Customer Reviews

Influential Interiors : Shaping 20th-Century Style Through Key Interior Designers

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For so many years there have been books published detailing the lives and achievements of certain influential designers, architects, the most important figures. Never before have we heard the entire story of who was influenced by who, how it came about, who was trained by who. Finally Suzanne Trocme has grouped all this information together to give a succint and illuminating text to accompany photographs of some of the world's most copied rooms. An education.

Love the variety of upscale interiors selected for this one. Photography is quite good.

This book offers a very good overview of 20th century interior design by showing the work of some specific designers. Perhaps some readers will be disappointed that a favorite is omitted, however, as the list is not all inclusive by any means. Thirty eight designers are profiled in six chapter categories and some others are mentioned and pictured in association. A wide range of styles is shown with the work as diverse as Charles & Ray Eames to that of Sister Parish & Albert Hadley. The living are given preference, with up to six pages of color coverage, while the dead, such as Elsie de Wolfe, Jean-Michel Frank, Dorothy Draper, and Billy Baldwin, rate just one page and a black & white photo. U.S. readers will no doubt fail to see the significance in the work of British designers Jonathan Reed and Jenny Armit who rate four pages each. "Design Signatures" is one of the best features; the two page spread for some designers features a photo and sample layout that shows characteristic materials of their work. Despite the short-comings, INFLUENTIAL INTERIORS is a very good compilation and a handy reference for all those who are interested in the history of interior design. And there is good photographic representation for some of the lesser-published residential interiors of designers such as Yves Gastou and Peter Marino.

There were a lot of insights about specific designers, but not many graphics on more traditional styles - I'm not sure exactly what to make of the "elegant section" at all. I was fairly disappointed with the lack of information on how a non-professional could help immerse the professional techniques into their own style, or rather, into a contemporary lifestyle.