Best Design Books

The definitive Gustav Klimt Paintings Book

June 20, 2014

The definitive Gustav Klimt Paintings Book – Gustav Klimt, Complete Paintings (published by Taschen) is the definitive book of this amazing painter, considered the Prince of Decadence. His paintings leaves no one indifferent! Tobias G. Natter worked at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna for fifteen years. In 2014 he founded Natter Fine Art, which focuses on the development and implementation of exhibitions and on research. The countless events being held to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth make a clear statement to the enduring appreciation for the work of Gustav Klimt. Not that it takes such a special occasion for the press and the public to start talking about Klimt. More than two hundred articles about the artist appeared online in August 2011 alone, in comparison with barely seventy on Rembrandt within the same period. This media publicity set editor Tobias G. Natter thinking about the value of compiling the present book. During his lifetime, Klimt was a controversial star whose works made passions run high; he stood for Modernism but he also embodied tradition. His pictures polarized and divided the art-loving world. Journalists and general public alike were split over the question: For or against Klimt? See also: Book Review: Frida Kahlo Fashion As…

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Interior Design

Domino: The Essential Book of Decorating

June 19, 2014

Domino (published by Simon & Schuster) is the Essencial Book of Decorating. This book considered one of the Best Design Books, cracks the code to creating a beautiful home, bringing together inspiring rooms, how-to advice and insiders’ secrets from today’s premier tastemakers in an indispensable style manual. The editors take readers room by room, tapping the best ideas from domino magazine and culling insights from their own experiences. With an eye to making design accessible and exciting, this book demystifies the decorating process and provides the tools for making spaces that are personal, functional and fabulous. “The editors of Domino Magazine here show how amateurs can achieve a young, sophisticated look in their homes. A brief review of important preliminary considerations—budget, defining one’s own style, the room’s function—is followed by advice for decorating every room of the house, including children’s rooms and offices. Different styles are shown for each in plenty of colour photographs, with suggested furnishings and advice on how to mix styles. Each chapter concludes with a look at how a Domino staff member has decorated a similar room with a description of her approach to design.” School Library Journal “Domino the Essecial Book of Decorating is much more than a compilation of glossy editorial photo…

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Interior Design

Style & Simplicity: An A to Z Guide Book to Living a More Beautiful Life

June 15, 2014

Ted Kennedy Watson got his start in the design and retail world when working as part of the creative team for Bill and Melinda Gates’s wedding. After opening a successful wholesale showroom—home to the Watson Kennedy Collection for clients such as Nordstrom, Barneys, and Neiman Marcus—he opened Watson Kennedy retail stores in Seattle. He lives in Seattle and is currently building a home in the Hudson Valley with plans to expand his retail business on the East Coast. Ted Kennedy Watson, acclaimed retailer, blogger, and stylist of the beautiful and unusual has a passion for the art of display and an understanding of how distinctive touches make a space inviting. Here, in a lush, lavish, A-to-Z guide (published by Sterling Signature), he presents dozens of insider secrets and ideas that will empower you to create a serene, harmonious home that delights the five senses. As the back cover says, “Let this inspiring book be a starting point for discovering things you love and integrating them into your beautiful life.”

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Interior Design

Decoration Books: 1,000 Design Ideas for Every Room in Your Home

June 12, 2014

Holly Becker founder and editor of the hugely popular design blog Decor8blog.com (which has 45,000 daily readers), is an American award winning and best selling author, journalist, interiors stylist and workshop leader as well as a columnist for RealSimple.com. Joanna Copestick is the author of over ten lifestyle and décor books and Debi Treloar has photographed for Elle Décor, the Sunday Times, and over thirty books. In Decorate (published by Chronicle Books), the world’s top designers and leading decor experts including Kelly Wearstler, Amy Butler, Jonathan Adler, and many others come together to share over 1,000 professional tips, ideas, and solutions for every room and every budget. More than 500 gorgeous colour photographs provide motivation while line illustrations, checklists, shortcuts, and floor plans make it easy to get started. For those looking to make the most of their home and create stylish interiors. Decorate is the start-to-finish resource to keep on the bookshelf for years to come. “It’s like your first pack of Starbursts – exploding with color, homes and sunshine in equal measure. ” Apartment Therapy Source: Chronicle Books

