Best Design Books

Book Review: Unexpected Creations Lotus Arts De Vivre

October 24, 2016

Book Review: Unexpected Creations Lotus Arts De Vivre – Celebrate the exceptional style of Thai jeweler Lotus Arts de Vivre, beloved the world over for its daring, nature-inspired pieces, with Unexpected Creations. Journey into a realm of finely wrought bracelets, necklaces, and rings whose magnificent details are inspired by Asian folklore and culture. Lotus’s artisans pay homage not only to the brand’s Thai heritage, but also to Indian moguls, Indonesian rulers, and Chinese emperors. See also: Take a Tour of the World’s Most Beautiful Hotels with Chic Stays Seamlessly melding precious metals and jewels with organic materials such as ebony, seeds, nuts, seashells, bamboo, scarab wings, and ostrich eggs, these pieces are one of a kind, bringing to life mythical beasts and ancient tales from Asian folklore. Lotus also goes beyond jewelry, creating all aspects of an elegant lifestyle, including home decor, travel accessories, furniture, and paintings. The stunning original photography in this volume will whisk readers away to another time. Rolf von Bueren founded Lotus Arts de Vivre along with his wife, Helen. Growing up in Frankfurt, Germany, in an artisan environment, an appreciation for skilled craftsmanship was instilled in him from an early age. In 1962, von Bueren…

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Interior Design

Book Review – Function, Purity and Perfection of Shaker Furniture

October 23, 2016

Book Review – Function, Purity and Perfection of Shaker Furniture – Shaker: Function, Purity, Perfection is an homage to the traditional Shaker values of grace and simplicity. Featured are twenty-eight essential pieces that highlight the defining elements of Shaker design and demonstrate a dedication to perfection. Designer and furniture expert Sir Terence Conran speaks about the profound Shaker influence on twentieth-century furniture, and David Stocks and Jerry Grant of the Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon illustrate the Shaker history, tradition, and the furniture-making techniques that ensured lasting value and beauty. See also: Book Review: Once Upon a Chair… David Stocks has led the Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon as its president since 2007. Prior to that he was involved in preservation organizations and led an effort to create an urban rail-to-trail park in Dallas, Texas. Jerry Grant is the director of collections and research at the Shaker Museum | Mount Lebanon. He has spent thirty-five years in the field of Shaker history as an interpreter, craftsman, historian, librarian, and museum director. Sir Terence Conran is one of the world’s best-known designers, restaurateurs, and retailers. He founded the Conran Design Studio in 1956 and the Habitat chain of home furnishings stores in…

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Interior Design

Book Review: Michele Bönan, The Gentleman Of Style

October 21, 2016

Book Review: Michele Bönan, The Gentleman Of Style – Renowned Italian architect and interior designer Michele Bönan likens each of his ventures to a film script, composed of dynamic narrative, wit, and irony. An aspiring architect from the age of five, Bönan attended Florence’s Accademia di Belle Arti, which he credits with compelling his freedom of expression. Bönan’s first great success came at twenty, when a magazine published his work for the home of famous tennis player friend Adriano Panatta and other high-profile clients immediately took notice. Whether for private clients or public buildings, Bönan’s designs—ranging among hotels, restaurants, estates, and even yachts—each possess a distinctive virtuosic excellence. His aesthetic incorporates modern elements and luxuries; but historical architecture, particularly that of his native Florence, always informs his style choices. “Truth before all things” is the inspiration behind all Michele Bönan’s work, a mantra he manifests by carefully arranging the desires of his clients into their ideal environment, “translated with pure Italian flair.” Notable projects highlighted in this beautifully illustrated edition include the JK Place Hotels in Capri, Rome, and Florence; the Hôtel Marquis Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris; Palazzo Tornabuoni in Florence; Jagdgut Wachtelhof Hotel in Austria; and many more. Leonardo…

