Designers in Residence: The Personal Style of Top Women Decorators and Designers

VICTORIA magazine's "Designers in Residence" is a nice overview of the homes of top women interior designers who are based everywhere from several big American cities to Belgium and France and everywhere in between. It's always fascinating to see how interior designers decorate their own homes, instead of those they do for their clients. You get the sense that while their homes represent sanctuary for them--as home rightly should--they also use their homes as design labs, testing this or that fabric or paint finish or furniture placement to see how it might work elsewhere. The names are ones design mavens will recognize: Sheila Bridges, Rachel Ashwell, Theodora van Runkle (who also did the costumes for several movies, including "Bonnie & Clyde" in 1967), Isabelle de Borchgrave, Charlotte Moss, and more. There is solid, if sometimes unsurprising, information here on aging fabrics, using different decorative and trompe-l'oeil paint techniques, placing pictures on the wall, and so on. The layout of the book is attractive and uncluttered, the focus being solidly on the interiors--as it should be. This would be a nice little addition to the library of any design or interiors fan.

A very enjoyable read. I enjoyed being invited into the private homes of designers whose work I've read/seen to see how they live. I found their designs interesting and pleasing. I'd like to see a follow-up volume with other designers, such as Joe Ruggiero, Kevin McCloud, Christopher Lowell, etc.