Penny McCormick selects the six best reads from this season’s tempting crop of design books …
1. CURRENTLY CLASSIC: JONATHAN R ACHMAN DESIGN, Flammarion, €58. Born in Indonesia, based in San Francisco, Jonathan Rachman is known for his colourful, refined aesthetic and his taste for exquisite textiles. Whether renovating a Californian weekend home or a formal estate, elegance is a byword. The book features a foreword by Claud Cecil Gurney, (founder of wallpaper company De Gournay) and an afterword by Hannah Cecil Gurney; Rachman incorporates their wallcoverings into many of his projects.
2. MORE IS MORE IS MORE: TODAY’S MAXIMALIST INTERIORS Carl Dellatore, Rizzoli, €46. American decorators Dorothy Draper, Sister Parish and Mario Buatta were early practitioners of maximalism, creating rooms with jewel colours and glorious patterns. Exploring the subject by theme – colour, pattern, surfaces, elements and layering – contemporary examples of show-stopping rooms are shown from designers like Mark D Sikes, Ken Fulk and Kelly Behun.
3. THE COLOURFUL PAST: EDWARD BULMER AND THE ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE, Edward Bulmer, Rizzoli, €46. Grand English homes such as Althorp, Goodwood and Broughton Hall are featured in this book alongside the Queen Anne manor house of architectural historian and interior designer Edward Bulmer, which also serves as a laboratory for his eponymous natural paint company.
4. FOREVER GREEN Carlos Mota, Vendome, €80. Interior designer and style guru Carlos Mota has a passion for green in all its manifestations: in nature, food, fashion, jewellery, art and architecture. This picture-led tome may change your mind about using the shade in future home renovations.
5. PARISIAN BY DESIGN: INTERIORS David Jimenez, Diane Dorrane Seeks, Rizzoli, €46. Whether you live in Dublin or Dallas, interior designer David Jimenez has advice for how to create the type of chic French-influenced homes so many of us aspire to. Layers of textures, art and collectibles are key. He also includes a handy sourcebook of his favourite markets and dealers in Paris and New York.
6. DEEDA BLAIR: FOOD, FLOWERS & FANTASY, Rizzoli, £45. New York-based fashion icon, philanthropist and hostess Catherine “Deeda” Blair shares her inspirations for entertaining with understated elegance, accompanied by menus, 80 recipes, table settings and stories about her colourful life.
Featured image from The Colourful Past: Edward Bulmer and the English Country House.
