Inside the Homes of the World’s Most Creative People
Sam Lubell
This solid collection is a slow read to carefully work your way through. The content itself is not dense – one to three pictures of a home interior along with a page description. But nearly every room and its former owner is so fascinating you will find yourself haring off to look up pictures of their artwork, music or literature, google their spouses, or search out exterior garden shots of the homes. The artists featured are widely varied. Some will be quite familiar to American audiences – the sitting room of David Bowie in Mustique, Jefferson’s Monticello, and Oscar de la Renta’s home. Likely unfamiliar are Australian architect John Wardle, Swedish designers and artists Carl and Karin Larsson, and architect Charles Deaton (creator of the house used in Woody Allen’s Sleeper). Homes range from those of Frederic, Lord Leighton’s grand house to writer Dylan Thomas’s tiny cottage. The photos are large and gorgeous, but the short concise descriptions of the former owners and their lives are the real draw. Additionally, there is a small icon on each page, indicating if the home is open the public. You can not only expand your reading list and knowledge of the arts, but add to your travel list too.