Interior and product designer Alexa Hampton: Mark Hampton LLC (New York)
Profile Book List
As head of the interiors firm founded by her legendary father, Mark Hampton, Alexa Hampton carries the lessons of her Brown University education (class of 1993) into her life as a highly sought-after interior designer and a lifelong student and reader.
Newest Posts and Book Lists
13 blog entries
Jan 24, 2012
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Jul 26, 2011
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Interior design editor and author Stanley Abercrombie: Interior Design magazine (Sonoma, CA)
book list
For someone whose long career has been devoted in large part to words, Stanley Abercrombie has some impressive numbers: In his more than 50 years at the forefront of reading and writing on architecture and interiors, he has been editor in chief of three eminent design magazines (Interiors, Abitare in America, and Interior Design—which he ran for 14 years, beginning in 1983); authored 11 books; written over 1,500 articles for 46 different magazines; and has roughly 12,000 books in his personal library. In addition, he currently serves as books editor at Interior Design magazine, reviewing a steady stream of books each year.
Nov 8, 2011
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Interior designer David Easton (New York)
Book list
David Easton comes to books the same way he does to interior design—from a richly textured background threaded through with his own inimitable instincts. After earning a degree in architecture from Pratt Institute and then making full-scale furniture drawings for modernist Edward Wormley, Easton worked for the firm of Parish-Hadley (where he was “seduced by decoration”) before establishing his own practice in 1972. As one of the most in-demand interior designers, he became noted for his neoclassical approach to architecture, interior decorating, and furnishings.
Jan 17, 2012
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Interior Designer Ernest de le Torre: de la Torre Design Studio (New York)
Profile Book List
It’s been said that one of the most valuable traits of a gifted interior designer is perfection of the power of absorption. If there is truth to this, then Ernest de le Torre is certainly exemplary. He grew up in the Midwest, but from his Cuban parents retained a Latin sensibility. His design influences from his Chicago area upbringing include both the formal traditionalism of David Adler and the spare, modern geometry of Mies van der Rohe.
Feb 19, 2013
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Design magazine editor Amanda Dameron: Dwell (New York)
Profile Book List
What books does the editor of a high-profile modern home design magazine read? Designers & Books went to Amanda Dameron, editor in chief of Dwell, to find out. “Last year I moved from the West Coast to New York, and I barely brought any furniture or clothes with me. What I did bring was 50 boxes of books and vintage magazines,” says Dameron.
Feb 21, 2012
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Interior designer Jeffrey Bilhuber: Bilhuber & Associates (New York)
Profile Book List
In addition to being an acclaimed interior designer, Jeffrey Bilhuber is an engaging and entertaining storyteller. Designers & Books had the chance to find out firsthand just how engaging and entertaining a storyteller at a recent face-to-face with him in his office on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The conversation ranged from an unusual fiction choice on the book list he sent us to why he is getting his preschool son a subscription to National Geographic magazine to what his own library looks like and the thinking behind his latest book.
Nov 15, 2011
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Product and interior designer Karim Rashid: KARIM Rashid Inc. (New York)
Book list
Prolific is a word that is frequently used to describe the designer Karim Rashid, and it’s easy to see why. His practice areas include home and office furnishings, personal accessories, furniture, lighting, interior design, packaging, fashion, graphics, exhibition design, identity programs, and various art media. Over 3,000 of his designs have been put into production for those on his client roster—a list that numbers more than 200, operating in over 35 countries on five continents. His Garbo waste can for the home accessories company Umbra has sold more than 7 million units. He has won more than 300 awards. Fourteen museums have his work in their permanent collections.
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Dec 20, 2011
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Product and interior designer Jonathan Adler: Jonathan Adler Enterprises (New York)
Book List
Designers & Books is always intrigued by designers’ manifestos. Not only do they offer a window onto a designer’s work, but they also often provide insights into the choices included on the designer’s book list. Those familiar with Jonathan Adler’s work—products and accessories for the home, interior design, and international retailing—will recognize right away the ideas stated in his manifesto. What does he believe about color? “We believe that colors can’t clash.” Is he more in the camp of “less is more” or “less is a bore”? “We believe minimalism is a bummer.” What does he believe is the feeling that residential interior design should conjure up? “We believe that your home should make you happy.”
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Apr 26, 2011
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Interior design editor and writer Dominique Browning (New York and Rhode Island)
book list
Visitors entering Dominique Browning’s home for the first time frequently have the same reaction: “I’ve never seen so many books!” Her love of books, plus her many years of experience at the forefront of the journalistic side of the style and interior design worlds, made us eager to invite her to submit a book list—and happy when she agreed.
May 21, 2013
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Architect, interior and product/industrial designer Matteo Thun: Matteo Thun & Partners (Milan)
Profile Book List
Matteo Thun needed something that functions like “a phone book” * to show the varied work for which he has become known over the course of his career. That work includes co-founding (with Ettore Sottsass) Memphis—the industrial design collective that defined Italian design in the 1970s and 1980s—and also the hotels, private residences, housewares, and lighting designed by his own firm, Matteo Thun & Partners.
