Jewels That Made History: 101 Stones, Myths, and Legends

Inspirational and visually on trend, Ashley Hicks's latest work is a pattern book for the 21st century. Offering insights and revelations, Hicks's own exquisitely quirky and colorful historicist interiors are discussed with designs from the recent and faraway past. Ashley Hicks has created a mix of manifesto, souvenir album, and confession in this collection of noteworthy rooms--featuring his own one-of-a-kind interiors along with rooms that have inspired him. The manifesto aspect is rather limited, since Hicks is not a great believer in aesthetic rules or the value of so-called good taste, but as a souvenir album, it charts Hicks's personal creative journey of the last few years, illustrated with photographs of some favorite historical interiors and objects that represent a mixture of source material and inspiration. The book's twelve chapters reveal Hicks's creative process, how he approaches different themes in his own interiors, furniture designs, and works of art, and how these themes can be applied to the works of others. Such subjects as flowers, color, layers, form, pattern, and memory are presented in the context of actual projects. Historical and recent interiors are discussed for their decorative value--notable rooms and architecture include the Pantheon in Rome; Emperor Maximilian's tomb in Innsbruck; the Royal Pavilion, Brighton; and the Petit Trianon at Versailles. Hicks has created a book for devotees of decorating and the history of interior design. About the author Ashley Hicks is a British author, architect, interior and furniture designer, and photographer. He is the son of Lady Pamela Hicks and the legendary decorator David Hicks. His personal Instagram profile has amassed over 200,000 followers. Christian Louboutin is a celebrated French shoe designer.

Author Susanna Salk, Photographs by Stacey Bewkes Susanna Salk shares with us the delightful and inspiring homes of top designers and tastemakers, revealing the personal and idiosyncratic interiors they create for themselves. Brimming with personality, these rooms are full of ideas and creativity, inspiring us to decorate in our own way by embracing our style and passions. Through her work as the host of the “Quintessence At Home With” video series on YouTube, Susanna Salk visits incredible homes of designers and other creatives, experiencing how they live and how they decorate when it’s for themselves, not for a client. Whether it’s the Connecticut weekend retreat of textile designer John Robshaw...