cover image Three Birds Renovations: 400+ Renovation and Styling Secrets Revealed

Three Birds Renovations: 400+ Renovation and Styling Secrets Revealed

Erin Cayless, Bonnie Hindmarsh, and Lana Taylor. Murdoch, $28.99 (240p) ISBN 1-76063-440-9

The cofounders of Three Birds renovation company bring to life nine houses they’ve remodeled in informative, magazine-style spreads. The authors open with a personable introduction describing their story, as longtime friends who recently became business partners. Several of the homes covered are the authors’ own, allowing for an insider’s look at the family-centered calculations that go into their designs. For example: viewing butler’s pantries as extraneous, they turned one into a small secondary office to create a workspace near a center of family life—the kitchen—but cordoned off enough to allow for the concentration parents and kids will need to conduct household business or finish homework. Before and after photos are included throughout to show how the authors solved problems, such as by opening up a closed-off stairwell by adding an adjacent empty space: “As with all our renovations, we wanted to transform ugly into beautiful, closed-off into connected, and dark into light.” Their aesthetic is clean and bright, with whites accented by moments of pastels or jewel colors. The houses also emphasize natural light and creating connections between indoors and outdoors. This thoughtful and lovely interiors compilation shows a keen attentiveness to day-to-day living. (Sept.)