Best Interior Design Reference Books of 2025

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Interior design reference books are a great resource for anyone looking to improve their home decor style. These books offer a wide range of tips and tricks, from color theory to furniture placement, that can help transform any space into a beautiful and functional living area. Some popular titles include "The Elements of Style" by Erin Gates, "Domino: The Book of Decorating" by Deborah Needleman and "Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, from Tabletops to Bookshelves" by Emily Henderson. Whether you're a novice or an experienced designer, these books are a must-have for anyone looking to create a stylish and comfortable home.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 Interior Design Reference Books
Cozy White Cottage: 100 Ways to Love the Feeling of Being Home
Cozy White Cottage: 100 Ways to Love the Feeling of Being Home is a delightful read for anyone who wants to make their house feel like a home. It offers a plethora of tips and tricks to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere in every room of the house. With Liz Marie Galvan's friendly and welcoming tone, readers will feel inspired to try out the budget-friendly decorating ideas and simple DIY projects. Whether you're a country farmhouse dweller or an urban apartment resident, this book is the perfect guide to creating a space you love coming home to. Highly recommended for those who want to add a touch of warmth and personality to their living space.
Cozy White Cottage Seasons: 100 Ways to Be Cozy All Year Long
The Cozy White Cottage Seasons book by Liz Marie Galvan is a great addition to any interior design book collection. This book offers inspiring photos, DIY ideas, and fun recipes for every season, allowing readers to create a cozy atmosphere on any budget. It provides practical tips for creating space to snuggle up, stretch out, or kick back at home all year long. The book also includes ideas for celebrating and decorating for special gatherings and holidays. Overall, this book is a fantastic gift for anyone looking to make their home inviting and cozy.
PPI NCIDQ Interior Design Reference Manual, Seventh Edition
The PPI NCIDQ Interior Design Reference Manual is a comprehensive review guide for all three sections of the NCIDQ exams, including IDFX, IDPX, and PRAC. The book covers all content areas and provides updated materials for the IBC 2018 changes included in the exam. With over 200 figures, study guidelines, exam tips, and tables, this book is a must-have for interior design students and professionals looking to pass their exams the first time. The author, David Kent Ballast, is a licensed architect and NCIDQ certificate holder with years of experience teaching and writing on design topics. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for those pursuing an interior design career.
Create Your Dream Home on a Budget: Practical Advice, Inspiration, and Projects
Create Your Dream Home on a Budget is a book that provides practical advice, inspiration, and projects for those who want to turn their house into their dream home without breaking the bank. The authors, seasoned home-renovation experts and TikTok stars Daniel and Noell Jett, share their expertise in DIY projects, foundational building, and renovation concepts that can add functionality, beauty, and charm to every room of the house. With beautiful photos and cost-effective tips and tricks, readers will be motivated and equipped to create their own unique living spaces. This book is a perfect gift for anyone looking to improve their home on a budget.
150 Best All New House Ideas
150 Best All New House Ideas is a must-have for anyone interested in contemporary home construction and interior design. The book features 150 single-family houses from around the world, designed by renowned architects and designers, showcasing the latest trends and influences in house design. From mini cottages to multi-room manors, each house is not only beautiful and inviting but also energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. This book serves as an inspirational source of ideas for homeowners, interior designers, builders, architects, and students. Overall, it is a visually stunning and informative resource for anyone interested in residential architecture.
F*ck You Chaos: Declutter Your Home, Mind and Finances to Discover More Happiness, Calm, Purpose and Abundance
F*ck You Chaos is a self-help book that provides readers with strategies to declutter their home, upgrade their mindset, and manage their personal finances to create joy, ease, and tranquillity in their lives. The author, Dominika, identified three areas that affect our lives the most and developed tactics to take control of them. This book is a great read for those who feel overwhelmed by their circumstances and want to unleash happiness, peace, and fulfilment. The book is unique in its approach to tackling the three areas that affect our lives the most and provides readers with easy, step-by-step strategies to implement in their daily lives.
Bathrooms, Revised & Updated 2nd Edition: Complete Design Ideas to Modernize Your Bathroom (Creative Homeowner) 350 Photos; Plan Every Aspect of Your Dream Project (Smart Approach to Design)
The Bathrooms, Revised & Updated 2nd Edition book offers a comprehensive guide to designing a bathroom that fits your space, budget, and lifestyle. With over 350 color photos, readers can visualize their dream project and learn about the latest trends, products, and innovative ideas for the bath. The book covers everything from budgeting, hiring contractors, designing and working with space, selecting cabinetry and hardware, shopping for fixtures, choosing appropriate finishing materials, and how to bring all these elements together cohesively with style. Overall, this book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to create their own showcase bathroom.
Macramé for Adult Beginners: The #1 Guide to Start from Zero to Master All Macramé Machines and Sell Your Creations. Including Step-By-Step Garden and Home Projects with Instructions and Illustrations
This book, written by Drucixy, is a comprehensive guide to mastering the art of macramé. It includes step-by-step instructions and illustrations for creating large-scale macramé projects for home and garden, as well as a bonus section on starting a macramé business. The book covers the fundamental knots and techniques of macramé and provides readers with the tools they need to create beautiful patterns. The author's clear explanations and detailed photographs make this book an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning macramé. Overall, Macramé for Adult Beginners is a must-read for anyone looking to explore this ancient craft.
Love Affairs with Houses
The book "Love Affairs with Houses" by Bunny Williams is a story-filled monograph that showcases 15 houses she has decorated and loved. Bunny shares her personal secrets for choosing classics and offers advice on how to decorate with flexible pieces that can play more than one role in a design scheme. She takes readers on a journey through her latest phase of her astounding career and shares her approach to decor that evolves with the lives of her clients. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in interior design and looking for inspiration.
Lighting Design Basics
Lighting Design Basics is a comprehensive guide for mastering the art of lighting design in interior spaces. The book is presented in a highly visual format with insightful distribution diagrams, floor plans, and real-world case studies. It covers more than 25 different design scenarios with in-depth rationale for proposed solutions, making it an ideal book for both professionals and students preparing for NCIDQ and NCARB exams. The third edition includes new instructor support materials, coverage of computer calculation software, and in-depth discussion on the latest in LED lighting. Overall, this book is an immersive instruction through real-world settings, providing practical guidance suited for immediate application in everyday projects.
During our interior design reference book research, we found 1,000+ interior design reference book products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 6,866 customer reviews through our big data system to write the interior design reference books list. We found that most customers choose interior design reference books with an average price of $14.70.

Wilson Cook is a talented writer who has an MFA in creative writing from Williams College and has published more than 50 books acquired by hundreds of thousands of people from various countries by now. He is an inveterate reading lover as he has read a vast amount of books since childhood.