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Interior Design

Art House a Book with Design Homes for Private Collectors

October 19, 2016

Art House a Book with Design Homes for Private Collectors – Leading art collector Chara Schreyer’s forty-year collaboration with interior designer Gary Hutton has produced five residences designed to house six hundred works of art, including masterpieces by Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Donald Judd, Louise Nevelson, Diane Arbus, and Frank Stella. Art House takes readers on a breathtaking visual tour of these stunning spaces, which range from an architectural tour de force to a high-rise “gallery as home.” An exploration of a life devoted to living with art and to designing homes that honor it, this title is an inspiration for art and design lovers alike. Alisa Carroll is editor in chief of SFC&G, San Francisco’s leading interior design magazine, and has written on art and design for many publications. Her first book, Jay Jeffers: Collected Cool, was published by Rizzoli in 2014. Carroll is the founder of Sheltering Art, a panel series that explores the design of homes for private collectors. She is also a frequent panel moderator at institutions including the de Young Museum, Design San Francisco, Art Market, and the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show. You may also like: Book Review: Once Upon a Chair… You may also…

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Lifestyle

Book Review: 70 Years of Innovation and Play with Mattel

October 18, 2016

Book Review: 70 Years of Innovation and Play with Mattel – “Innovation became a hallmark of Mattel operations,” said Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler in 1968. “We were unorthodox, venturesome—our people were willing to try new things. This quality, more than any other, has been the key to the company’s progress.” From its humble beginnings producing picture frames for portrait studios to icons including Barbie and Hot Wheels, Mattel has been a master of imagination and innovation for seventy years. In 1938, Handler began crafting art objects from Lucite in the LA garage of Harold “Matt” Matson. Soon he was in business as Elzac Jewelry, with Hollywood starlets modeling his designs. When Handler and Matson left Elzac and went into business as Mattel, the year was 1945 and with the nation at war, plastics were restricted for military use. Innovators as they were, they began selling wooden picture frames and quickly branched out into dollhouse furniture, before changing their emphasis to toys. Barbie was born in 1959 and one year later Mattel became a publicly owned company. In the following years, Mattel launched other iconic toys, including Hot Wheels and He-Man; began incorporating other brands, such as Fisher-Price, Pleasant Company (including…

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Art

Portraits Of The New Architecture by Richard Schulman

October 17, 2016

Portraits Of The New Architecture by Richard Schulman – Following the first volume’s success, Portraits of the New Architecture 2 introduces thirty-two architects and firms whose projects are shaping the architectural landscape of tomorrow, including David Adjaye, Asymptote, Annabelle Selldorf, Tatiana Bilbao, and Dominique Perrault. This volume features Richard Schulman’s stunning portraits and select photographs of the architects’ projects, as well as sketches and designs, and an introduction by Paul Goldberger. Richard Schulman has photographed unique architectural masterpieces for over thirty years. His first book for Assouline, Portraits of the New Architecture (2004), featured such luminaries as Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, and Zaha Hadid and was a bestseller. Schulman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, the London Times, Vanity Fair, Paris Match, and Der Spiegel. His archives include portraits of leading artists, collectors, and patrons of the arts. He is currently a lecturer on the history of photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Paul Goldberger is a Pulitzer Prize–winning architectural critic and educator who holds the Joseph Urban Chair in Design and Architecture at The New School in New York City, and was formerly Dean of the Parsons School of Design. Goldberger is…

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Interior Design

Signature Spaces by Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen

October 16, 2016

Signature Spaces by Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen – This lavishly illustrated volume explores the interior world of Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen, the talented duo behind the award-winning design studio Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam Limited. Acknowledged by Architectural Digest as one of the top 100 designers in the world, Moschino and Vergeylen not only create inspiring home environments for elite clients, but also design their own line of furniture, lighting, fabrics, and accessories. See also: Book Review: Once Upon a Chair… The process by which their varied sources of inspiration translate into material form is explored in detail in Signature Spaces. The book takes you on a visual journey through Moschino and Vergeylen’s world. Illustrated with hundreds of stunning photographs and drawings, the book reveals projects from all over the world, together with pictures of people and places that continue to be a source of inspiration for them on their continuous search for beauty. Born and raised in Italy, Paolo Moschino studied social science in Florence. It was after university that he came to London. Moschino bought Nicholas Haslam Ltd. in 1995 and has grown the company into one of the most prominent names in the design world. Born…

