BELLAS ARTES

Celebrated for pioneering and provocative interiors that guide global trends, Kelly Wearstler is known for her iconic designs of residences and boutique hotels. Pairing an exploration of materiality, color, and form with an intuitive juxtaposition of contemporary, vintage, architectural, and organic sensibilities, she has defined an aesthetic that is all her own. With a social media following that has grown to exceed two million and expansion into her own lines of furniture, lighting, and decor, hers is one of the most distinctive voices in the interiors world.

Up-and-coming interior designer Kirsten Blazek, known for her focus on sustainability and mixing vintage with contemporary pieces, shares inspiration for creating an authentic and livable home. Blazek’s company, A 1000 X Better, takes a holistic approach to design, prioritizing individuality while also emphasizing sustainability, from repurposing existing pieces and materials to sourcing eco-friendly products. Her interiors combine contemporary design elements with vintage pieces, resulting in a modern and warm sensibility. In this book, Blazek breaks down her design philosophy into chapters that help us to articulate what we’re looking for and show us how we can create spaces that are comfortable, stylish, and personal: “Find Your Unique,” “A Reflection of You,” and “Every Home Wants to Be Heard.” Blazek reveals her favorite interiors while sharing her fundamental design elements: color theory, layering of texture and pattern, and the importance of art and personally meaningful objects. The result is a range of interiors and styles, illustrating how these elements might be translated into our own spaces. Blazek’s blend of traditional and contemporary design along with personal and custom touches results in the type of inviting and livable spaces that we all aspire to.

Following her success with Nora Murphy’s Country House Style, Murphy celebrates a selection of homes and their homeowners, each exemplifying a different style. For Nora Murphy, a country house isn’t so much a place as it is a state of mind. A country house is warm, welcoming—at once down to earth, yet elegant. A country house has genuine character, tells a story, and is truly, wonderfully lived in. Here Murphy explores the tenets of country house style, as illustrated by her own “new” country house, and the many other striking homes she has curated for the book. Each one of these homeowners has embraced country house style—but each implements it in their own unique way. There is a pastoral 1732 center-chimney colonial in Connecticut nestled in spectacular gardens, a cozy cottage on the coast of Maine rich with local details, and an 1840s Greek Revival in the Hudson Valley filled with romantic Victorian ephemera. Common threads weave through the stories: the thrill of the antiques hunt, the role of history, and the priority of comfort.