№ 21 reading list: essays by Zambra

Well, it's time for the summer's first reading list. In keeping with tradition, it has an essay collection, Not to Read by Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra (No Leer in Spanish). In the opening essay he, as a kid, admits to watching Madame Bovary (1949) for an exam instead of finishing the book. Next to a red F his teacher wrote: 'Vincente Minnelli!!' These short essays are the book lovers' treat. I meant to include a novel I had started reading, The Friend by Sigrid Nunez which won the 2018 National Book Award. I found it interesting, especially the literary references (the narrator is a writer), but then I got bored of the writing style and I didn't finish it. It's therapeutic to reread something good after a disappointing read; I chose The Seagull by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov.

№ 21 reading list:
1  Not to Read  by Alejandro Zambra
2  The Collected Stories of Grace Paley 
3  Milkman  by Anna Burns
4  Disgrace  by J. M. Coetzee
5  The Voyage Out  by Virginia Woolf
6  Journal of Katherine Mansfield  ed. by John Middleton Murry
7  The Seagull  by Anton Chekhov

Translated by: 1) Not to Read: Megan McDowell; 7) The Seagull: Laurence Senelick

Those who follow my blog know that Virginia Woolf is one of my favourites. The Bremen University Library has old editions of all her works by Hogarth Press, which she founded with her husband Leonard. They are attractively green hardbacks and initially, I borrowed The Voyage Out, her first novel, just to leaf through it. It's not my favourite book by Woolf but I couldn't resist the temptation and decided to read it again.

Sometimes, I have to admit, I do miss my old way of blogging, when I collected images of interiors in folders and couldn't wait to share them. As you may have noticed, I sometimes use images of paintings in my blog posts, but this time I decided to add two spaces in the Chelsea home of artist Sarah Graham, featured in House & Garden UK. These artistic corners - that glimpse of the coffee table and the bookshelf by with window - spoke to my inner interior enthusiast. Elegant and tasteful.

Chelsea home of artist Sarah Graham. House & Garden UK

images by me | credit: House & Garden UK · Greg Funnell

Blues & reds by Schuyler Samperton Textiles

When my face is not buried in a book you will probably catch me admiring patterned textiles with fascinating motifs (I often wish I had studied decorative art). This week I learned that new designs are soon being added to the fabric collection of Schuyler Samperton Textiles, which launched last year. I'm waiting with bated breath. On the blog I have already introduced some of her patterns and today I'm showing you my mood board of blues and reds, highlighting the Overlea, Cordoba, and Nellcote fabrics. Also, giving you a glimpse into the interior of Lamb's House in Leith, a House & Garden UK feature from 2016.

First, the textiles. The blue and red floral fabric is Overlea and this colourway is called Vermillion. I intend to decorate a nook in my own home with this particular fabric, after I have finished purchasing certain essentials. I also think it would make a beautiful tablecloth. Marine is the name of its blue colourway, next to the bedroom image. The other folded blue fabric is Cordoba in Indigo; the design has a paisley motif. The striped fabric is Pendleton in Brighton.

The Nellcote fabric is another design that I have already shared and cannot get enough of. The fabric sample with the tag shows its blue colourway, called Montego. You can spot it in Apricot, my personal favourite, in the top-right corner (the blue fabric thereunder is Firefly in Deep End). In previous blog entries featuring Samperton's textile design I have included the Doshi pattern; spotted under the cup of latte is its blue colourway Lake. Please follow the links to view the colourways of each fabric on the website of Schuyler Samperton Textiles.

From the pages of House & Garden UK: Lamb's House living room/Davide Lovatti

The bedroom in my mood board belongs to the restored Lamb's House in Leith (Edinburgh), which was built in 1610. The owners are conservation architects and it so happens that the wife, Kristin Hannesdottir, is a fellow Icelander. I remember falling flat for this space, its textiles and exposed beams, when I first saw the house tour featured in House & Garden UK, beautifully photographed by Davide Lovatti. Here you can also view the living room and Kristin's studio, which has a barrel-vaulted ceiling made of Siberian larch. If you're interested in reading about the restoration and viewing more images, simply follow the link.

