Flea Market Style: Decorating with a Creative Edge

From London's legendary Portobello Road to the humble neighborhood tag sale, the flea market is the destination of choice for savvy shoppers.

Part collector's guide, part decorating manual, Flea Market Style celebrates the marriage of two great passions--shopping and home design--and answers the important question that lies behind every purchase, big or small: What will I do with this once I get it home?

Best-selling authors Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead offer exciting new ideas for choosing and decorating with flea market finds, illustrated with lush photographs of a variety of interiors from formal to funky. Beginning with the basics of  "working a flea," the authors offer helpful strategies for indentifying the genuine article and  getting the best prices, ideas for new ways to use collectible items, and hints on caring for them. Chapters are devoted to every major category of flea market merchandise, from old textiles and paper goods to sports memorabilia, garden ornaments, kitchen collectibles, and major pieces of furniture, among others. With a resource section listing major shows and relevant publications, and eight unique projects that will cleverly allow you to transform your purchases into singular home accents, Flea Market Style proves that anyone can use flea market finds to give their home a distinctive, personal style.

Emelie Tolley is a contributing editor at Victoria magazine and the coauthor with Chris Mead of Herbs, Cooking with Herbs (winner of the IACP/Seagrams award for single subject cookbook), Gardening with Herbs, Gifts from the Herb Garden, and The Herbal Pantry as well as A Potpourri of Pansies and Tulips. She lives in New York City and Southampton, New York.

Chris Mead has coauthored more than ten books, and his photography has appeared in numerous magazines and advertising campaigns. He divides his time between New York City and Bridgehampton, New York, where he has three home furnishings and antiques stores