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Art

The essential guide: Design of the 20th Century by Taschen Books

June 6, 2014

Charlotte&Peter Fiell have written numerous Taschen books,including1000 Chairs, Design of the 20th Century, Industrial Design A–Z,Scandinavian Design, Designing the 21st Century, Graphic Design for the 21st Century,1000 Lights and Contemporary Graphic Design. They also edited Taschen’s Decorative Art series and the 12-volume domus 1928-1999. From Art Noveau to minimalism and everything in between Design of the 20th Century (published by Taschen) shows clearly that the previous century was marked by momentous changes in the field of design. Aesthetics entered into everyday life with often staggering results. Our homes and workplaces turned into veritable galleries of style and innovation. From furniture to graphics, it`s all here – the work of artists who have shaped and recreated the modern world with a dizzying variety of materials. From the organic to the geometric, from Art Deco, through to Pop and High-Tech, this book contains all the great names – Harry Bertoia, De Stijl, Dieter Rams, Philippe Starck, Charles and Ray Eames, to name only a very few. This essential book is a comprehensive journey through the shapes and colors, forms and functions of design history in the 20th century. An A-Z of designers and design schools, which builds into a complete picture of contemporary living. Lavishly illustrated, this is design in the fullest sense. “This is…

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Art

Gardens are for Living: unique outdoor design book ideas

June 5, 2014

Judy Kameon has twenty years of experience as a landscape designer in Los Angeles. Her work has been featured in Garden Design, House & Garden, Dwell, The New York Times, Vogue, and Sunset. Jonathan Adler is an interior decorator and author of 100 Ways to Happy Chic Your Life. Judy Kameon firm Elysian Landscapes, is known for their liveable gardens, full of color, texture, and of equal importance to Kameon, spaces to entertain, eat, play, and relax. Homeowners are curious to know her secrets for how to transform a tired garden into a welcoming outdoor room. Gardens Are for Living: Design Inspiration for Outdoor Spaces (published by Rizzoli), is Kameon’s first book and came out this year. “The book is a densely packed, playful, and easy-to-penetrate read. Kameon’s generously shared with the world what she’s been sharing with her friends and clients for years: how she does it, what her process is, and where she gets her inspiration.” Gardenista Bring the indoors outdoors with these inspiring design ideas. Gardens should be spaces that invite gathering, entertaining, and relaxing-gardens are for living. This is the philosophy behind Judy Kameon’s design, and it reflects a shift in the way people today relate to the areas around their homes. Kameon has developed a unique style…

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MAGAZINES

Best Design Magazines: June Issues

May 29, 2014

Spring let us spend more time outdoors and to enjoy Nature, but for majority the Summer is the most anticipated season of the year. Summer is almost here and we can relax at the garden or the beach in the company of a book, ou a magazine. It seems good, right? So today, Best Design Books will give you a sneak peak at the June issues of the best design magazines. The outstanding publications featured in this post will be Architectural Digest, Wallpaper Magazine, Frame Magazine, Elle Decoration and Living Etc! Elle Decoration UK June issue What you can read: The June issue of Elle Decoration gives you lots of tips and tricks for you and your home. This is an issue you can’t miss! Check Elle Decoration‘s top 100 buys under £100, learn some secrets from celebrity chefs and be inspired by some fantastic interior designs! Wallpaper Magazine – June issue What you can read: If you’re the kind of person that loves to be in touch with the latest technology news, the June issue of Wallpaper Magazine is for you! Living Etc – June issue What you can read: The June issue of Living Etc is all about color. You will see some fantastic interior designs and you can get good tips on how…

