Categorically, there are designer Monographs and there are How-to books; it’s rare to get a really practical, informative design book from a top notch designer, but that’s exactly what this is.

Lauren Liess is a designer based in Great Falls, Virginia. I have been following her career since the early blogging days and find her choices as a business owner super interesting. She had a show on HGTV, Best House on the Block. She has had shops and designed product lines. She has done show houses and magazine-sponsored concept homes. Habitat is the first of her three books (the second, Down to Earth is one of my favorites. The third, Feels Like Home, is forthcoming from Abrams). Finally, she is currently focusing on some new real estate concepts with her partners at Property Collective. And by the way, she has five kids, multiple dogs, and a flock of geese.

Here’s the thing about this book: I learned a lot from it and you can too.

There are really practical round-ups for types of materials (say, flooring) with pros and cons and when to use what.

There are lovely images of Lauren’s projects, photographed by her long-time collaborator Helen Norman.

And most importantly, there are chapters organized around the “intangible elements of design,” where she outlines her thoughts on critical design components and how they play out in different projects. Example: I often find myself talking about the “pace” of a room (how energized it is by pattern, color, and density of layout); this is a concept I fully learned about here in this book.

Is this a full-on How To that allows you to completely design your own home from start to finish? No. But it sure is an excellent primer to get you going.

Finally, this might be the book I have included most often on client coffee tables!

Design Books for Every Occasion: An Excellent Design Primer

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