Our Favorite Inspirational and Educational Selection of Books Every Interior Lover Should Own
Books are the best sources of information and the perfect introductory education for anyone. In addition to increasing your creativity and interior design knowledge, they also look lovely on your coffee table.
If you’re an interior design nerd as we are, the following books will surely inspire and influence you. So much so that you might even implement these tips, advice and techniques in your own home.
If you’re in the mood for some inspiration and prepared to learn and understand the different styles and design rules, we selected our eight favourite interior design books that wowed us the most to share them with you. With no particular order these are the books we think every interior lover should own:
1. Axel Vervoordt: Portraits of Interiors
Antique dealer, ‘art dealer’, sublime interior designer… Belgian Axel Vervoordt has become one of the main references for us. Creator of his own style characterized by austere luxury, manages to evoke, suggest and decorate without decorating. This book collects 17 projects with minimal and mystical spaces at the same time, full of pieces with patina, works of art, rough walls and wabi sabi hints.
2. Joseph Dirand: Interior
Joseph Dirand’s style has us in love. In his designs, he achieves the perfect balance between the most classic tradition and the most modern minimalism. Marbles, moldings, fireplaces, neutral tones, modern furniture and above all a lot of French charm. As described in many articles Joseph Dirand is a Parisian architect and interior designer whose work is renowned for its extraordinary precision and elegant minimalism.
3. Vincent Van Duysen: Works 2009-2018
Another great ambassador of the Belgian style. Lover of tradition, noble materials and things well done. This book collects the architect’s main projects from 2009 to 2018. What fascinates and excites us most about Vincent Van Duysen is the essence and purity with which he solves his designs, achieving a simple but exquisite result.
4. Kelly Wearstler: Evocative Style
Kelly Wearstler is the most daring, modern and personal of the American interior designers. Her designs mix 80s pop with Hollywood’s glamour. In this book, Wearstler collects the most representative designs of the last 10 years of her career.
5. Gio Ponti
This Italian is one of the greatest architects, designers and art directors of the 20th century. An essential book for those who are passionate about design. This monograph collects his work which marked a before and after in the world of architecture and art.
6. Peter Marino: Art Architecture
Without a doubt, Peter Marino is the most hooligan designer of the moment and one of today’s greatest design and architecture references. Although he has designed a multitude of homes around the world, what we like about him and the reason we recommend him is for his work transforming Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Ermenegildo Zegna, Dior, Chanel and Armani stores, among others.
7. Interaction of Color: 50th Aniversary Edition
This book is the 50 years later reissue of a classic that will help you understand colour theory. It’s a very didactic manual that presents multiple colour studies that help us understand the sensations and emotions that colours provoke.
8. The Interior Design Handbook
In this book, Frida Ramstedt details the necessary design secrets to create a home adapted to the space and lifestyle of its users. This book is full of practical tips, general rules and tricks of the trade which make it a super useful tool for beginners and enthusiasts.
Interior design conditions the way we feel and live our houses. These eight books will guide and help you create your ideal environment, to such an extent that converting your living space into your home will define the quality of your well-being. Experiment, enjoy and play around with different patterns, new styles and amazing textures. Be creative and imagine ways of transforming and improving your spaces in order for you to feel both excited and at peace.
We really hope our selection of interior design books motivate and inspire you as much as they did to us. As architects and interior designers ourselves, we strongly believe these eight books are a must in every interior lover’s book collection.
