Best Furniture Design

Here is Tory Burch’s stylish and informal Southampton estate, Lauren and Andres Santo Domingo’s glamorous duplex in Paris, Dries Van Noten’s romantic house and garden in Belgium, Alexa and Trevor Traina’s dramatic and colorful San Francisco house, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber’s lakeside Canadian cabin, shoe maestro Bruno Frisoni and designer Hervé Van der Straeten’s modern house in the heart of Tangier, Stella McCartney’s grand English country garden, Olya and Charles Thompson’s richly patterned Brooklyn house, and the old-world Wilshire estate of Gela Nash-Taylor and Duran Duran’s John Nash Taylor and many more. HAMISH BOWLES is the international editor at large of Vogue .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I returned my first copy because it wasn’t shrink wrapped and the dust jacket was torn in two places."
"This is not a photo book of interiors, but more of a story about each home, it's landscaping, and it's owners."
"All of the spreads are full of class, elegance, and inspiration.... A window that allows us to see how a special group of people live around the world."
"such a great coffee table book and can get lost for hours reading it."
"Gorgeous book, excellent price."
"I wish for a reincarnation into the lives of these people, God. You and I just hate that and become envious of those people in this book."
"Lovely coffee table book."

Discover the joys of upholstery and bring new life to your worn-out furniture. That gorgeous book, Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design , officially launched yesterday and is chock-full of beautiful (and helpful) upholstery instructions, illustrated by more than 900 step-by-step photographs. Upholstery has always been daunting to me, but Amanda is an excellent teacher and everything she’s shared in this book will help you master the techniques and skills you need to reupholster any piece of furniture to suit your own taste and style.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Reasons I prefer this book above the rest: The author covers enough different styles of furniture so that you can tackle anything - and shows you how to determine which instructions would be best in her book for different pieces of furniture. The author combines more modern techniques (using foam and pneumatic stapler) with techniques that will help your piece of furniture stand the test of time. The only reason you wouldn't need to buy this book is if you lived in Austin, TX and could take a class from her personally."
"I've read dozens of upholstery books, but this is by far the most useful and comprehensive."
"Step by step, detailed pictures and completely cross referenced."
"Very handy and provides good information."
"I am a "do-it-yourself" person and really appreciate the different projects in your book."
"That said, I have perused the book (kindle version) and been very impressed with the whole format: instructions, photography, and projects are well presented and detailed."
"This book is excellent."
"Excellent instructions for any furniture project."

New York Times best selling authors, Sherry & John Petersik of the popular home blog Young House Love, have teamed up with Paige Tate & Co. to create a fresh and fun adult coloring book full of interior design eye candy. Sherry and John Petersik are the married duo who chronicle their home improvement adventures on the hit DIY blog Young House Love, which spawned two New York Times Best Selling books, Young House Love and Lovable Livable Home, as well as product lines sold by Target, Home Depot, and more.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I've read the Young House Love blog for years and was happy to find out that Sherry and John Petersik were collaborating with illustrator Joan Borawski to develop a coloring book based on interior design. In addition to the actual coloring pages, there are also some hints for interior design and some exercise pages for trying out some of those hints. While I like the prior books, this one steps up a level in publishing. I was able to layer and blend easily with both wax and oil based pencils. In addition to the copy of this coloring book that I purchased on Amazon, the publisher sent me a sample advanced reader copy of this book."
"Very nice detail."
"I just want to experiment on my own and did not want to do the coloring exercises so I just skipped those pages but I would of rather that those pages had additional rooms to color. I would highly recommend this book to those who enjoy coloring and would like to do their own interior decorating in the pages of a coloring book."
"What a thoroughly enjoyable treasure!"
"The book was filled with fantastic surprises such as the opening color theory section, the different aesthetics/design and the fact that I get to color YHL's house! I didn't realize it would be lots of their home illustrated. How many moments have we all had -I like what they did but I would have done a different color. I even get to experiment with different colors and choices than I would have done in my home so it is going to stretch my design skills too."
Best Jewelry Design

