White and Faded: Restoring Beauty in Your Home and Life

This scattered debut by interior designer Parrella-Van Den Berg blends memoir with guidance on home décor, describing how she got through a messy divorce and showcasing “white, light, and elegant antique interiors” she has designed. The author recounts how as a teenager she “rebelled” against the dark hues of her parents’ antiques by painting vintage items in her room white, sparking an enduring passion for restoring old pieces that “display the love, pain, and rejection we all have experienced.” After her marriage ended, Parrella-Van Den Berg felt as “damaged” as a weathered antique until she found her new husband, who encouraged her to “live unashamed of all my chips and scars.” Other metaphors are more belabored, as when she suggests that the vintage corsets she collected were intended to impose on women’s figures a uniformity that should be avoided when designing living spaces. The photos of monochromatic white interiors come across as sterile and clinical, and the practical guidance underwhelms, offering such commonsensical recommendations as “allot enough time to complete” restoration projects and use flowers to brighten a space. Burdened by clichés (“You are born for desire and to be desired”), this falls flat. (Aug.)