Our design reading list

Interior design & colour

“This book is a beautiful acknowledgement of the years of love they have poured into their projects. An artful curation driven by emotional design choices, layers of colour, and rich materials are found throughout in a true joy for the senses. It is no wonder Flack Studio has been heralded in Architectural Digest's top 100 designers for the fifth consecutive year.” – Sarah

From highly expressive residential spaces to chic commercial environments, this debut book presents interiors that reflect a harmonious fusion of bold style and bohemian spirit.

Furniture, lighting, textiles, fittings, and vivid colour coalesce into a holistic yet idiosyncratic experience. A deep sense of materiality, a passion for contemporary art, and an embrace of local community and makers are hallmarks of Flack’s projects, which include homes and restaurants throughout Australia, Los Angeles, Seoul and the Ace Hotel in Sydney.

In this beautifully crafted book, the creative flair that defines Flack Studio’s design philosophy is on display in a selection of projects curated by Flack himself. Each project is a testament to the designer’s talent for balancing contemporary aesthetics with a warm, inviting atmosphere, his bold use of colour, meticulous attention to detail, and a seamless integration of modern and classical elements. This is an exclusive first look into the studio’s creative process, showcasing how Flack’s vision ultimately comes to life in emotive, expressive interiors.

Interior style

“Moments at Home beautifully captures the quiet choreography of texture, light, and form that transforms a house into a living, breathing experience. Steve Cordony’s eye for detail and his mastery of refined layering make this book an inspiring companion for anyone passionate about elevating interior spaces with intention and soul.” – Annie

Moments at Home celebrates the signature aesthetic of one of Australia's leading interiors stylist, Steve Cordony, in order to inspire home lovers globally.

Steve seeks to share insightful interior styling and tablescaping ideas as well as small, everyday details which are the soul of the home. Including sumptuous photography of his clients' homes as well as Steve's own beautiful property, Rosedale farm, he wants to empower readers to create their own moments of reflection and connection.

Steve carefully plots a visual journey to be followed through nine different areas of the home, from the kitchen and entry way to the bedroom and dining room, highlighting key styling tips in each one, showing how you can tailor them to your space to create meaningful moments in your home. Be encouraged by Steve's elegant and accessible approach to creating spaces that feel both personal and luxurious.

Interior style

“I have selected this book for its inspirational stories of women in design from around the world – how they live, how they work, and what inspires their creative life.” – Sandra

Equal parts biography, interior design study and psychological profile, A Room of Her Own features the dazzling homes of twenty extraordinary women around the globe. Across sitting rooms and studios, salon-style hangs and table settings, this is a book of daring inspiration.

In this new Renaissance period – a time of artistic, cultural and intellectual rebirth – these women have chosen to carve out their own space to live creatively. Artists, designers, makers and curators invite us into their domestic and professional domains to reveal a world of meaning and purpose beyond status and consumerism.

Now, more than ever, we are searching for new ways of thinking, new ways of living. These pages are filled with beautiful rooms, but Robyn Lea’s gorgeous photography and evocative texts look beyond the aesthetics to explore the ideals and practices of these women and guide us all on a new and exciting path forward.

Sustainable design

“This book is full of super-clever, creative makeovers that show how to turn old materials and buildings into something fresh, sustainable, and stylish.” – Moira

An on-trend home design book, featuring an inspiring array of homes that have made good use of recycled and upcycled materials, structures, spaces and furnishings. Included in the mix are industrial and farm buildings that have been converted for living and furnished appropriately with vintage and repurposed industrial fittings.

The book features 20 homes located throughout the country that feature a variety of clever solutions and design styles. There is everything from repurposed container homes to army barracks, farm utility buildings, churches and urban spaces finished with upcycled and repurposed furnishings.

The homes are in Lyttelton, Auckland, Wellington, Mahurangi, Cambridge, Cromwell, Christchurch, Queenstown, Hawke's Bay, Coromandel, and Rangiora.

Landscape design & architecture

"Our shoots at the iconic Bismarck House allowed us experience in person Dangar Barin Smith’s mastery in uniting landscape with architecture. Natural Order reflects their distinctly Australian design sensibility, which is layered, site-responsive, and beautifully resolved." – Stephanie

Natural Order provides an outlook into how landscape architecture can challenge, reframe and elevate urban landscapes to become dynamic forces of beauty.

Leading Australian landscape practice Dangar Barin Smith presents a series of 20 highly designed contemporary residential Australian gardens. Each garden is photographed at its optimum moment – when the balance between the natural and urban are in equilibrium, culminating in an expressive and dynamic environment.

Each garden is accompanied with planting and design plans detailing the relationship between the natural world and the built environment. Interspersed between each garden are conversations between editor Karen McCartney and Dangar Barin Smith partners – founder William Dangar, Naomi Barin, and Tom Smith – chronicling the creative process of creating each one of these enduring gardens, from their challenges, horticultural solutions and the collaborative journey with clients and practitioners.