Masterfully weaving together pop science and history, Stoned breaks history into three categories—Want, Take, and Have—and explains what the diamond on your finger has to do with the GI Bill, why green-tinted jewelry has been exalted by so many cultures, why the glass beads that bought Manhattan for the Dutch were initially considered a fair trade, and how the French Revolution started over a coveted necklace. “Raden’s commentary on the often ugly side of human desire through the ages is consistently captivating, and her witty delivery makes the material shine.” (Publishers Weekly). “Aja Raden must be a kick at dinner parties … She’s also an appealingly informal, effortless storyteller, fascinated by the stories she tells.” (Seattle Times). “’Stoned’ has its own special vitreous luster, just as any emerald worth its salt - an illumination into what makes us irrationally human.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I picked up Aja Raden's Stoned expecting a history of jewelry and was pleasantly surprised to find an in-depth social history of how human perceptions of value, desire and innovation have shaped the modern world. She starts with the beads that bought Manhattan (and in doing so makes a compelling case that it might not have been quite the con we think of it today) and ends with the wristwatch and its role in making modern warfare, aviation, navigation and personal private time possible."
"Personally, I rarely read non fiction books for the simple fact that they aren’t usually very captivating."
"This book started off snarky but interesting and ended up being educational and funny and I enjoyed it a lot."
"I am still reading the book."
"Many of the stories Ms. Arden tells were familiar to me but to read them from from her perspective and with her research gave the stories new meaning and proved to be a delightful read."
"This book has a lot more general world history than I expected."
"Not as informative as I had hoped."
"In depth research on several popular stones."
Best Interior & Home Design

With an artful mix of color and black-and-white photography that includes portraits, interiors, gardens, and still-life shots of flowers, food, and more, The Authentics examines the lives and work of these visionaries in an inspiring tribute to confidence, originality, and the power of finding one's own voice. MELANIE ACEVEDO is a lifestyle and portrait photographer whose editorial and advertising clients have included Dove, Target, Samsung, IKEA, Starbucks, Elle , Casa Vogue , World of Interiors, Living Etc ., and Jonathan Adler.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It is impressive to see and read about those few who stand out, as unique and talented individuals, in our world of the "masses"."
Best Industrial & Product Design

Nir Eyal answers these questions (and many more) by explaining the Hook Model—a four-step process embedded into the products of many successful companies to subtly encourage customer behavior. Hooked is written for product managers, designers, marketers, start-up founders, and anyone who seeks to understand how products influence our behavior. "With concrete advice and tales from the product-development trenches, this is a thoughtful discussion of how to create something that users never knew they couldn’t live without." “The most high bandwidth, high octane, and valuable presentation I have ever seen on this subject.”. —Rory Sutherland, Vice-Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather. "Nir's work is an essential crib sheet for any startup looking to understand user psychology.”. —Dave McClure, Founder 500 Startups.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book lays down a model building engagement by having users constantly return to your app. The "variable" part is important - rewards should not always be predictable, encouraging users to repeat the cycle. This could be content (e.g. a book in your Kindle), user entered data (e.g. profile information or linked accounts), reputation (e.g. something to gain a 5 star seller review), or a learned skill (e.g. I wanted something that would get to the crux of the problem and set out a practical framework of how to apply it with examples, without being overly verbose on history and research."
"I don't currently do any product design but the concepts apply at some level to any kind of marketing and could be used (at least in part) for promoting a service business, a tangible product or even just ideas."
"While I enjoyed the book, I would also add that business owners and product managers (could be many other stakeholders) should also spend significant time focusing on their business model and determining who the paying customers are! A focus on a business model does not mean that you need paying customers on day one (the timing will depend on your business model), but you need to have a model that determines your revenue streams and how they will be achieved."
"I'm a product manager at a large tech company and this book breaks down the habit forming process in an excellent and easy to digest manner."
"Good book using real life examples and case studies to back up the lessons learned."
Best Design History & Criticism

It chronicles not only Ford's clothing and accessories designs for both houses, but also explores Ford's grand vision for the complete design of a brand, including architecture, store design, and advertising. This enormous compendium may be Ford's swan song as a designer, as he recently announced that he was quitting fashion to direct movies.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Great coffee table book."
"Perfect for my coffee table."
"BEAUTIFUL, ONE OF THE BEST ACCESSORIES THAT I OWN A MUST BUY!"
"Fantastic book!"
"IT's Completely What I had Expected!!.."
Best Decorative Arts

