Mid-Century Modern Living

Eames

It is said that one cannot speak about the genesis of multifunctional modernity without beginning with the ground-breaking creative duo of Charles Eames and Ray Kaiser Eames. Far more than just accomplished furniture designers, this mid-century husband and wife team was also widely known in the disciplines of architecture, textile design, photography, and film. Often referred to as the couple who transformed the visual character of America, their most seminal creation, the Eames Lounge Chair Wood, was a first of its kind—designed with molded plywood technology—these chairs first made the interiors scene in 1946. They remain every bit as popular today and are considered coveted pieces amongst fine furniture collectors. Also, to their credit, the couple chronicled their earliest experiments in furniture design in a short, but pivotal film called Powers of Ten, which is also covered in this bookshelf staple.

Inspirational Living

Vogue Living: Houses, Gardens, People

If unabashed voyeurism is your thing, this lavish chronical of style as told through the words of icons in their fields such as Vogue’s Global Editor-at-Large, Hamish Bowles, and photographers such as Miles Aldridge and Mario Testino, will keep you turning pages well into the fall, as they explore the homes of some of the world’s most celebrated personalities in the disciplines of fashion, art, and style. Among the 36 incredible residences of note and in full-color display, are that of the coral-stone Palladian mansion of Oscar de la Renta, the Nile-based, houseboat digs of Christian Louboutin, and four decades worth of homes once inhabited by Karl Lagerfeld. Truly a treat for the eye and the soul, this 400-page, hard-cover “Who’s Who” of fashionable interiors includes a thought-tweaking forward by Calvin Klein.

Timeless Living

The House in Good Taste: Design Advice from America’s First Interior Decorator

Indeed, this book authored in 1913 by Elsie de Wolfe, our nation’s first acknowledged interior decorator, advances the timeless nature that good taste embodies, and her theory that anyone can develop good taste should they make an effort to do so. De Wolfe, who predominantly catered to the well-to-do, also felt that living well and living comfortably was attainable no matter the budget. De Wolfe sought to shake up the contemporary standards of the time by replacing the weightier and darker furnishings and embellishments of the Victorian era with lighter and brighter alternatives. By employing more neutral colors, like ivory and beige, replacing heavy drapery to allow more natural light in the home, and clearing the home of clutter, de Wolfe established a new baseline from which modern design could flourish and endure. De Wolfe was also the first to recognize that one’s home interiors should be an extension of one’s personality, a precept that has stood the test of time.