6 Interior Design Books you Should Read Right Now

What better time to curl up with a good book? Our market editor Lynda Simonton has rounded up some of our favorite interior design books for cozy winter reading.

Like the best design books, Katie Ridder: More Rooms (Vendome Press, $70, 2020), written by Jorge Arango with photography by Eric Piasecki, is equal parts instruction and inspiration. Readers will linger on the pages, mesmerized by Ridder’s exquisite use of color and the beautiful bespoke details that define the designer’s signature look. On the more practical side, Ridder takes us room by room, sharing her advice for creating furniture and lighting plans and layering materials.

Artist Frances Palmer provides readers with a primer on living a life abundant with creativity and beauty in her debut book, Life in the Studio (Workman Publishing; $35). Palmer offers advice for thriving artistically, which includes setting routines, valuing your work, and developing an environment that fosters creativity. Palmer’s own photography featuring her pottery along with her enviable garden and floral designs makes the book a visual delight.

In the introduction to James Huniford: At Home (The Monacelli Press, $50, November 2020), Pilar Viladas shares how Huniford “creates rooms that are elegant, comfortable reflections of their owners’ personalities and lifestyles, in a way that is both empathetic and intuitive.” From sleek city apartments to a rustic island retreat, the many featured homes all demonstrate Huniford’s expert design approach.

Markham Roberts debut book, Decorating the Way I See It, focused on design basics. In his latest, Markham Roberts: Notes on Decorating (Vendome Press, $70, September 2020), he digs deeper into the nuances of elevated design. Roberts mixes a sense of place, layers of colors and textures, and a dash of the unexpected in each home. Photography by Nelson Hancock brings Markham’s work to life on the page

The pages of Décors Barbares: The Enchanting Interiors of Nathalie Farman-Farma (Vendome Press, $60, 2020) depict a luxurious world where colors and layers reign supreme. The pattern party won’t surprise the many fans of the designer’s globally influenced textile line, Décors Barbares. And since the book features Farman-Farma’s family homes, including her Greenwich childhood abode, the spaces are delightfully personal. Photographer Miguel Flores-Vianna expertly captures the romance and richness of the properties.

Through a Designer’s Eye: A Focus on Interiors (The Monacelli Press; $60) is the second book by New York City-based designer Matthew Patrick Smyth. This time around, Smyth demonstrates how rediscovering his love of photography in the age of the iPhone has inspired his most recent projects, like a Park Avenue duplex, a Tribeca loft, and Smyth’s own, never-before-seen Sharon country house.