ARTES

Over two decades, William Curtis and Russell Windham have worked to show that classical architecture can embody the same attention to context and custom approach to design often ascribed to more modern movements, underscoring how versatile classical ideals and details can be. In styles reminiscent of the great Tudor manor houses of England to quaint symmetrical clapboard farmhouses, quintessentially Mission-style haciendas, and of course neo-Georgian mansions, the firm builds houses with a faithful adherence to historical detail, proportion, and materials that makes them stand out as truly world-class designers. With interiors as much a part of their core practice as exteriors, this firm is able to carry through an integrity of vision—graciously curved banisters, warm and inviting mantels, detailed brickwork, and coffered ceilings—that makes every project feel truly whole, complete. Yet a strong sense still pervades every featured home that they are organized to support modern lifestyles, taking the best of the past and adapting it to create homes that are truly comfortable and functional for today’s families.

Conceived by William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I, and built between 1555 and 1587, Burghley House is a testament to the ambition and vision of the most powerful courtier of the first Elizabethan age. Designed by Cecil himself, in consultation with the Dutch Renaissance architect and painter Hans Vredeman de Vries, the architecture and interiors at Burghley reflect a mix of contemporary fashionable influences. The house’s facades are each markedly different, with a striking and ornate Gothic gatehouse beneath a roofline of cupolas and obelisks, and with French and Italian styles visible in the windows and pilasters. And inside, where the State Rooms house remarkable collections of furniture, textiles, and Old Master paintings acquired over the centuries, Cecil’s Gothic-style Old Kitchen remains alongside the magnificent Renaissance staircase and Italianate fireplace in the Great Hall.

Every year, Bvlgari launches its High Jewelry collection, featuring 150 mesmerizing, one-of-a-kind pieces. This year, the focus of the design is the symbolism and richness of the world of color—a luxurious journey through shapes, hues, and a multitude of creative forms. The colors of gems have always provided a source of inspiration and innovation for Bvlgari. This year’s jewelry collection goes to the roots of the brand famous for forging new creative paths. Bvlgari’s ever-evolving aesthetic goes hand in hand with its commitment to high-end Italian craftmanship. This unique volume presents Bvlgari’s craftmanship and artistry and provides a lavish catalogue at the highest level of the jeweler’s art and contributions of artists exploring the world of colors with their works.

Chanel expert Isabelle Fiemeyer offers a rare, deeply personal look into the life of the iconic designer Coco Chanel. This biography draws from exclusive interviews with Chanel’s closest family members and extensive archival research to reveal the designer’s most private world—her love for symbolism and poetry, her romantic relationships, and her enduring bond with her nephew, André Palasse, whom she raised as her own son. His daughter, Gabrielle Palasse-Labrunie—Chanel’s goddaughter and only direct descendant—shares intimate memories and access to her great-aunt’s cherished collection of fashion, jewelry, and art. Divided into five chronological sections, the book immerses readers in Chanel’s life, unveiling rarely seen personal artifacts: gifts from her great love, Boy Capel, as well as her furniture, favorite jewelry, talismans, garments, family photos, and correspondence. This new text expands upon Fiemeyer’s research from her previous books on the designer and includes the compelling chapter “Alias Coco,” which explores newly uncovered documents from French Secret Service archives, shedding light on Chanel’s clandestine activities during World War II and her connections to the Resistance.

Jonathan Rachman's instantly classic designs come to life in vibrant and sumptuous color in this first monograph on the Sumatran-born, San Francisco-based interior decorator. Interior decorator Jonathan Rachman opens the doors to his universe in this volume illustrating his eclectic, vividly colorful, and markedly refined style, through various projects undertaken for prestigious clients. Born on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, trained in Switzerland, and today based out of San Francisco, Rachman injects his projects with his own wide-reaching, worldly experience, his explorations into provincial flea markets, and his taste for textiles, leather goods, handicrafts, and art objects. In each of his designs, he combines the best materials from the East and the West, devising personalized plans for his clients and creating a timeless approach to interior design. With a lively color palette, luxurious materials, and an incredible attention to detail, Rachman has received multiple awards and acclaim for his work from renowned publications such as Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar.

