Reddit reviews Domino: The Book of Decorating: A Room-by-Room Guide to Creating a Home That Makes You Happy

When I was in college (before I went to Interior Design school and got my MIA degree) I splurged on a book called The Magic of Small Spaces. It includes photos and floor plans of a lot of small houses and apartments all over the world, furnished in many different styles. It pretty much inspired me to go to design school, and showed me that you don't have to have a lot of square footage or spend a lot to develop a high-impact design. Other resources: The Domino Book of Decorating and Remodelista. The first is a fun "how-to" for curating/furnishing your own home, the second is by the editors of Remodelista.com. They all definitely include some high-dollar stuff, but also include a lot of IKEA, 2nd hand, and DIY. Hope that helps!

Interaction Design

• About Face 3 by Alan Cooper
  
• Designing Interactions by Bill Moggridge
  
• Designing Interfaces by Jenifer Tidwell
  
• Designing for the Digital Age by Kim Goodwin
  
• Making Things Talk: (2011) (2007) by Tom Igoe
  
  Interior Design
  
  
• The Decoration of Houses by Edith Wharton and Ogden, Jr. Codman
  
• Domino: The Book of Decorating by Deborah Needleman
  
• Design*Sponge at Home: A Guide to Inspiring Homes by Grace Bonney
  
• The Vintage/Modern Home by Katherine Sorrell
  
• The Fundamentals of Interior Design by Simon Dodsworth
  
  Landscape Architecture
  
  
• Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards by Leonard J. Hopper
  
• Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History by Elizabeth Barlow Rogers
  
• Landscape Graphics by Grant W. Reid
  
• Cities for People by Jan Gehl
  
• Design with Nature by Ian L. McHarg
  
  Lighting Design
  
  
• Stage Lighting Design by Richard Pilbrow
  
• The Architecture of Natural Light by Henry Plummer
  
• Painting With Light by John Alton
  
• Made of Light by Anthony Tischhauser
  
• Color, Environment and Human Response by Frank H. Mahnke & Rudolf H. Mahnke
  
  Product Design
  
  
• Sketching: Drawing Techniques from Product Designers by Koos Eissen
  
• Design for the Real World by Victor Papanek
  
• The Craftsman by Richard Sennett
  
• Mythologies by Roland Barthes
  
• Cradle to Cradle. Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough & Michael Braungart
  
  Product Design
  
  
• In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World by John Thackara
  
• The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II & James H. Gilmore
  
• Universal Methods of Design by Bruce Hanington & Bella Martin
  
• Cradle to Cradle. Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough & Michael Braungart
  
• Mental Models by Indi Young
  
  Sound Design
  
  
• Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema by David Sonnenschein
  
• Designing Sound by Andy Farnell
  
• Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen by Michel Chion
  
• The Sound Effects Bible by Ric Viers
  
• Sound Theory Sound Practice by Rick Altman
  
  Urban Design
  
  
• The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
  * Cities for People by Jan Gehl
  
• A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander
  
• The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler
  
• The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch
  
  Web Design
  
  
• Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug
  
• HTML & CSS: Design and Build Web Sites by Jon Duckett
  
• The Principles of Beautiful Web Design by Jason Beaird
  
• Responsive Web Design with HTML5 and CSS by Ben Frain
  
• Hardboiled Web Design by Andy Clarke
  

Domino: The Book of Decorating

This book is fairly basic and straightforward. It's intended for the non professional, and does a good introductory job of guiding you through different styles.

Understanding different styles is something you are able to do through time and experience. Read everything you can, browse other designers portfolios, check out design books from your library. The more visual information you take in, the more your eye will be able to distinguish between styles. Take note of the types of furniture used, the lines of the furniture, the types of fabrics (as well as the patterns and prints on the fabric), the architecture of the room, etc.

I really like this book http://www.amazon.ca/Domino-Decorating-room---room-creating/dp/1416575464/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413311164&sr=8-1&keywords=domino+book.

And then yes, I would pick up any decorating magazines at the store as they always have tips and rules, etc. (Once you've been buying them long enough, you see that they repeat themselves.)

Then beyond that, I just love looking through a professional decorator's book (ie: http://www.amazon.ca/Mary-McDonald-Interiors-Allure-Style/dp/0847833933/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413311318&sr=8-1&keywords=mary+mcdonald) There's usually not a lot of info, but if you study the rooms, you can sort of learn what to do and what not to do.

This might seem a little old school, but check out the Domino Book of Decorating. It is filled with inspiration and advice on how to approach decorating.