A room-by-room guide to designing homes that are as chic as they are real.
In her debut book, Bespoke Homes for Families, interior designer Leslie May shares her chic approach to creating elevated, deeply personal home interiors that stand up to real life. Room by room, she explains the why behind the design, offering practical tips on materials, layout, and styling so readers can confidently bring the look home.
For May, good design has never been about perfection or polish for its own sake. “A truly fabulous home is more than a maze of rooms decked with couture draperies and lacquered ceilings,” she writes. “In fact, a memorable home is that bubble within which we learn to love, where we grow, laugh, cry, and embrace all of the chaos and dripping marshmallow fluff in between.”
That philosophy runs through the entire book: beauty in service of real life, not in spite of it.
And because May believes great design is meant to be enjoyed, not just admired, she includes inspiring ideas for thoughtfully curated gatherings, complete with a party theme, hosting ideas, and delicious recipes to bring people together in the spaces she helps create.
“The most important way to transform a house, so that it truly feels like a home, is to fill it as often as you can with friends and even more family,” May says.
Sophisticated yet approachable, Bespoke Homes for Families invites readers to create a home that reflects their own lives, beautifully and unapologetically lived-in. Order at bespokehomesbook.com, or find it at the Hoffman Media Store.
