Sims Hilditch

The chapter on the seaside villas alone was worth the price—I keep flipping back to see how they handled all that natural light in the living rooms. It's a hefty coffee-table book too, so it actually holds up to being left open and browsed.

The photography is stunning, especially the historic country manor spreads where you can actually study the fabric choices up close. I bought it mainly for the townhouse projects and ended up poring over every page for weeks.

The seaside villa chapter alone is worth the price—I've flipped through it three times just for the light-filled living rooms. Paper quality is thick enough that the photos don't bleed through, which matters in a coffee table book this size.