Perhaps you’ve been meaning to tackle the rest of your home… or perhaps you’ve been meaning to refresh those areas that suddenly seem dated and stale. You simply haven’t had the time. Well now you do, and I have just the inspiration to get you on your way! Anthony Baratta’s Decorate Happy is a perfect way to start.

DECORATE HAPPY is a delicious pattern-filled guide showcasing Baratta’s noted preppy-chic decorating style. His happy, maximalist rooms are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Whether you live in the country or the big city, there is plenty of inspiration to draw from. As you soak in the pages you’ll delight in his classic high-color, high-pattern all-American style that encompasses both the historic and the modern .

Featured are twelve homes of varying scale, location, and purpose, each with BOLD, COLORFUL INTERIORS that will bring a sense of joy to all who experience them. Among them are:

• A Deer Valley, Utah ski home takes inspiration from the backdrop of its majestic mountains.

• Nautical influences in a Rye, NY home on the LI Sound feel like a sea captain’s home.

• Mid-century modern glam in Ft Lauderdale is an exercise in bold restraint to create drama.

• A nature photographer’s retreat in NY’s Adirondack Mountains is full of rustic, historical charm.

• A country house in Connecticut, originally a carriage house, is elevated by a fearless use of the traditional blue and white palette.

• With a home that could be called a little bit of Provence in Los Angeles, this splendid respite from a city that skews modern is regal yet inviting. 

• A Vermont condo is an unexpected ski retreat that is not only functional/durable but supercool.

• Cotton candy pink makes the fantasy of a Manhattan apartment complete, with a nod towards the ever-chic Dorothy Draper.

• A Shingle-style Hamptons home one block from the ocean allows for the light to be front and center in the home’s décor.

• Baratta’s own home in the Hamptons is a laboratory for risk taking among the things he loves most, while his Manhattan high-rise apartment is whimsical, but doesn’t compete against his floor-to-ceiling views of the Hudson River.

• Baratta’s undertaking of Colonial Williamsburg’s Palmer House as designer-in-residence is best summed up by Baratta: “I love this house because it shows how we live today—inspired by the past, influenced by the future, and impacted by the world around us.”

“People’s lives are like colorful quilts—all of the crazy pieces eventually come together to form one amazing, beautiful whole. No one’s life story is a simple beige blanket...To decorate happy, let your home be an extension of yourself and look for things that bring you joy.” –Anthony Baratta

Throughout the book Baratta shares his Four Fearless Decorating Ideas, some of which I have shared with you.

1. Industrial pieces fill large spaces
2. Heavily patterned rooms need balance
3. Stone is a forgiving material
4. Juxtapose rustic with formal

When working with dynamic patterns, there must never be chaos. Everything in a house needs to stay within a consistent palette.

1. Embrace the old
2. Paint your floors
3. Find one thing that becomes your signature style
4. Tasteful touches can go anywhere

1. Defy conventions
2. Spread the wealth
3. Celebrate screened porches
4. Crewel Rules (Crewelwork is a type of embroidery)

Decor can be dialed up or down, such as a quiet houndstooth, a bold stripe, a muted solid, or a vibrant hue.

1. When in doubt, keep it
2. Choose colors that look good on yu
3. Even designers need designers
4. Repeat motifs or themes you like throughout your decorating

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Anthony Baratta, the king of East Coast chic, is one of the most celebrated and respected interior designers of the day with a global following of loyal fans. Formerly half of the iconic design dream team Diamond Baratta, Baratta has been named one of Traditional Home's 20 Design Icons, honored by the Cooper-Hewitt, awarded Benjamin Moore's coveted Hue Award for lifetime achievement in design, and named the inaugural designer in residence in Colonial Williamsburg. The author of two previous books, All-American: The Exuberant Style of William Diamond and Anthony Baratta
and Diamond Baratta Design, Baratta opened his own firm in 2011.

DECORATE HAPPY: BOLD, COLORFUL INTERIORS
By Anthony Baratta with Antonia van der Meer
Hardcover / 8¾”x 11”/ 240 pages / 150 color photographs
$45.00 US / ISBN: 978-08478-6682-3 / Rizzoli New York
PUBLICATION DATE: March 2020
www.rizzoliusa.com