Liaigre

Following his highly successful volume Maison, interior design guru Christian Liaigre takes us inside six exclusive properties to unveil his luxurious world of design. Liaigre unleashes his masterful eye on diverse, international settings—a hidden Spanish residence, a luxury yacht, a massive Swiss farmstead, a thatched-roof paradise in Bora Bora, a modern Canadian manor, and a villa in the South of France. He combines local materials with the personality of the owner, while remaining true to the signature style that has made him one of the most sought-after designers of our time. Close-up photographs feature a wealth of design details—embossed leather and velour upholstery, generously proportioned furniture, and splashes of jewel-tone accessories that sparkle against the warm earthy tones of the natural, local materials. These creative details are contextualized via panoramic views throughout the book. This handsome, oversized volume is rich in ideas for amateur and professional interior designers alike.

Publishers Weekly

Liaigre's spare, Zen-meets-luxury aesthetic is instantly recognizable in these six sumptuously designed locations. The first spreads are of a house in Orense, Spain: cue lots of dark wood, deep reds and rich leathers, with such Iberian flourishes as a sofa embroidered with motifs drawn from toreadors' costumes. The rest of the book takes a romp through five similarly lush interiors, including a 184-foot yacht, an island sanctuary in Bora Bora and homes in Geneva, Toronto and the Côte d'Azur. Part of the pleasure of the book lies in the material voyeurism it provides; it's always fun to see how the other half lives. The risk of having such a distinctive style as Liaigre, however, is that after a while it starts to look a little dated, and for all the clean lines and pleasing textures, these interiors look like they were created as sets for lifestyle magazines-something ultimately antihuman and contrived lingers. No matter: the designer has plenty of fans, and for those who want just a touch of "Liaigrism," there will no doubt soon be plenty of mainstream knockoff versions of his oft-imitated look. (Sept.)

Christian Liaigre, an internationally celebrated French interior designer, has conceived homes for Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld, Bryan Adams, François Nars, and Kenzo. His renowned commercial projects include the Mercer Hotel in New York, the Hakkasan restaurant in London, the Hotel Montalembert and Market restaurant in Paris, and the Club Med in Bora Bora. Thomas Luntz is an established journalist, author, and film director. Jean-Philippe Piter has contributed to W magazine and Marie-Claire Maison, and is the founder, director, and photographer of Pure.