Art & design

“Victoria Houllis is a Sydney-based nail artist who has turned her craft into high art! Hugely fun, beautifully photographed and perhaps even an opener to a new holiday hobby?” – Madeline

Allow renowned artist and nail tech Victoria Houllis to hold your hand as you explore the self-expressive and wildly creative world of nail art in this beautifully designed hardback. With over 30 shots of Victoria's own work to amaze and inspire you, the book also features a range of at-home, step-by-step manicures, tips on nail health and care, and over 150 ready-to-use original nail decals.

Fashion & illustration

“It's hard to review of a book when you have only stared at the pictures, but this is one I intend to read over the summer. Coco (Gabrielle) Chanel is a fashion icon – smart, stylish, witty, and a savy businesswoman – one of the first to create a ‘brand’ and the inspiration for Gabrielle by Mokum.” – Robert

Coco Chanel: The Illustrated World of a Fashion Icon is an illustrated biography of Coco's Chanel's life from the internationally renowned illustrator and author, Megan Hess. It features key moments from Coco's amazing life and iconic items from the fashion empire that she built. Think an illustrated picture book for adults, told through Megan's stylish and feminine illustrations with a fun, whimsical, and magical bent.

Coco Chanel takes us on a romp through the three distinct chapters of Coco's life: from Coco's early life and building the brand, to the empire she created, to the legacy she left behind, and how her style is still influential and iconic today. Hess's book literally paints a picture of the woman who forever changed the way women dress.

Architecture

"Quietens the soul." – Erin

The daring constructions of the award-winning Italian architect Claudio Silvestrin are modern, innovative, and often daring, but never monotonic. The creative process of the most perfect building is still clearly traceable, behind a superficial simplicity hides a complex and deeply humane concept. Understatement instead of pomp.

The book is convincing in content and presentation. It offers rich and high-quality illustrations, a multi-faceted overview of the completed buildings, and presents projects in the planning stage. The unusual conception of space and its grandeur cannot be adequately conveyed in book form. Its special, very close bond with the earth and nature can be seen in its architecture – even if it is one flagship store, a hotel, a cafe or a museum.

Interior design

"Specialising in architectural and interior design of residential properties and hotels across the globe, whilst also creating original fabric and furniture ranges influenced by his many travels." – Chrissy

This long-awaited monograph brings together fifty years of work and demonstrates how the interiors guru has drawn on a global range of influences for his designs as well as his furniture and fabric collections. If there is such a thing as a Stefanidis “look,” it combines an original use of vibrant colour, an eclectic aesthetic, great sensitivity to proportions, and comfort matched with international flair.

This lavishly illustrated survey – with images taken for the foremost shelter magazines and unpublished photographs from the designer’s archive – closely follows Stefanidis’s trajectory from his professional start in the late 1960s to his most recent, celebrated projects. Sifting through a vast personal archive, Stefanidis shares exclusive insights into his process, his own rules for decorating, and personal stories of his adventures and friendships with many of the leading lights of the day.

Interior style

"I am coveting Jane Ussher’s book ‘Rooms’ – gorgeous variety of fabulous images and all in New Zealand." – Julie

A lavish peek inside beautiful New Zealand homes. The interiors photographer Jane Ussher knows a great room when she sees one. Over the years she has shot interiors ranging from Shackleton’s Antarctic huts to highly specified mansions. In this superb book she focuses her camera on a range of rooms that she considers to be beautiful, intriguing, distinctive and unique. Shot in a range of locations across New Zealand, the result is a mix of World of Interiors and the special panache that can only be found in Aotearoa.

The 300-plus images are introduced by a superb essay by well-respected architecture writer John Walsh. A glorious book which all those interested in interior design will treasure.

Interior design & colour

"This book features beautiful spaces with clever colour and texture combinations, along with a mixture of interesting furniture, art, and objects." – Rachael

Discover Arent&Pyke's distinctive brand of decorative modernism. The objects that tell stories, the colours that call to the senses, the materials that evoke certain moods – all these elements play a vital part in the design of a home by Arent&Pyke. Known for their focus on the psychology of space and studied approach to colour and materials which result in optimistic, meaningful interiors high on charm and comfort.

With expertise in the softer nuanced tones of the tertiary palette, colours such as coral, nougat and olive, Juliette Arent and Sarah-Jane Pyke use colour to lift the spirits and arresting material pairings to evoke a nostalgic allure. Generously illustrated and artfully designed, Interiors Beyond the Primary Palette exemplifies how a thoughtfully designed space has the power to generate a sense of grounding, comfort, and freedom to create a full, joyous living experience.