Chosen Books

Invited designers and commentators have chosen these as the books that inspire them and that have shaped their worldview or their ideas about design.

title a–z

Nonfiction, Interior Design

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76 books

Alexander Girard Todd Oldham et al. On Jonathan Adler’s Book List On Wendy Goodman’s Notable Books of 2011 list On list of Books by Todd Oldham Add to My Reading List	Anatomy for Interior Designers Francis de N. Schroeder On Stanley Abercrombie’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Apartments for the Affluent Alpern Andrew On Alexa Hampton’s Book List On Peter Pennoyer’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Authentic Décor: The Domestic Interior 1620–1920 Peter Thornton On Witold Rybczynski’s Book List On Susan Weber’s Book List On Jeffrey Bilhuber’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Axel Vervoordt Meredith Etherington-Smith On Dominique Browning’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Axel Vervoordt: Timeless Interiors Armelle Baron On David Easton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Behind the Picture Window Bernard Rudofsky On Stanley Abercrombie’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Big Book of Chic Miles Redd On Matteo Thun’s Book List Add to My Reading List
Billy Baldwin Decorates Billy Baldwin On Dominique Browning’s Book List On Alexa Hampton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Billy Baldwin Remembers Billy Baldwin On Ralph Rucci’s Book List On Dominique Browning’s Book List On Ernest de la Torre’s Book List On Alexa Hampton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Bloomingdale’s Book of Home Decorating Barbara D’Arcy On Penny Drue Baird’s Book List Add to My Reading List	By Design Ralph Caplan On Nancye Green’s Book List On Jennifer Morla’s Book List On Jeffrey Bernett’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Classic Style Judith Miller On Alexa Hampton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	David Adler: The Architect and His Work Richard Pratt On David Easton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	David Hicks on Decoration—with Fabrics David Hicks On Dominique Browning’s Book List Add to My Reading List	David Hicks: A Life of Design Ashley Hicks On Jonathan Adler’s Book List Add to My Reading List
The Decoration of Houses Edith Wharton et al. On William Georgis’s Book List On Dominique Browning’s Book List On David Easton’s Book List On Alexa Hampton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Designing the Modern Interior: From the Victorians to Today Penny Sparke et al. On Susan Weber’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Donald Judd Furniture: Retrospective Museum Boymans-van Beuningen On Vincent Van Duysen’s Book List On Michael Maharam’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Dunbar: Fine Furniture of the 1950s Leslie Piña On David Easton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Eileen Gray Peter Adam On Jeanne Gang’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Elsie de Wolfe: The Birth of Modern Interior Decoration Penny Sparke On Susan Weber’s Book List On Dominique Browning’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The English House Hermann Muthesius On Amanda Dameron’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes Fernand David et al. On Ernest de la Torre’s Book List Add to My Reading List
The Finest Rooms Katherine Tweed On Alexa Hampton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Finest Rooms in America Thomas Jayne On Susan Weber’s Book List On Alexa Hampton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Finest Rooms in France French House & Garden On Alexa Hampton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Form & Decoration: Innovation in the Decorative Arts, 1470–1870 Peter Thornton On Susan Weber’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Furniture from British India and Ceylon Amin Jaffer On David Easton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The Furniture of Gerrit Thomas Rietveld Daniele Baroni On Michael Maharam’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Great Houses of England and Wales Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd et al. On Alexa Hampton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Hans J. Wegner Jens Bernsen On Michael Maharam’s Book List Add to My Reading List
High-tech Joan Kron et al. On Mels Crouwel’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The House in My Head Dorothy Rodgers On Dominique Browning’s Book List Add to My Reading List	The House of Life Mario Praz On Stanley Abercrombie’s Book List Add to My Reading List	An Illustrated History of Interior Decoration: From Pompeii to Art Nouveau Mario Praz On Susan Weber’s Book List Add to My Reading List	In House Derry Moore et al. On Jeffrey Bilhuber’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Italian Splendor Jack Basehart On Alexa Hampton’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Italy: The New Domestic Landscape Emilio Ambasz, ed. On R. Craig Miller’s Book List On James Biber’s Book List On list of Books by Emilio Ambasz On Marco Romanelli’s Book List Add to My Reading List	Jansen James Archer Abbott On Susan Weber’s Book List Add to My Reading List

Announcements

Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell

Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy

By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020

Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.

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Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison

Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn

By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020

An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.

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Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes

Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes

By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019

A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.

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Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman

Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context

By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020

An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.

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David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor

David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian

By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020

A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.

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Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller

Teaching Graphic Design History

By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019

An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.

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