Gift Guide: 10 Books to Add to the Design Lover's Library
Our unputdownable picks for this holiday season.
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The tell-tale shape and heft of a wrapped book promises inspiration, excitation, and education—all of which are present in the following selections, which span the realms of design, architecture, art, photography, fashion, travel, and more. From titles that teach you how to nurture an urban garden to tomes that document the diversity of the American experience, these are books that design enthusiasts will be eager to add to their shelves.
Photo: Tobias Hochstein
Due in no small part to Donald Judd, the city of Marfa, Texas, has evolved from a railroad water stop to a destination for minimalist art and design.
Rural escapes for those yearning for a simpler existence, by the creators of the wildly popular Tumblr Cabin Porn. Created by a group of friends who preserve 55 acres of hidden forest in Upstate New York, Cabin Porn began as a scrapbook to collect inspiration for their building projects.
A worldwide affiliation of independent hotels, Design Hotels has collected 296 of the most groundbreaking accommodations from its portfolio in the 2016 edition of The Design Hotels Book (Gestalten).
This quintessential collection of 999 product designs in three thigh-numbing volumes explores product design from the late 1600s to the present.
Over the past 40 years, leading art collector and editor-in-chief of San Francisco Cottages & Gardens Chara Schreyer has collaborated with interior designer Gary Hutton to create five residences housing 600 works of art.
That the pavilion is often built for a specific event and subsequently dismantled gives architects special license to experiment with form, construction, material, and structure, among many other variables.
From rooftop gardens to flora-laden balconies, flowers and plants bestow a warm grace to unconventional and indoor spaces. Private paradises nestled in the backyards of homes. Rooftops that act as community gardens. Edible patches of beauty hidden within city blocks.
Do you have a favorite design book that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments below!
Jenny Xie
Dwell Contributor
Jenny Xie is the author of the novel Holding Pattern, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree. She’s received fellowships from Bread Loaf, Yaddo, and MacDowell, among other organizations.
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