Show some style with the types of interior books you choose to give this Christmas, writes Alanna Gallagher

The seasonal rush is never more apparent than in bookstores the length and breadth of the country. Mountains of coffee table tomes offer the latest if not the greatest interior ideas. All are competing to win pride of place in your home - at least for a while.

Many afford voyeuristic access inside the homes of personalities and celebrities while others exhibit a wealth of interior ideas to borrow, adapt and make your own.

How do you tell the turkeys from the page turners? Invest in bright ideas from the creature comforts of your own home by enlisting the advice of experts.

Not new but still relevant is The Essential House Book by Terence Conran (publisher Conran Octopus, €36.75), which is on sale in an updated version, says Gregory Curran, interior designer with Burke Kennedy Doyle. "It's the ideal present to give to someone moving into their first home."

Eoin Lyons, whose Style Source Ireland Interiors (publisher Curragh Press, €24.99), is essential reading before you make any redecorating plans, likes Modern Glamour: The Art of Unexpected Style by Kelly Wearstler, (publisher Harper Collins USA, €35.30).

"Wearstler is a Los Angeles-based decorator and this book of her large-scale projects shows how an ordinary object can often make a greater statement when supposedly special things melt into background."

The book features some of her designs for Maison 140, Avalon and the Viceroy Resorts as well as the BG restaurant and lounge at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan. It is brash, bold and stimulating.

"Her work is about visual excitement and a mix-and-match style. The overall philosophy is that a home should be in constant decorative metamorphosis. For me, it's one of the most inspiring books about interior design ever produced and should be given as a gift to anyone with even the slightest interest in interiors."

Emma Kelly, MD of Elevate PR, which specialises in interior design, enjoys dipping in and out of her own library of reference books. There are favourites she returns to again and again.

These include David Hicks Designer, by his son Ashley Hicks (publisher London Scriptmate, €51.45) who was described at the time of his death as a "sworn enemy of chintz" by Time magazine.

My Prescription To Anti-Depressing Living by potter Jonathan Adler is another (publisher Harper Collins USA, €29.40).

"It's an antidote to the seriousness of most contemporary design," adds Lyons. "It's a fun book that is full of his design credos. In effect he's repackaged bad taste and it works."

For Tony-winning set designer, Joe Vanek, Authentic Décor, The Domestic Interior 1620 - 1920 by Peter Thornton, (publisher Orion, €27.90), is the perfect present for anyone living in a period home who wants who wants a historical reference to replicate the look and feel of a certain time.

"It shows details such as how windows were draped, the scale of wallpaper styles used and what type of loose covers to use on upholstery."

Bauhaus by Jeannine Fiedler and Peter Feierabend (publisher Konemann, €36.75) is another suggestion.

"It's ideal if you're looking for suggestions on how to change the internal space of your home. It offers many ideas on how to open up and section off rooms." Both books are available through www.amazon.com only.

Vanek, who won two Tonys for Dancing at Lughnasa in 1992, is someone who lived through the design decade of the 1970s first time round and is terribly bored with its second visitation.

He advises against oversized wallpaper on feature walls as it already looks dated but confesses to being rather taken by dark polished wooden floors.

A man whose home, in its many incarnations, has featured in interior style bible"s, he is in the throes of considering some home improvements of his own. Eating Room Red, by Farrow and Ball, has replaced terracotta accents within his home.

"The pale bare floorboards need a lift. A darker stain will introduce a new mood and help showcase my collection of colourful rugs."

Fashion and textile designer, Celia Birtwell, is another who's been round fashion's fickle block more than once.

Her collaboration with Topshop introduced her to a new and enthused generation. The first collection was a best-seller for the store and a second drop of her follow-up range was distributed into stores last week.

The former wife of Ossie Clark is a fan of Fornasetti: Designer of Dreams by Patrick Mauries, (publisher Thames & Hudson, €44) by. World of Interiors magazine shares her enthusiasm, saying the hardback is, " as good as owning one of the things themselves".

Her former husband also features on her inspiration list. Ossie Clark 1965 - 74 by Judith Watt (publisher V&A Publications, €27.90) is a paperback that shows how this master cutter brought street style to London's most fashionable people. Considered a celebrity in his own right, David Hockney, Patrick Proctor, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Patti Boyd and George Harrison all numbered among his friends. This is also available online from the Victorian and Albert museum's website www.vandashop.com.

Many of the sybarites' selections are not this year's publications. So what's new and worth investigating? Buy In the Pink: Dorothy Draper - America's Most Fabulous Decorator, by Carleton Varney (publisher Pointed Leaf Press, €73.70) for old-school aesthetes.

Draper's client list includes our own Dromoland Castle and former president, Jimmy Carter, whose log house's four-poster beds are featured.

Gossips with an eye for glamour will love Class Act William Haines: Legendary Hollywood Decorator by Peter Schifando and Jean H Mathison, (publisher Pointed Leaf Press, €73.50).

This offers a rare glimpse into the private lives of this furniture designer's A-list clientele. This renaissance man was also Tinseltown's first openly gay movie star. This is a timeless source book, with heritage and good looks.

Colourists with enjoy the tactile cover of Pattern by Tricia Guild (publisher Quadrille, €44.10). The flock cover hides a variety of ways to inject both pattern and colour into modern life.

Red-blooded males may run a million miles from the abundance of pink which, while almost omnipresent, is more Pussycat Dolls than Barbara Cartland in attitude.