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"Design Must-Haves\nSix titles, giving you an in-depth look at the work of some of our AD 100 architects and designers\nFor Mariette Himes Gomez's most recent publication, the interior designer opted for depth rather than breadth and focused on just 13 apartments, one in London, two in Florida and 10 in Manhattan. Gomez, who grew up in a Michigan suburb, credits watching old Hollywood films as a child for opening her to the glamour of apartment living\u2014an Art D\u00E9co high-rise in The Thin Man and the traditional town house in Adam's Rib, to name a few. In the introduction, Gomez gives numerous general tips for designing a small space and then begins detailed accounts for all of the featured residences, going into more precise explanations on the hows and whys of what she did in each. And having been in business since 1975, she's got lots of practical experience to share. \"Decorating actually starts at the front door, with the doorknob. Pay attention to everything your hand will touch.\" And, \"Black mullions add a bit of architecture, and at night they disappear.\" She also notes that built-in cabinets hide the clutter and allow the eye to focus on a few select pieces and advises giving older furnishings new use in a different room\u2014an antique chest of drawers repurposed in the bathroom not only provides extra storage but creates the feel of an old English country house. Images by AD contributing photographer Scott Frances show entire rooms, as well as details, highlighting the importance of even the seemingly smallest aspect.\n\nHarperCollins, $39.99\nThere's something telling about a book that begins\u2014rather than ends\u2014with the acknowledgements section. It's precisely that generosity, that old-fashioned gentility, that comes readily through all of Suzanne Tucker's interiors. Perhaps it was growing up with parents who hosted formal parties that sparked her interest in creating a beautiful atmosphere for people to enjoy. And perhaps it was studying art history and later working with couture clothing that polished her appreciation of well-made things. Certainly it's a combination of many influences, but it's also in large part due to her enviable years as Michael Taylor's assistant. The \"essential elements\" he taught her have helped to define her own process and style, and, in a nod to her mentor, she's used them to define the chapters of her book: bones and architecture, scale and proportion, individuality and personality, and color and light. Inside its pages are numerous designer tricks (though she stops short of giving away Taylor's signature white paint formula) that can be applied to interiors of any style, be it a country home filled with antiques or a contemporary city condo. We all deserve spaces, she explains, that \"entice and delight our senses, and afford us lingering memories.\" Put simply, rooms we won't want to forget.\n\nThe Monacelli Press, $65\n\"\u00A0Give me your dreams and I will make them happen,'\u00A0\" Juan Montoya writes in his introduction. \"That's how I like to start a dialogue with my clients\u2014unencumbered by limitations.\" The Colombian-born designer's second book delves into 22 projects completed over the last decade. It includes homes\u2014those dream homes he promised and delivered\u2014in New York, Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, the Dominican Republic and Paris (some of which are his own). Also included are his contributions to two show houses, a golf resort and a design center, each exhibiting the same workmanship and detail he gives his residential commissions. All of Montoya's interiors display a consummate skill with proportion and texture and also reveal a passion for streamlined furnishings and luxurious materials. Add to that a curator's eye for artwork and it's easy to see why he's been one of the most highly acclaimed interior designers since opening his firm in 1978.\n\nThe Monacelli Press, $75\nNote the Bouguereau painting on the cover of the book: The little blond girl with a precocious look, holding an antique porcelain bowl. It could easily be a portrait of Alexa Hampton, whose father, the legendary decorator Mark Hampton, and mother gave her an early education in history and art. \"While other families were skiing, sunning, playing tennis or visiting amusement parks, my sister and I could be found being dragged by our parents to see architectural high points, museums, and galleries around the world. By the time I was 12, I had seen the Pantheon, the Parthenon, and Buckingham Palace.\" It's an education that continued through her studies, both at school and under the tutelage of her father's firm, which she runs today. Now with her first publication, she shares many of those lessons through beautifully photographed interiors accompanied by explanatory texts and macroscopic images of storyboards. (For anyone struggling with window treatments, there's a remarkably helpful section, All About Curtains.) \"In exploring the process of design, I hope to provide a deeper understanding of what makes a room or a house not just pretty or livable, but extraordinary, and to equip anyone with the tools to speak the language of design with fluency.\"\n\nClarkson Potter, $50\nCollaboration and communication\u2014between themselves and with their clients\u2014are two pillars of the architectural partnership of John Ike, Thomas Kligerman and Joel Barkley. \"Every project represents a highly personal journey, in the course of which we endeavor to translate the client's needs, tastes, and aspirations into a true, individual home,\" they explain in the introduction. Each historically rooted residence \"is the outcome of a comprehensive investigation into the underpinnings of its governing style, one that looks at how specific elements were originally designed and crafted, and why certain aesthetic choices were made. Synthesizing these details and ideas into a unified whole remains one of the hallmarks of the firm's work,\" they continue. \"Where there are multiple references upon which to draw, or the local architecture proves unsuitable, or married clients propose opposing ideas, combining elements into a hybrid\u2014such as the conflation of English Cottage and Shingle Style architecture we dubbed \"Shinglish\" \u2014has, in our view, produced some of the firm's most successful designs.\" Although steeped in tradition, there's a levity to the trio's houses, the definite feeling that the creative process was as thoroughly enjoyable as the resulting home. The 21 houses and apartments featured in the book, nearly half of which have been published in AD over the past decade, are presented by setting: countryside, city and seaside. As Robert A. M. Stern, who contributed the foreward, writes, \"They build upon what went before to extend the trajectory of architecture.\" Deserved high praise from their mentor and friend.\n\nThe Monacelli Press, $60\nSeattle-based architect Jim Olson, whose work has been featured in AD for more than 20 years, is known for creating subtle and elegant homes for his clients\u2014homes that are \"knitted\" into the landscape. \"My two favorite places are the museum and the wilderness. Each has endless treasures to explore,\" he explains in the preface. \"I like to think of architecture as a tool that can help us look at art and nature. In both, I see infinite beauty.\" The book features 16 houses and apartments\u2014from a modern spin on Greek Revival-style in Atlanta to a glass farmhouse in eastern Oregon\u2014which reflect a most thoughtful kind of architecture. \"Before he starts designing,\" writes Michael Webb in the introduction, \"he immerses himself in the history and geography of the area, especially if he has not built there before. He looks at older buildings that have worn well, makes field trips to learn about the local vernacular, and tries to visit the clients' favorite structures, wherever they may be.\" That sensitivity and awareness is what \"gives Olson's houses their livability and understated beauty. The intangible feel as much as the look is what delights their owners. Large and small, in town and country, these houses are rooted in the land yet seem to float free, framing art and nature, affording spaces for celebration and contemplation.\"\n\nThe Monacelli Press, $65"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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