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Lifestyle

The Mythic Orient Express in a Book

October 15, 2016

The Mythic Orient Express in a Book – The illustrious Orient Express, “the king of trains and the train of kings,” could carry passengers from Paris to Constantinople in 76 hours, thanks to Belgian engineer Georges Lambert Nagelmackers’s perfect combination of long-distance travel and refinement. Orient Express: The Legend of Travel is a photographic guide to the history and culture surrounding this fabled train and all that took place within, from its notable passengers including Tolstoy and Grace Kelly to the tales crafted by Hemingway and Agatha Christie. In 2016, a presentation in Paris will highlight the key elements of a trip on the famed rail line through an initiatory journey created by the Design Studio Orient Express. See also: Book Review: Once Upon a Chair… French journalist Sixtine Dubly has interviewed the greatest artists, designers, and creative stars of the international scene for the last fifteen years. Wherever she travels, she tracks emerging trends and handpicks talents, keeping in touch with modern design and lifestyle around the world. She has contributed to Architectural Digest, Ideat Magazine, Marie Claire Maison, and Le Nouvel Observateur, among others, and currently writes for the lifestyle section of Paris Match magazine, where she covers…

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Interior Design

Book Review: Great Houses, Modern Aristocrats

October 11, 2016

Book Review: Great Houses, Modern Aristocrats – This stunning book presents the intriguing stories and celebrated histories of some of the leading families of Great Britain and Ireland and the opulent residences that have defined their heritages. The history of England is inextricably linked with the stories of its leading aristocratic dynasties and the great seats they have occupied for centuries. As the current owners speak of the critical roles their ancestors have played in the nation, they bring history alive. See also: Book Review: Once Upon a Chair… All of these houses have survived great wars, economic upheavals, and, at times, scandal. Filled with stunning photography, this book is a remarkably intimate and lively look inside some of Britain’s stateliest houses, with the modern-day aristocrats who live in them and keep them going in high style. This book presents a tour of some of England’s finest residences, with many of the interiors shown here for the first time. It includes Blenheim Palace—seven acres under one roof, eclipsing the splendor of any of the British royal family’s residences—property of the Dukes of Marlborough; the exquisite Old Vicarage in Derbyshire, last residence of the late Dowager Duchess of Devonshire (née Deborah Mitford);…

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Interior Design

Book Review: My Stylish French Girlfriends

October 10, 2016

Book Review: My Stylish French Girlfriends – Meet 20 beautiful, creative French women who live with passion; work every day; and love to take care ot their homes and families. Visit them in their grand chateaux or charming little country cottages or Parisian apartments. Learn where they shop, where they work, where they play, how they dress and, how they entertain. Absorb each girlfriend’s style and joie de vivre. Santoni’s affectionate writing, along with gorgeous photography, tells each woman’s story with an intimacy usually reserved for the closest of girlfriends. See also: Book Review: Once Upon a Chair… Reading this book, you’ll find different perspectives of how to decorate your home. A clear vision for the interiors, choosing a muted palette and favourite hotel decor as inspiration, may be one of the options. “These portraits of women and homes show a side of France that visitors don’t normally get to see,” writes Santoni. The book showcases some of their chic, stylish homes and explains how it tends to seem so effortless for them. You may also find a château turned into a canvas; full of flowers and paints in every room of the house. You’ll definitely learn the secrets of decorating like…

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Interior Design

The Chamber of Curiosity – Apartment Design and the New Elegance

October 7, 2016

The Chamber of Curiosity – Apartment Design and the New Elegance – The most fascinating apartments are always those that reflect the essence of their occupants. The Chamber of Curiosity is a captivating selection of interiors from around the world that tell compelling stories of their owner’s unconventional personalities and life paths. Each page transports the reader into their eccentric, deeply personal, and consistently fascinating spaces. We are welcomed into the private worlds of exotics, dandies, and hedonists featuring stunning work by architects and designers as well as objects collected by savvy hunters and gatherers. In the collage-like rooms showcased in this book, anything goes except uniformity. Its rich images are complemented by portraits of trailblazing interior designers and additional texts about the featured owners and their furnishings. The most fascinating apartments have always been those that reflect the essence of their interesting occupants. These apartments function as showcases for individual character, as chambers of curiosities reflecting unconventional life patterns. The apartment as dandy, as it were. See also: Book Review: Once Upon a Chair… Apartments like these contain a conglomeration of objects and features that underscore the personalities of their occupants. Modern classics meet personal acquisitions and unconventional items with their own backstory….

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