Accessorize your coffee table, gaze at some gorgeous photography, embark on some arty diy, or get down to some serious research with these weighty new tomes

Modernist Estates, Stefi Orazi, £25, Frances Lincoln

For nosy neighbours as much as architecture buffs, this book explores 21 homes on Modernist estates across Britain, with an overview of the design and history followed by an interview with residents and a host of photos of their interiors. Unsurprisingly, the book features several north London developments.

Do It Yourself, Thomas Barnthaler, £19.95, Phaidon

International designers and visual artists from Ai Weiwei and John Baldessari to Ross Lovegrove and Martino Gamper have been commissioned to devise affordable diy projects, which are simple to make using only basic tools. These are collected in this book, presented with step-by-step instructions and cool photography.

New Nordic Design, Dorothea Gundtoft, £19.95, Thames & Hudson

Our obsession with all things Scandi shows little sign of abating, as BBC 4’s acquisition of Swedish crime drama Beck shows. This book provides a complete reference guide to brands and designers working with the enduringly popular Nordic aesthetic.

The Modern House, Jonathan Bell, Matt Gibberd and Albert Hill, £29.95, Artifice Books on Architecture

An unexpectedly fascinating book from one of north London’s favourite specialist estate agents, The Modern House by architecture press Artifice Books overviews Modern residential architecture. North London highlights include a house in Highgate Cemetery by Eldridge Smerin ans Howell & Amis’ South Hill Park flats, which overlook the Heath.

Great Gardens of London, Victoria Summerley, £30, Frances Lincoln

One for the garden lovers, this hefty hardback features lovely photography of a variety of gardens in London, both public and private. A fabulously quirky domestic garden in Muswell Hill is featured and the book is possibly one of the only places you’ll see The Bishops Avenue described as “damp”.