Customer Reviews

Lifting the Curtain on Design

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Do you see rooms that enchant you in magazines, and wonder what alchemy the designer used to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary? Are there principles and processes that interior designers know that we can learn how to apply in our own homes? In this book designer-author Vicente Wolf suggests yes, as he generously shares with readers the three design principles he has distilled to create his particular brand of magic: simplify-connect-expand. First, Wolf takes us on his personal travels to illustrate how to drink in images, textures, colors and light in our surroundings, and translate them into what we find beautiful in our living spaces. This process insures our rooms express us, and don't look like every other home in the neighborhood. I love that Wolf personally photographs all the landscapes and rooms in his books. This guarantees that we see his vision the way he sees it.

Where do I begin in decorating/renovating a room? Wolf answers fundamental design questions like these in this book through abundant examples. He takes us from start to finish through project rooms, applying design principles to diverse rooms from living rooms to libraries, bedrooms to baths. He advises us to focus on 1) function and 2) mood/emotion we want to evoke. I love the application of these in a guest room example in which the function of sleeping flexibility combines with welcoming comfort. He solves a common guest room dilemma I've been tussling with recently--one bed for couples, or two for singles? (Check out his creative and stylish solution on page 67.) It's this on-going ingenuity that keeps me reading Wolf's books. Wolf designs through invention, not convention, and is perhaps why he's considered one of America's most influential designers.

This book will be helpful for designers and home-owners as he shows how he works collaboratively with clients, explaining analysis and decision-making processes. Wolf demonstrates how to connect and link furniture and accessories of different periods and cultures, how to mix fabrics, and how to expand our point of view so our rooms are livable and evolve with us.

A snarky adage about teachers is that they teach because they can't "do." The reverse is the expert who can do, but can't teach. Wolf is a designer who can "do" AND teach. Although you may prefer different color palettes or more pattern than Wolf uses, you'll find his rooms arresting. You may wish to see an exquisite room he designed for the 2010 Fall Kips Bay NYC Show House on his blog--there is a fascinating video tour of him narrating his design choices for the room. Of all the Kips Bay rooms, his was the one I most wanted to be in.

The first time I saw one of Wolf's rooms in a magazine I had to keep studying it--what was so compelling? I realized the subtlety of color and lack of pattern cause the mix of textures and shapes to pop. Wolf is a master at combining textures, something a homeowner might not consider as an important element. No designer does it better. My eyes always feel like they've had a massage after viewing his rooms. His sensuous rooms, full of diverse textures and intriguing shapes, beguile you to touch, sit and sleep in them. It's a kind of magic. Learn from the master magician, Vicente Wolf, as he lifts the curtain on design in this book. Abacadabra!

this is another amazing book by vicente wolf (i highly recommend his "crossing boundaries" too). personally i don't like to label my style: i love simplicity, understatement yet i'm not a big fan of minimalism; i love classic style but i also need a modern twist; and i love my rooms to have some asian, parisian and mid-century flavors. vicente wolf illustrates in his book everything i love! i'm very inspired by his designs. maybe in the future i'll just say my style is "vicente wolf!"

I loved this book. The photos and explanations of the design process were rich. The text was a little limp due to the author's quality of writing and his frequent self-indulgence in sharing his "special experiences". Overall, I would recommend this book to any person interested in design. It's a beautiful coffee table book that interests most of whom pick it up.

I Love Vicente's work. As a designer myself I find his photo's and writing an inspiration....They give me a need shot in the arm that any designer can use now and them.....I own all 3 books,,,Beautiful work!