Flipping through the pages, the imagination soars with the wild variety of design options presented in splendid colour.
Go from the lavish elegance of Hollywood through the eyes of an iconic American designer to the romantic appeal of pine cabinets and bright flowers on a Vermont farm to Sarah Suzanka's less-is-more philosophy in her newest book, Not So Big Remodelling. In between, there is a funky set of directions on how to give new life to treasures found in the garbage pile
More is More
By Hutton Wilkinson
Abrams, $97.50
IT all starts with Hutton Wilkinson's unabashed tribute to the grand man of American design -- Tony Duquette. More is More is Wilkinson's second pictorial tribute to the designer who designed elaborate movie sets, decorated homes for the stars and exotic jewelry for the wealthy and royalty, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Wilkinson, who worked with Duquette and his wife Elizabeth Beegle Duquette, for more than three decades, must have carried a camera in his hip pocket because there are countless pictures of the couple entertaining in their Los Angeles studio and being entertained by friends around the world. The Duquettes loved dressing up in turbans, gilt caftans and studying spirituality in Tibet.
The excess crossed over into his designs, which are characterized by multiple helpings of large chandeliers, mirrors, candlelight, flowing fabrics and exotic animals. To understand Duquette's approach to design, return to his three-day lecture series at UCLA in the SSRq70s. "I have donned the role of a shaman, your shaman, to take your hand and lead you on a magical journey through dim, mirror-lined, misty, candlelit corridors, opening door after door, until in the last room we find a chest, and together open that chest."
The chest is the wonderful world of design and excess. "Phoenix that I am, I cannot think of rooms for easy upkeep, furnished with ovens that clean themselves and toilets that flush and clean themselves so that man can become a total robot." More is More arrives in the bookstores in October.
New Classic Interiors
By Alessandra Branca with Christine Pittel
Stewart Tabori & Chang, $78
MOVE ahead a few decades, but take a few steps back in the elaborate category and come to New Classic Interiors by Alessandra Branca with Christine Pittel.
The Italian-born designer, who opened her Chicago offices in 1984 and her first retail store in 2008, carries vestiges of Duquette in her portfolio, including the toiles, the heavy fringes and Chinese lacquer, yet it is more subdued and modernized for folks who want to celebrate the past, yet live close to their laptop. The writing is fresher, the advice more timely.
Add a shot of red and black, says Branca. "I like to layer and juxtapose patterns to create energy," says the designer, who jets among New York, Rome and Chicago. Branca has found a ready audience for her classic mixes in the pages of Elle Décor, House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Veranda and House & Garden. "I like to take something staid and proper and have fun with it." New Classic Interiors arrives in bookstores in October.
Glamorous Rooms
By Jan Showers
Abrams, $64.99
THE glitz is still evident in Glamorous Rooms by Jan Showers, a Dallas-born designer, who has been featured in Elle Décor, House Beautiful, Southern Accents, Town & Country and Traditional Homes, and is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers. The key is in the mix, writes fashion designer Michael Kors in the foreword to the book, which is heavy on pictures and light on words.
"Design like Jan's fuses great taste and an expert eye with the reality of life as it is actually lived. That's why people are always so astonished at her glamorous touch -- because it's built into designs that are functional and comfortable and fun."
Showers' scaled down version of glam relies on glass and shots of bright colour, including vibrant yellow drapes next to white ceramic table lamps with the same tone of yellow on the base and shades. Louis XVII armchairs are a classic combo of creamy-white distressed frames, brass studs and chocolate leather sets.
Tossed & Found
By Wary Meyers
Stewart Tabori & Chang, $35.95
FINALLY, Wary Meyers' Tossed & Found is a million miles away from More is More and does give the reader step-by-step instructions on turning junk finds into wildly unique lamps, chairs and furniture for your home. Geared to the I-can-do-it decorator on a budget, Tossed & Found is a smorgasbord of crafty finds to delight decorators with time and a sense of adventure. Tossed & Found is perfectly geared for folks prospering in a recession, sipping a Tim Hortons, not a Misto.
Not So Big Remodeling
By Sarah Susanka
Taunton Press, US$32
THE reigning queen of sensible living, Sarah Susanka this year released the latest in her series of guides to modern living, Not So Big Remodeling. Here, devoted Susanka fans who don't want to start fresh can adopt her strategies to their homes.
Susanka and her longtime collaborator Marc Vassallo compare pre-renovation homes through photographs and drawings, then make suggestions on how to open up spaces, adding light, appealing niches, varying ceiling levels and easing traffic flow for informal living. Immensely practical, the book offers happy solutions, more green than glamorous, more middle America than Hollywood.
New Farmhouse Style
By Terry John Woods
Stewart Tabori & Chang, $58.50
NEW Farmhouse Style leaves urban America behind, seeking out the chipped paint and bright flowers of his 1820s farmhouse in rural Vermont.
Artist, collector and craftsman, Terry John Woods has turned his farm, called Needham, into a cocoon of vintage delights, including a combo of weathered blue furniture, white ceramic pitchers, canvas-covered chairs and baskets filled with orange and yellow Asiatic lilies that could be easily transported to a suburban family room or a Manhattan apartment. Yet, it's the absolute freshness of Vermont that comes through in the photography by Kindra Clineff and the Woods' words.
AsWoods writes in the introduction, New Farmhouse Style is not a how-to or a recipe book, but rather a what-if book. "A recipe book will tell you what ingredients to use, when to mix, when to blend. A how-to book will give you the exact measurements for building a closet. But this one asks: What if you took these ideas and decorated with the things you love that bring you comfort? This book shows you how to bring favourite ingredients into your home design and create your own recipe for living well."
-- Canwest News Service
