Brian Sawyer’s Greenwich Village guest bedroom, with Ultrasuede walls.
Making Rooms Your Own- New York Social Diary
by Sian Ballen and Lesley Hauge, Photography by Jeff Hirsch
What a great idea this book is! While we all know that New York is full of Interior Design talent, do we know who these people are? Sian Ballen and Lesley Hauge tap into their impressive New York design rolodex to introduce us to decorators and design professionals through the most enjoyable interviews and photos, all done in their own homes. Inspired by New York Social Diary’s widely read House series, the authors give us a peek into some of the city’s most coveted homes. Best of all, we get to see what these designers create for themselves, knowing all that they know, and unburdened by another’s taste, possessions or limitations. There’s no better way to get to know a designer.
New York Social Diary
For those of you who aren’t already familiar with the book’s contributors or the backstory, New York Social Diary is a super popular website that covers society, architecture, travel, and art, giving readers a taste of upper-crust NYC. The co-founders of the site, David Patrick Columbia and Jeff Hirsch, along with Ballen and Hague, deliver thirty-two interviews loaded with design tips and breathtaking photos. The book promises to intrigue, crack a smile, and amaze. Some of the chapters give us people we know, and others, people who we are glad to learn about. The authors’ interview styles blend Ballen’s interest in interior design approaches with Hauge’s quest to learn more about the subjects personally. Meanwhile, Hirsch is also present at these interviews to snap gorgeous photos of their homes. Photos below represent the diversity of talent:
Ellie Cullman’s Park Avenue library
Tom Britt’s Grand Salon on the Upper East Side
Sheila Bridges’ Harlem hallway
Katheryn Scott’s living room in her Brooklyn Heights townhouse
This is only the tip of the iceberg. Like I mentioned above, there are 32 interviews with New York design elite, which include Miles Redd, Garrow Kedigian, John Rosselli, Robert Couturier. Generous design tips flow, and the book reads like a light-hearted conversation. Making Rooms Your Own- New York Social Diary promises to entertain, intrigue, and inspire, one designer at a time. This is the kind of book to enjoy all summer long- a great one to keep within reach for a chapter or two at a time. Highly recommended for design enthusiasts!
purchase Making Rooms Your Own- New York Social Diary here
