I have owned this book for some 12 years and still not a month goes by without me leafing through its pages. The photos in this book are absolutely beautiful and stunning in their own right and can be enjoyed immensely even without using the ideas for decorating your own home. However I have done just that and I keep coming back to the lavishly presented houses in this book. The homes featured in this book range from spartan to very richly decorated, and no matter what my decorating dilemma is, I will always find inspiration here. I cannot recount the many, many ideas I have pulled from this book, from tiles, to window treatments, to wall colors, to the arrangement of flowers and decorative objects, to fireplaces, and landscaping ideas. I love the simplicity of Italian interior decoration that comes through in these pages, and I love the shift towards function rather than pure decoration when it comes to the use of beautiful objects. The way Italians use beautiful, well made, gracefully aging furniture in everyday life and just leave it be without trying to make it perfect again is just incredibly inspiring. I own quite a few books on Italian country style and this one is by far my favorite!