Book Club – Nomad

Reviewed by Nicola Sanders

Whether or not stylist Sibella Court’s latest book appeals to you will depend a great deal on your style sensibility – there is no middle ground here. Chaotic, detailed, rough-hewn styling ideas, drenched in colour and steeped in texture, are the mainstays of her work and here, these elements are grounded in advice on how to draw inspiration from your travels.

Of course, Sibella’s travels are rather glamorous – Japan, Syria, Mexico, among others – and it seems that her whole existence is a carefully curated stage set on which all things exciting occur; the results are distilled here into a cleverly executed collection of inspirational images spanning both room sets and arrangements of objects.

Underpinning each chapter is Sibella’s rather interesting approach to colour; using her trademark 10-colour palette (supported by a neutral ‘foundation’ colour), she sets herself a framework within which to ‘play with the mood of a room or house’. Exquisite chinoiserie-style wallpaper jostles against piles of delicately detailed handmade ceramics; elsewhere, a white, tasselled hamman towel hangs over a long table dressed with bowls in hand-carved wood and palest eau de nil enamel, brown glass and handmade soaps. If you are the sort of person who enjoys creating vignettes in your home – playing with details, tweaking combinations of much-loved possessions – Nomad will provide a rich source of style inspiration, even if your travels are only from your armchair.

(Nomad by Sibella Court is published by Murdoch Books; £25)