Across Brazil and around the world, the elegant and meticulously crafted spaces designed by the firm Dado Castello Branco Arquitetura e Interiores are known for blending functionality with aesthetic allure. These places—residences, apartments, and villas, all in the signature style the firm has honed since its founding in São Paulo in the early 1990s—are brought to cinematic life by Brazilian artistic director and visual artist Ricardo van Steen. In these pages, van Steen stages a visual journey through four key elements of the company’s sophisticated design vision: He considers light as medium and muse, almost a character in the drama of each living, breathing space. He attends to matter, meaning the very materials of wood, copper, stone, fabric, and glass through which Dado’s designs achieve their richness and authenticity. He turns to the horizon, an essential feature that opens up perspectives and creates visual intrigue, serving as a metaphorical guide to the soul of the space. And he closes with art, paying tribute to Dado Castello Branco’s lifelong passion for the artists who inspire him and the art objects whose presence enhances these meticulous interiors. This richly illustrated publication brings us into these worlds of drama and elegance with exclusive photography and a profound consideration of the legacy of this legendary firm.

When first published, Desert Images was a watershed project in the nascent environmental movement—bringing together two titans of American literature and art in their heyday. Still resonating all these decades later, Muench’s evocative photography and Abbey’s fiery, poetic text remain an unsurpassed tribute to this extraordinary American landscape. Those who imagine that the desert is merely a monotonous vista of sand and rock will be surprised by the variety of landforms, plants, and other natural phenomena shown on these pages. As Abbey wrote, “For some of those who have learned not only to live in but also to love the desert, it offers rewards greater than its visual appeal to the sense of beauty—the promise implicit in all that rugged wildness, that open, unfenced, untrammeled space—the sense of adventure, the reality of freedom, the hope of a refuge.” This photographic and literary passport to a great American wilderness will be treasured by all those who cherish the natural world.

Everyone wants a stylish home, but with so much information available, how does one begin to put it all together? EnterInterior Design Master Class: 100 Rooms. The designers who’ve created the remarkable spaces in this volume individually explain in their own words the framework for the success of each room. The spaces featured in the book are broken down by type of room, including Gathering (media and family rooms), Transitional (porches and entryways), Respite (bedrooms and sitting rooms), Entertaining (dining rooms and bars), and Utility (kitchens, baths, and mudrooms). In each category, the multiple examples by designers well known from their appearances in Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, and Southern Living explore a variety of topics. Katie Ridder uses her vibrant living room to write about establishing a successful palette. Suzanne Kasler writes about the importance of light in bedrooms. Frances Merrill of Reath Design shares her thoughts about kitchens. Mark Sikes contributes an essay on tables. Steven Gambrel writes about the color blue. Josh Greene expounds on the bath. Also featuring Bunny Williams, Robert Couturier, Heidi Caillier, Miles Redd and David Kaihoi, Nicole Hollis, and Corey Damen Jenkins, the book is an elegant guide to twenty-first-century living, room by room.

With his first book, Design Remix, Jenkins burst onto the design scene with an explosion of color, elegance, and new traditionalism that the design community and consumers loved. His second book picks up where the first left off, as Jenkins embarks on a new chapter in his life and firm. In this new book, stunningly packaged with a glorious peacock-printed case and gilded edges, Jenkins takes readers inside ten glamorous projects. Whether it is an Upper East Side apartment overlooking the NYC skyline, a Hamptons beach house, or a sprawling estate in the American countryside, this new volume highlights the design tenets Jenkins has become celebrated for: his unapologetic embracing of classic architectural bones, rich color combinations, classic elements with a modern twist, and dynamic pattern play. Room-specific sidebars explore topics such as powerful dining rooms, statement powder rooms, luxurious living rooms, speakeasies and other secret spaces, and guest rooms. Featuring the warm and practical voice for which he is beloved, Design Reimagined will please Jenkins’s current fans and win over a whole new audience.

A unique collection of photographs by Yuriko Takagi, showcasing her poetic and surrealist look at Dior haute couture creations. An important addition to the library of leading artistic photographers working to interpret the fashion house’s oeuvre. Takagi is an icon of Japanese photography, her enchanting and otherworldly images are built with a unique and careful consideration of shadows, the result of a career-long contemplation of natural light—a theme that plays a pivotal role in her work for Dior. This book features exclusive shootings by Takagi of the most emblematic Dior haute couture designs. Takagi delivers her personal reinterpretation of the essence of Dior, opening a profound dialogue between her artistic conception and the codes of the House. Her photographs capture an ephemeral, intangible quality of the subjects, and her signature technique of layering images, in this case of flowers and architectural motifs over toiles of dresses and models, creates a dreamlike atmosphere. The result is a collection of great poetry, a surrealist promenade through Dior’s eras, and a unique observation of the inventiveness of the House over the decades.