New York Times Bestseller. “I want to rip out every page of this glorious book and hang them on my wall so that I can be surrounded by these incredible women all day long.”. —Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of The Vacationers and Modern Lovers Over 100 exceptional and influential women describe how they embraced their creative spirit, overcame adversity, and sparked a global movement of entrepreneurship. “Bonney continues to inspire as she offers what she calls ‘visibility for powerful women in business.’ Whether they’re artists, chefs, tattoo artists or writers, creative women of all colors, ages, sexualities and experience share their fears, mistakes and successes.” —Los Angeles Times. “Bonney’s quietly radical, profoundly moving project brings together short interviews with a diverse group of women who share insight on their life’s work. " In the Company of Women tells the stories of more than 100 women who work for themselves—artists, writers, designers, chefs, musicians. “This inspiring book encapsulates the stories of more than 100 creative women in the areas of design, visual arts, culinary arts, literature, and show business in short Q&As about the lessons they’ve learned on their journeys to success.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wrap this up for a recent grad, creative mind, or anyone looking for a healthy dose of girl power.” —RealSimple.com “Grace’s excellent book is full of empowering business advice from a diverse group of inspirational and talented women.” —Martha Stewart “Grace Bonney has given us our favorite icons, heroes, and bandit queens in one of the oldest living forms of communication: a book. Enjoy, dear readers, for each page turn is a meditation on the power of the Divine Feminine.” —Jill Soloway, creator of Transparent “These amazing stories will surely spark something deep within us all: the courage to dream and the fortitude to make those dreams happen.” —Joanna Gaines, owner of Magnolia, host of HGTV’s Fixer Upper “A joyful book that celebrates both the diversity of beauty and the beauty of diversity: in race, age, size, sexuality, and ways of thinking.” —Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times bestselling author of A Little Life “I want to rip out every page of this glorious book and hang them on my wall so that I can be surrounded by these incredible women all day long.” —Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of The Vacationers and Modern Lovers “A world of insight from an array of intriguing, trailblazing women. And the photography is gorgeous!” —Padma Lakshmi, author of Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir “I hope this book becomes an almanac that will continue to expound on the work and the lives of everyday cis, trans, and queer women and women of color who are building and becoming businesses, and that will remind other exceptional women that they are in good company.” —Angelica Ross, founder of TransTech and star of Her Story.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Purchased this as a gift and it was perfect."
"Great short chunks of interesting approaches to life and business."
"I purchased this book as a gift for my wife, who is a fan of Grace Bonney and her site Design*Sponge."
"Nice stories."
"Great price and great stories!"
"Beautiful book that makes a great gift for the driven women in your life."
"The author must have sent each maker a list of 10 or 15 questions and recorded their short answers without further probing."
Best Textile & Costume

Harry Potter: Page to Screen , the follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Harry Potter: Film Wizardry , is a lavish and personal look at the entire filmmaking process that transformed J. K. Rowling’s fantasy series into a blockbuster movie franchise. Developed in collaboration with the creative team behind the celebrated movie series, this deluxe, 500-plus page compendium features exclusive stories from the cast and crew, hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and concept illustrations sourced from the closed film sets, and rare memorabilia.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"An amazing journey into the world of the Harry Potter films and their creation as are the books."
"It is definitely a must for every Harry Potter fan."
"This book gives you exactly what it said it would, harry potter page to screen in its entirety."
"It looks like a magickal volume and in a way it is, for it captures all of the magic of the Harry Potter movies, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone all the way to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two. The first color photograph one comes across as one flips the book open is a full size portrait of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts (Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in HP films 3-8). So, the contents...the book (531 pages) is divided into three parts: Part I: The Making of Harry Potter. Introduction. Setting the Scene. HP and the Sorcerer's Stone. HP and the Chamber of Secrets. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. HP and the Goblet of Fire. HP and the Order of the Phoenix. HP and the Half-Blood Prince. HP and the Deathly Hallows. Part II: The Art of Harry Potter. Introduction. Characters: Costuming. Locations: Set Design. Creatures: Special Makeup and Digital Effects. Artifacts: Prop Making. Part III: Epilogue. The Golden Boards. Acknowledgements and Colophon. The book goes in-depth into the many aspects of the film-making process, including valuable insights from and about the directors, actors, and all the other significant people who have worked on the movies, not forgetting the author of course. These details are enhanced by the hundreds of photographs that are found throughout the book, and what makes these pictures all the more extraordinary and valuable to the discerning reader is the fact that many of them were taken on set, during the making of the films, and apart from the photographs there are also full-color paintings in glorious detail. Btw, for those who are wondering about how this compares to Harry Potter Film Wizardry, I'd say they are both complementary (I own a copy of HP Film Wizardry) to each other. For example, in HP Film Wizardry, readers will get a chance to peruse a copy of the Marauder's Map, Harry's acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a catalogue from Borgin and Burke's, stickers in the Advanced Potion-Making pamphlet, two boxes of treats (sans the treats) from Honeydukes of Hogsmeade (you can tear them out and fold them into actual treat boxes, not that I would! This is a beautiful volume of substance for any fan of the HP books and movies."
"An excellent compendium which deserves a place on every Harry Potter fan's book shelf, detailing problems and solutions in interpreting the story."
"Got this book at about 1/2 off by buying on Amazon instead of at a book store. Also, the pages are super glossy in some parts, so finding the right angle to hold the book and for such a long time makes it a bit disconcerting."