Now Open! Have Some Decorum Bookstore

It’s no secret that I love a good coffee-table book. To me, it’s an element of design like a statue, a vase of flowers, a candle, a picture frame or my favorite prayer beads. Everyone always asks me where I get all of my books. There is no one source… Until now. I have compiled a collection of my all-time favorite coffee-table books in my Have Some Decorum bookstore! I have started with about 200 interior design books. The collection is constantly growing and I will be adding new categories. For today’s posting these are some of my favorites…

 

                                                                              Dictator Style

Not only do I love the title and the leopard cover, but the content is hysterical. The interiors of some of the dictators are so gauche and gaudy, it makes me smile and I love having it on my table.

François Halard
As the most prolific and well known interior and architectural photographer of our time, François Halard’s book includes images of the “glorious homes of the most important tastemakers, artists and designers of the 20^th century.” Julian Schnabel, Coco Chanel, Yves St. Laurent, the Duchess of Devonshire, Roger Vivier, Axel Vervoordt, Schiaparelli, and Balthus to name a few.

 

 The Finest Houses of Paris.

My mother and I refer to this book as The Bible. Enough said.

 

 

                                                                              Codognato
Codognato is a tiny jewel of a shop in Venice, Italy. It dates back to 1866. The most stylish and chic were loyal customers… Jean Cocteau, Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir, Coco Chanel, Peggy Guggenheim, Princess Grace of Monaco, Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan and my husband. : )

Beauty at Home: Aerin Lauder
I think I want to add Aerin Lauder to my list of people I want to be friends with. She has a classic style that I appreciate and she doesn’t seem to be a big fat snob for being a billionaire at my age. She has a great website, www.aerin.com, that has some really great accessories for the home. Yeah, I like her.


 

 

I Married Adventure

“Before Joy Adamson went to Africa, before Margaret Mead sailed to Samoa, before Dian Fosse was even born, a Kansas teenager

named Osa Leighty married Martin Johnson, a pioneering photographer just back from a 'round-the-world cruise with Jack London. Together the Johnsons flew and sailed to Borneo, to Kenya, and to the Congo, filming Simba and other popular nature movies with Martin behind the camera and Osa holding her rifle at the ready in case the scene's big game star should turn hostile. This bestselling memoir retraces their careers in rich detail, with precisely observed descriptions and often heart-stopping anecdotes. Illustrated with scores of the dramatic photos that made the Johnsons famous, it's a book sure to delight every lover of true adventure.”

 

 

 

 

 

Santa Barbara Living.
Obviously, hands down Diandra Douglas’ home on the cover of this book is la crème de la crème of taste, style, chic and every other word that describes fabulousness. If you want to have a great house, just copy this one.

 

 

Creativity At Work
This is a great book that my friend Heather Clawson wrote. According to Heather, “The book peeks into the work spaces of creative people in fashion, design, art, and other industries.  It is a chic mix of uptown, downtown, young, old, established, and up and coming.” Love it. Love her.

 

 

 Kathryn M. Ireland: Creating A Home

 Definitely an inspiring book. She has a unique way of making a home feel cozy and well lived in. If you hire her as a designer, just let her do her thing, don’t interject. All of her books are great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Domicilium Decoratus

 Even though I think Kelly Wearstler is getting a little bit cray cray lately with her design, this book is genius. I went to her house once for a party and I couldn’t even concentrate because I was so gaga at everything in her house, especially the kitchen and the powder room and the entry and the staircase and her office and the pool house and the dining room. Okay, I’ll stop now. She is definitely a design visionary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proust Questionnaire

 The Proust Questionnaire book is one of my favorites. It’s fun to see if my friends are as stupid as I am. Not only could I not answer some of the questions, I couldn’t even understand the question being asked. Not a good look. But a great book, nonetheless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Beyond Chic: Great Fashion Designers at Home

According to Veranda, this book, “Invites readers into the private homes of very public tastemakers and a lustrous list of equally-inspiring courteriers, stylists, muses, and fashion personalities.” Good enough for me!

 

 

An Invitation to Château du Grand–Luce

This book is, as my grandmother would say, “Divine.” The book chronicles the restoration of a historic Château in the Loire Valley owned by designer Timothy Corrigan. This book is a must-have. You’re going to be so jealous of this house.

 

 

 

  All of these books are available

 in my

 Have Some Decorum

 bookshop!