Textbook Tuesday | Inspired Design by Jennifer Boles

Inspired Design: The 100 Most Important Interior Designers of the Past 100 Years, by Jennifer Boles and published by Vendome Press, is arguably the most important book of the season! Jennifer, long time blogger behind The Peak of Chic, is one of my heroes because much like me, she celebrates the work of others and studies the designers of the past and present to learn from them. Jennifer's blog, and now this book, are a rich resource of every decor style and every need-to-know designer - she quite literally gives us an extensive history lesson of the landscape of this field.

So how did Jennifer come up with the list of 100? She explains in a recent interview for Architectural Digest:

 “We put it out there on social media, on Instagram, Facebook, the blog, and asked people who they thought were the most important designers of the century ...[s]ome of my favorite designers today, the ones I would hire for myself, didn’t make the list. Which I hope people understand, because it doesn’t mean those designers aren’t any less talented. It’s about the contribution to the history of design that mattered most.” 

She goes on to explain, “[i]f someone is not familiar with Albert Hadley—which is hard to believe—but if that’s the case, then I have to show his library for Brooke Astor, as one of the best examples of his work. It’s been seen it so many times, but it just has to be featured” (quotes via AD).

In this over-sized tome (400 pages!) each designer is profiled with a summary of what we can learn from them and how they changed decorating forever, and 3-4 images of their best work are shown. The book is divided into chapters based on categories starting with The Big Six (you know Albert Hadley and Sister Parish had to be on there), and including lists like 'A Century of Women,' or those currently 'Making Their Mark' (think Miles Redd and Alexa Hampton). You can see an example bio with one of The Big Six, Billy Baldwin, just enough information to spark the readers interest and help them learn more:

A Tom Scheerer–designed room at Lyford Cay in the Bahamas featured in Inspired Design

What I love most about this stunning tome is the ability to continuously learn from it; it's a rich educational resource, and I love to keep learning. In fact I'd go as far as to argue that Inspired Design should be required reading for every interior design student. Put this one on your must-have list for your own design library, and as the perfect gift for any design-lover on your list! You can purchase your copy here.

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