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BEST SELLERS

Rhapsody: Kelly Wearstler Book

May 23, 2014

Kelly Wearstler is the ultimate trendsetter in interior design. She’s the founder of the Los Angeles architectural interior design firm KWID (Kelly Wearstler Interior Design). Her designs for the trendsetting Viceroy resorts from California to the Caribbean; such taste-making hotels as Maison 140 and Avalon; unique office, retail, and leisure spaces, including BG restaurant and lounge in Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman; and upscale residences such as the Trousdale Estate have been profiled in House and Garden, House Beautiful, Interior Design, Elle Decor, Vogue, and W. Wearstler is also designer of her own kwid line of furnishings and accessories. Rhapsody (published by Rizzoli) is the fourth book of the top interior designer and offers a look into Wearstler’s glamorous world, profiling in detail her latest residential designs and her sumptuous new hotels, as well as her creative process. The book also follows the designer—known for her striking personal style—behind the scenes to watch her at work, creating sculpture at her metal foundry or shopping at auction houses, to reveal the myriad inspirations that fuel Wearstler’s imagination and her dazzling design work. “The projects featured in this book—all previously unpublished—share a refreshing libidinous quality.” Wall Street Journal With beautiful images of many never-before-photographed interiors, Kelly Wearstler: Chromatic Rhapsody is…

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PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO:BOX by Roberto Koch

May 22, 2014

Roberto Koch is the author/photographer of Exit, Album, and Istanti di Russia, for which he received the 1991 Kodak award. As publisher of Contrasto, one of the world’s leading publishers of photo books, and founder and CEO of Forma, the International Center of Photography in Milan, he is deeply knowledgable about photography. PHOTO:BOX (published by Abrams Books) presents a collection of 250 photographs by 200 of the world’s most prominent photographers, ranging from legendary masters to contemporary stars, in an appealing format with a portfolio binding. Photographers include Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliot Erwitt, Robert Frank, Nan Goldin, David LaChapelle, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, and many more. Each image is accompanied by an engaging commentary and a brief biography of the photographer. The book is organized by subject and theme, offering a fresh perspective on the medium: from reportage to nature, and also covering war, portraits, still lifes, women, travel, cities, art, fashion, the nude, and sports. PHOTO:BOX is an irresistible and amazingly affordable survey of photography. “The book is organized in such a way that you are exposed to the things you would normally not look at. I’m more apt to dwell on Dorothea Langes’ “Migrant Mother-California 1936″ or any of the other contemporary photos than let’s…

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Interior Design

Lighting: 20th Century Classics by Scala Quin

May 21, 2014

Scala Quin is a Canadian-based writer and editor and Fletcher Sibthorp, the consultant editor, is an expert on 20th-century furniture. He also served as the consultant for Collectables: 20th-Century Classics and Chairs: 20th-Century Collectables, also published by New Holland. Lighting: 20th-Century Classics (published by New Holland) includes more than 90 of the most desirable and iconic pendant lights, table lamps, floor and wall and ceiling designs from the last century. Organized by decade each entry comprises: a double-page spread, featuring a short essay on the classic under discussion and a photograph of that object; top tips on what to look out for when considering a purchase; a price guide in both pounds sterling and US dollars; and, key websites for further information about the piece. This book provides all the information you will need to make an informed decision when investing in a piece of classic design, whether it is a Tiffany lamp, a Poul Henningsen PH Artichoke or PH5 or a Verner Panton Moon Lamp. This gorgeous book is essential for anyone interested in style, design or interiors. This amazing book is essential for those who have interest in design, style or interiors.

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Interior Design

Suzanne Kasler: Timeless Style

May 16, 2014

Suzanne Kasler ’s interior design studio is based in Atlanta. Her award-winning projects have been published in major magazines, including Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, Veranda, and Southern Accents. Kasler has signature-licensed products in fabrics, furniture, paint, and lighting. House beautiful named the interior designer as one of the top 100 designers The book had the contribution of Christine Pittel a senior editor at House Beautiful magazine. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Town & Country, Harper’s Bazaar, House & Garden, and many other publications. Timeless Style (published by Rizzoli) is a book that every interior designer should have in their library. Suzanne Kasler is known for her classically inspired rooms, pretty palettes, and comfortable spaces. She brings Southern charm, European sensibility, and a respect for architectural details to her interiors. Her neutral palette, spiced with hits of color, creates warm spaces that are elegant yet inviting. Inspired by fashion, Kasler uses a scarf as a throw, adds grosgrain or satin banding to the bottom of a chair cover, accents draperies with Chanel-like piped borders, or embellishes a bed frame with delicate handpainted patterns. It is these exquisite haute couture details thatdrive her design aesthetic. Kasler’s mélange of antiques, midcentury pieces, and modern furniture makes her layered interiors…

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