The Collector's Eye:

The Collector’s Eye: Decorating with the Objects You Love by Christine Churchill (Harper Collins) takes the notion of individuality full circle. If you’re wanting ideas on how to decorate in a way that captures your personality while displaying your collections, this could be the read for you.

Sophisticated in some respects, elegant in others, this guide to decorating is not totally unlike a title you might expect from Martha Stewart when she was in her heyday.

But beyond similarities with other decorating guides, this particular book takes collectors on some twists and turns they may not expect. In fact, some of the concepts can actually be described as minimalist. If you have a number of collectors in your life, you know doing things minimally isn’t usually their method of operation.

Churchill actually describes these looks as “modern visions” and encourages her readers to go “sleuthing for style relying on their own quirky good taste.” Many collectors do have a superb knack for picking up unusual pieces that would work wonderfully in a variety of decorating scenarios.

While minimalist decorating may not come naturally to the tried and true collector, it's certainly a workable task using the visual cues shared in this book. In fact, most anyone could pick up tips for decorating without clutter to spotlight one or several special decorative objects with the guidance offered here.

On the other hand, the author has incorporated some superb group displays that are anything but minimal using a large number of common and uncommon objects, sometimes in the same room. The range of room looks suggested by this forward thinking manuscript can only be described as eclectic.

One section offers kitchen cabinets filled with gleaming mercury glass, which can easily be confused with silver or silverplate at first glance. But unlike sterling, mercury glass can be much more affordable and much easier to maintain.

Blue and white transferware, popular for centuries now with both homemakers and collectors, adorns one wall in another section for a more quaint, traditional feel. And in another chapter, the bright hues and unusual shapes of Blenko glass from the 1950s and ‘60s adorns white brick walls. The result is nothing short of striking.

Thinking beyond the suggested collections, it's easy to envision unique groupings tailored to an individual's taste, style, and budget incorporated into similarly stunning settings.

One consistency that really stands out in this book is the top-notch photography illustrating the varied decorating concepts, which was accomplished by the author’s husband, Keith Scott Morgan. His photographs expertly accompany the well-written text.

This talented duet has worked on projects for familiar magazines such as House & Garden and Country Living in the past, and this experience resonates within the pages of this expanded work as well.