I have waited SO LONG to share this news, but it's official: I'm making a book!
I say "making" because this project has been, and will continue to be, so much more than writing. This process has been an all-encompassing, occasionally interminable-seeming endeavor, from my first email to an agent to the months I spent crafting just the right proposal. There were trips to Manhattan, publisher meetings, and anguished calls with my agent, followed by a million contract revisions. (I don't think I reviewed terms this closely when I bought my house.)
But it's finally real, and that has me feeling all:
Had to swing by my publisher's (squee!) famed bookstore while in NYC.
Signed, sealed, delivered.
What can readers expect from SS in book form? Put simply, it'll be a sort of self-help book for the home: A lively guide to finding your style strengths, overcoming your weaknesses, and filling your home with the furniture, decor, and details you love.
This is not a guide to decorating the "right" way. Sure, I'll offer some rules of thumb that can make a space feel more or less functional or balanced, and point out ways to work through some common decorating challenges. But this will be an enthusiast's guide, and if you read it, my hope is that you'll end up more inspired, less intimidated by design, and having learned a little bit about your yourself by making your home your own.
My amazing photographer is Joyelle West (check out her incredible interiors work!), and the two of us have spent days and days invading other people's homes to zuszh and tweak and photograph their stuff. None of the homes we're shooting are the work of professional interior designers; instead, they're spaces that reflect the real lives and personal style of the people who live there, and who found the confidence to make it theirs. We've done about half of the shoots so far, and will continue shooting into the fall.
This lady has this incredible ability to make herself FLAT against the wall in order to get the widest shot. She's like Gumby.
A cute and quirky little guest room.
"Katie, can you just get a little farther under the sink with that reflector?"
I'll also be working with an incredible graphic designer, Laura Palese, on the layout. She recently worked on gorgeous books by Chrissy Teigen, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Laura Prepon, and I'm looking forward to seeing how she turns my humble text into coffee table-worthy magic.
Source: Laura Palese Design
I'll be posting updates as the book progresses. My manuscript is due December 1, which in reality means I'll have to finish it before Thanksgiving. Wish me luck...
