Studio Job: The Book of Job (Rizzoli; $150 at Rizzoli)
I was first exposed to Dutch designers Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel when Murray Moss introduced their astounding work at Moss five years ago. This book is both an extraordinary retrospective of their designs and an amazing design product in its own right. Smeets and Tynagel have the gifts of Renaissance artisans and the aesthetic of 21st-century visionaries. This spread of the designers running through their 2007 “Silverware” show in Hasselt, Belgium, was going to be the cover of House & Garden’s January 2008 issue, guest edited by Moss. Condé Nast closed the magazine as the issue was going to print.
Photo: Danny Kim
De Vera Objects, by Federico de Vera (self-published; $165 at De Vera; available January)
This is one of a pair of books that jewelry designer and shop owner De Vera has designed and published himself (the other one is called De Vera Jewelry). De Vera conveys his incandescent way of looking at the world by artfully arranging various cabinets of curiosities.
Photo: Courtesy of De Vera
Designs on Film, by Cathy Whitlock and the Art Directors Guild (It Books; $75 at Borders)
I have been waiting for a book on this subject forever. I am fascinated by the behind-the-scenes magic of Hollywood, and this book offers a treasure trove of it. The sets of Cleopatra were astounding, to say the least.
Photo: Danny Kim
Living Architecture: Greatest American Houses of the 20th Century, by Dominique Browning and Lucy Gilmour (Assouline; $75 at Assouline)
This is a must for any design lover: a chronicle of the country’s greatest houses by some of the best interiors photographers out there. I love the interiors of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, which I don’t remember ever seeing before”a new thrill for me.
Photo: Danny Kim
A Passion for Interiors, by Carolyne Roehm (Clarkson Potter; $60 at Barnes & Noble)
Carolyne Roehm is a rarity these days: someone with the skills to make things of beauty and the discipline and knowledge to maintain them. This book explores two of Roehm’s residences and one she designed for a friend. All illustrate her take on Classical interiors bursting with warmth and life.
Photo: Danny Kim
Allegra Hicks, by Allegra Hicks (Abrams; $40 at Barnes & Noble)
Hicks is known as a designer, but she is really an artist who excels in a number of fields, including making fabrics, wall coverings, and fashion separates. This book illustrates her very strong, feminine sensibilities with lyrical interiors that seem to float off the ground.
Photo: Emanuele Mascioni/Courtesy of Abrams
Windows at Bergdorf Goodman, by Linda Fargo and David Hoey (Assouline, $550 at Bergdorf Goodman)
This is a catalogue raisonné of Bergdorf Goodman’s most spectacular windows. In this shot from 2007, Fargo and Hoey perfectly capture designer Tony Duquette’s artistry.
Photo: Ricky Zehavi and John Cordes/Courtesy of Assouline
Piero Lissoni: Recent Architecture, by Giovanni Gastel, $75 at Rizzoli, 31 W. 57th St., nr. Sixth Ave.; 212-759-2424. Photo: Courtesy of Rizzoli
Leo Fuchs: Special Photographer From the Golden Age of Hollywood, by Leo Fuchs, $65 at the powerHouse Arena, 37 Main St., at Water St., Dumbo; 718-666-3049. Photo: Courtesy of powerHouse Arena
