“THE BEST OF BEAMS AT HOME” (Available in English!!!)

Originally featured on dennisamith.com:

For many of you who have read my articles on BEAMS, especially their books, I have been a big collector of their “BEAMS AT HOME” series.

As a matter of fact, at my home, many of books are on the bookshelf, but my “BEAMS AT HOME” are the main ones I keep in my home office.

I absolutely love looking (and reading what I can) at these books for inspiration for the home, as I am inspired by how Japan are able to take a small space and utilize it quite well. Also, for style and ideas, these books come in handy.

In Japan, the company has released their second “BEAMS ON LIFE: Living, Dining & Kitchen”, which is great and I just actually received my copy. But what I wasn’t expecting was a book to be released in the United States, translated in English.

I actually found it by accident, I thought I was on Amazon Japan searching for “BEAMS”, to see if a new book was released (as I purchase from the company to ship to the US often), but I was on Amazon USA instead and lo and behold, I was surprised to see a “BEAMS AT HOME” book released in America!

A few years ago, Rizzoli New York released “BEAMS: Beyond Tokyo” which was released in the US in English and that I can understand because of the fashion history of BEAMS.

But recently, Rizzoli New York has released “THE BEST OF BEAMS AT HOME” taking from the first three “BEAMS AT HOME” books from Japan and translating them.

The promotional on the books from Rizzoli are as follows:

Live Small/Live Modern curates the most envy-inducing spaces pulled from Beams at Home, the interior and lifestyle series that has sold over 70,000 copies and has gained a cult-like following in Japan. Filled with infinite ideas for how to spruce up your home in hip and clever ways, this is an indispensable guide to the Japanese “art of tidying up” in small spaces.

Published here for the first time in English, Live Small/Live Modern profiles more than 100 homes–from tiny one-bedroom apartments to high-ceilinged lofts–offering readers a fountain of ideas on how to design, organize, and adorn small spaces without sacrificing personality and style. Over 400 beautiful color photographs showcase the homes of ever-hip people whose honest approach to decorating never fails to exude a laid-back, Japanese-cool style.

This book will be loved by dwellers in destinations such as LA, Brooklyn, Tokyo, Portland, and London as well as fans of art, fashion, and design while serving up a major dose of interior design envy.

I’m not going to scan photos from the US version, but I will share a few photos from the Japanese version and the difference is that featured people on the “THE BEST OF BEAMS AT HOME” are in English.

Before I go into my review, just a little bit about what BEAMS is.

BEAMS is a Japanese clothing brand that was first established back in 1976 in the Harajuku district of Shibuya, Tokyo.

With stores throughout Japan, each location targets different demographics and BEAMS has a variety of labels.

I am a big fan of BEAMS products and it led me to the books. And the fact that Rizzoli New York has released it in America in English, I can’t help but smile, because this is so awesome! I can only hope they do more in the future!

So, how the book works is that a person or couple’s homes (some who are BEAMS employees) are visited and they are interviewed about the things they keep in their home.

For example, for Yamashita, he is asked what the theme or rule of his home? Yamashita said, “Instead of things that are brand new, I like things with character. So, I try to look for vintage pieces as much as possible” and nearly a dozen Q&A questions are presented.

While certain parts of their home are featured and something they have in their home and where they purchased it.

There are so many people featured and every home is different. You can have one who is very into nature, another into surfing, another who is a “Star Wars” fan, another who collects shoes, another who is into fashion, there are numerous individuals with different distinct styles that you can get a peek into their home and really get inspired, especially if you are looking to do something different.

Words can’t describe how thrilled I am about Rizzoli New York releasing “THE BEST OF BEAMS AT HOME” in the US and I can only hope more BEAMS will be released in the future (hopefully a “THE BEST OF BEAMS ON LIFE” will be released).

I highly recommend “THE BEST OF BEAMS AT HOME”! May you be into fashion, those who are looking for inspiration for their home, interior design ideas and also are passionate about Japanese culture.

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