04/20/2011

Four Interior Design Books You Might Not Have Read Yet

ReadyMade

By Martha Mulholland (http://www.marthamulholland.com/)

I waspossessed tomake out thislist when Ilookedthrough acouple ofrecentlypublisheddesign booksI have andrealized theyare essentiallyidenticaloverpricedcoffee tablebooks: Theyeach featurethe samerooms of thesame houses,evoke thesame feelingof slightlyinnocuous

unassailability, and invariably show the same kind of high brow, ethno/mid-century meetstraditional/Louis whatever brand of eclecticism so virulent in the Domino design era. So I set those titlesaside and focused instead on the books in my library that I found truly inspirational and unique. Thoughthey may not cater to my personal taste, they present some very unusual spaces or some timeless motifs,and are worth revisiting in your home.

Every Room Tells a Story, Nest Magazine

This is the hardbound incarnate of my favorite sheltermag of all time, Nest magazine. The thing I loved aboutNest was its all-around unconventionality. Michael S.Smith and Miles Redd were supplanted by theperformance artist Leigh Bowery, the design collectiveFort Thunder, and the occasional baronial Englishcountry house, complete with eccentric heir, tartan, anddust. Not only does the book feature the same kookilyirreverent graphic sensibility of the magazine, but itcatalogues some of Nest’s best stories from themagazine's brief life. It takes the reader through eachissue, offering a small glimpse at what lies inside. Ifyou’re hooked on the book and want to know more, out-of-print issues of Nest can be obtained on ebay.

A House is Not a Home, Bruce Weber

This limited-edition book of photographs by Bruce Weber is not a book of interiors in a technical sense,but rather a collection of images that convey the essence of the subject’s personal space. The bookfeatures a wide swath of creative people in their home environments in a non-traditional (and of coursebeautifully captured) way. Weber takes us inside C.Z. Guest’s closet, Paul Bowles’ Tangier bedroom, andGeorgia O’Keefe’s personal sanctuary, Ghost Ranch, in the New Mexico desert. This is a great,inspirational book to have on hand for a rainy day to dream yourself away to a prettier place. Used copiescan be found at amazon.com

The New York Times Book of Interior Design andDecoration, Norma Skurka

This book, published in 1976 by former Times H&Geditor Norma Skurka, features both modern (by 1970sstandards) and traditional interiors that I have rarelyseen printed in other design books. Skurka compiles asampling of the work of the 70s best-known decorators,including Parrish Hadley, John Saladino, Angelo

Donghia, etc. The format is pretty straightforwardshelter book “drapes by so and so, sofa upholstered inlinen from such and such, vase Ming dynasty blah blahblah,” BUT the interiors are just amazing. The 70sseemed like such a polarizing period in the design world,and yet looking at this book and then looking at acurrent issue of any design magazine, you see the samethemes, somewhat watered down or updated, today.These photos show the undistilled version of classicPark Avenue traditionalism (heavy Orientals, matched

chintz, damask and toile galore, and elegant grandma neo-classicism) followed by some very groovycontemporary spaces, both beachy bohemian ones full of caning and kilim chaises, and very slick,neutral, Lucite-and-steel Euro modernism. A great volume for a vintage collector or someone seeking torevisit the origins of what is trendy again.

Interior Alchemy, Rebecca Purcell

This book, by the incredibly talented former visualdirector for ABC Carpet and Home and catalogue stylistfor Anthropologie, is a beautiful and accessibly DIYmanual for “found style.” Purcell is not for everyone—she loves layers, piles, collections and objects that showtheir age—but her advice for how to achieve the look ofthe lived-in home, or to live more creatively in yourspace, can be applied to almost any décor. She breaksthe book down into decorative styles, including“expedition,” “attic,” and “alienated,” and then describeshow to achieve each of these looks. She talks about howto age metals, make tassels, perfect draping and create achandelier out of beads, baubles, buttons, and the like.The interiors featured in the book are whimsical yethaunted, moody and obsessive, but truly unique to any Ihave found in another book. A must-read for anyonewho wonders how store windows and catalogues can

have that dreamy, transportive effect on the viewer—here’s the trade secret straight from the source.

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