Phaidon to publish 'celebration' of interior design

Phaidon will publish a celebration of interior design in May, following in the footsteps of its landmark art and fashion books.

Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century will be published on 22nd May, priced at £59.95, and is described as “the ultimate global celebration of residential interior design and decorating”. Available in four collectable velvet covers, it was commissioned by a team of Phaidon editors. The collection features 400 “exceptional rooms” from big name designers and belonging to figures like Coco Chanel and Salvador Dali.

Its predecessors, The Art Book and The Fashion Book, have been translated into over 20 languages. The Art Book’s 1997 edition has sold 203,088 copies in the Nielsen BookScan era (since 1998), and is Phaidon’s all-time bestseller. The Fashion Book has sold 60,904 copies since its release in 2001.

Keith Fox, c.e.o. of Phaidon, explained: “What those Phaidon classics are to art and fashion, Interiors is to interior design and decorating: an enduring visual sourcebook of information and inspiration. It is a who’s who of the decorating world, past, present and foreseeable future, including designers, decorators, patrons, artists, and influencers.”

The new book includes an introduction by William Norwich, an interior design and fashion editor formerly of Vogue and the New York Times. It also includes three original essays by Graeme Brooker, Professor and Head of Interior Design at the Royal College of Art, LA designer David Netto and textiles designer Carolina Irving.

Alongside "greats" from the interior design world, such as Elsie de Wolfe, Billy Baldwin, and Nancy Lancaster, the new book will feature contemporary figures Anouska Hempel, Kelly Hoppen, and Karim Rashid.

The publisher said: “The book goes beyond decorators, designers, and architects to also including directional interiors by fashion designers, artists, film stars, style icons, and influencers whose homes have made memorable contributions to the world of interior design. Noteworthy homes include those of fashion designers Bill Blass, Pierre Cardin, Gianni Versace, and Coco Chanel, as well as artists Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Salvador Dali.”