pair of pomelos in robust yellow color set against the smooth black of a wenge tray. Hoppen engages the reader to direct his attention on the space between objects which is “as important visually as a fabric or a table.” When daily life is crowded with various odds and ends, it is wonderful to know that a designer is not afraid to punctuate an interior with pockets of emptiness.

The Genius of Design by Penny Sparke

The book, tied with the BBC program of the same title, makes us aware of the material culture that surrounds us. Predicated on the belief that “designed spaces, images and objects give us, and our lives, meaning,” this book introduces the reader to the power of everyday objects and how they shape our lives. It is bookended by the design’s historic past and its future of possibilities. Important designers such as Henry Ford (automotive), Coco Chanel (fashion), Zaha Hadid (architecture) and Marcel Wanders (industrial design) are highlighted in its pages. Because of its handsome layout and well paced sections, the book achieves what it celebrates: good design.
 
The Sensual Home by Ilse Crawford

The book lies on a hefty promise: liberating the senses and in the process, changing the reader’s life. With a velvety feel of the cover, the book argues for a home as a sanctuary of the senses. “In the home we can redress the balance between the sensuous and the artificial, between sight and the so-called baser senses. In the home we can soothe, excite, and retrain the senses we tend to neglect,” says the author. From taking a bath, to cleaning the house, to preparing the bed for sleep, the senses are primed to luxuriate in pleasure and stimuli. Practical information is aplenty, revolving around the health benefits of negative ions, the alternatives to chemical cleansers, and the calming effect of incense and candles—all summed up in the database chapter.

1000 Ideas for Home Design and Decoration by Mariana Eguaras Etchetto

If there’s one book that can address a multitude of design and decoration concerns, this would be it. The book, with a total of 420 pages, assigns chapters to the major requirements of a home: space, material, color, lighting, furniture, accessories, high technology, and exterior spaces. These chapters are further subdivided, providing comprehensive design strategies illustrated by the accompanying photographs. For example, the book suggests to create a separate dressing room so the bedroom can be organized around a bed “which is the most important feature.” The book lives up to its promise of being “a source of practical and easy-to-read information to aid the general public through the exciting world of decorating.”