Given that our desire for interior design has seen an uptick since we’ve been spending more time at home, a coffee table book that documents some of the most striking and covetable design ideas is a brilliant buy for yourself or a loved one. Options are wide-ranging, from Athena Calderone’s examination of minimalist New York style to the portfolio of Axel Vervoordt’s highly-acclaimed projects. Here, discover our edit of coffee table books that will both inspire and add to your interior design.Â
Louise Pierce and Emily Ward are famed for their good taste, which has led to the duo being called on by the likes of Brie Larson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Dakota Johnson to refresh their homes. Known for creating layered, whimsical designs that blend classic elements with unusual touches, the Nashville-based experts’ book is a sumptuous edit of rooms they’ve designed, filled with kaleidoscopic prints, quirky eBay finds and decadent details.
£49, Rizzoli
Alex Eagle is renowned for the minimal, modern designs featured in her clothing line and her collection of furniture, art and more at Alex Eagle Studio. For this book, the London-based creative director teamed up with photographer Kate Martin to convince some of today’s most exciting creatives to open the doors to their homes. With a focus on the objects that personalise each home, the book travels from designer Kim Jones’ West London pad, to editor Martina Mondadori’s Chelsea home, and even features a look inside Eagle’s own Soho studio.Â
£39.95, Rizzoli
Curator, antiquarian and designer Axel Vervoordt has been creating calm, harmonious spaces that embrace nature, the past and art for 50 years. To celebrate the anniversary, this book looks at 18 of the most remarkable homes his studio worked on around the world, from a Moscow apartment to a Bordeaux château, a New York penthouse to a Japanese farmhouse. For each, a series of portraits reveal every detail of Vervoordt’s design approach, right down to the choice of material and the elegant placement of objects.Â
£60, Rizzoli
From the stylish tastemaker Athena Calderone, better known on Instagram as EyeSwoon, comes this highly anticipated design book that gives an inside look into her two homes, as well as a curated selection of other equally chic residences. Through her visits to the homes of fashion designers, decorators and more, Calderone explores what it is that turns a house into a personal space, and shares her takeaway tips to help readers embark on their own design journey.
£30, Abrams
Tara Shaw has become the go-to source for French and European antiques for many of today’s top interior designers, and has even been called on to lend her design skills to a number of projects. This portfolio of her work is a perfect reference for all antique-related questions, providing information on how to find the best antiques and tips for ways to incorporate them into your home, whatever your interiors style. An enchanting glimpse into Shaw’s world, this book is a particularly useful source of inspiration for those looking to bring antique touches into a contemporary home.Â
£35, Abrams
Instead of piling up a stack of Architectural Digest magazines on your coffee table, opt for this chic hardcover book celebrating the publication’s 100 year anniversary. The prestigious magazine’s editors have pored through the archives to select the most important and impressive material, resulting in a rich anthology of the homes of private celebrities like Diana Vreeland and Truman Capote, as well as the work of top designers including Frank Gehry and Frank Lloyd Wright.Â
£64.75, Abrams
As already proven by this list, there are a number of tempting books offering a look inside the homes of the influential and famous — but what about the homes of interior designers? Rose-Innes turns the lens back on the designers to see how they’ve styled their own homes, profiling 20 of Britain’s most prominent design names in their own spaces. From Nina Campbell to Alidad, each designer is shot and interviewed in their home, offering an insight not only into modern British style but also what inspired them to enter the field in the first place.Â
£30, Hardie Grant Books
Scandinavian interiors have become increasingly popular over recent years, and this book makes it clear why. Authors Reena Simon and Rebecca Lawson, whose documenting of Scandi style has garnered them an impressive Instagram following, collaborated on this discovery of the best examples of the rustic style across England and Europe. Infused with natural materials, minimalist colour palettes and sustainable features, this book offers a guide for how to bring the cosy, relaxed style into any home.
£19.99, Ryland, Peters & Small
Renowned designer and stylist Ilse Crawford shares her design philosophy in this record of some of the most impressive work done by her award-winning studio. Grounded in an understanding of what makes a home comfortable and practical for its inhabitants, Crawford’s book illustrates the effectiveness of her approach, layering materials and textures and creating a space that is simultaneously sensual and accessible. Given that her influence can be felt to this day, having inspired a generation of European and American designers, this book is a must for any budding design enthusiasts.
£30.84, Rizzoli
The acclaimed design firm’s design-by-committee philosophy can be felt throughout this book, a portfolio of the various projects that Design Commune has tackled since its inception in 2004. Using their backgrounds in fashion, retail and publishing, Roman Alonso and Steven Johanknecht established Design Commune to bring their Californian flair and multidisciplinary talents to an array of design assignments, from deeply personal interiors to the packaging for a tea canister, all of which are documented in this luxe book.Â
£35.99, Abrams