The studio of conservation architect Kristin Hannesdottir at Lamb's House/Davide Lovatti

top image by me | credit: House & Garden UK, December 2016 · Davide Lovatti

New books | Happy New Year

On this last day of the year I'm sitting at the computer with a patterned turban on my head, a glass of Christmas beer, and tortilla chips in a bowl; the steak is slow-roasting in the oven, my gang is watching The Hobbit, and I have nothing better to do than blogging about new books. I wanted to share this entry earlier in December but I never found the time to finish it. At Christmas it kept popping up in my mind and since most of these works, fiction and coffee tables books, were published in 2017, I thought it best to share the list before the new year. To save time I skip commenting on each book because all the links, apart from one, lead to the website of Book Depository, where you will find a short intro. I would like to read all the books that appear on the list above the thumbnails, so chances are high that you will one day find them on a reading list on the blog. I wish you a peaceful New Year.

New books:
· Spy of the First Person  by Sam Shepard (Knopf). The final work before his death in July this year.
· Debriefing: Collected Stories  by Susan Sontag (FSG). Edited by Benjamin Taylor.
· Sing, Unburied, Sing  by Jesmyn Ward (Bloomsbury). Winner of The National Book Award 2017.
· The Origin of Others  by Toni Morrison (Harvard UP).
· In Search of Ancient North Africa: A History in Six Lives  by Barnaby Rogerson (Haus Publishing).
· The Rub of Time  by Martin Amis (Random House).
· Philip Roth: Why Write? Collected Nonfiction 1960-2013  by Philip Roth (Library of America).

· Persian Art: Collecting the Arts of Iran for the V&A  by Moya Carey (V&A).
· Modern Art in Detail: 75 Masterpieces  by Susie Hodge (Thames & Hudson).
· Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment  by Henri Cartier-Bresson (Steidl). Originally published in 1952, embellished with a collage cover by Henri Matisse.
The Atlas of Beauty: Women of the World in 500 Portraits  by Mihaela Noroc (Penguin).
· Morris  by Charlotte and Peter Fiell (Taschen). Richly illustrated book about the life and work of the designer William Morris (1834-1896).
· Map Cities: Histoires de cartes  by Francisca Mattéoli (Chêne). Currently available in French only but here is hoping for an English translation. I have already featured Map Stories by Mattéoli on the blog.
· Haute Bohemians  by Miguel Flores-Vianna (Vendome Press).

From Haute Bohemians by Miguel Flores-Vianna, pp. 80-81, Vendome Press

Schuyler Samperton Textiles

The world of textile design got richer this year when Schuyler Samperton, a Los Angeles–based interior designer, took the plunge and introduced her own fabric collection under the name of Schuyler Samperton Textiles. With the launch of the fabric line, a dream came true for Samperton, who has been collecting textiles since her teenage years. The word stunning describes my first impression of her collection, which exists of eight fabrics made of 100% linen, available in various colourways. For two months I have been admiring the details of her patterns and asking myself, Where do I even begin to share this beauty?

Nellcote/Petunia by Schuyler Samperton Textiles

You may have seen some of the fabrics by Schuyler Samperton Textiles on my Instagram account this summer, but for the first blog post I landed on the Nellcote/Apricot in a leading role, a bohemian pattern that to me depicts a certain playfulness. (The detail above shows the colour Petunia.)

The Nellcote/Apricot is the fabric and colour I would like to use for a cushion or two in our new living room, after we have purchased a new sofa - I'm moving soon, about to start packing! I have been playing with ideas and every time this is the pattern that feels right, plus its colours match well with the textiles I already have and the ones I have my eyes on.

Left: The Doshi fabric in Persimmon. Right: In foreground, Nellcote/Apricot;
top, Caledonia/Mandarin; bottom-left, Celandine/Sunset

Of the eight designs, the Doshi fabric is the one with a loosely printed pattern, a simple botanical motif. You can easily use any of its five colourways to draw out another colour, resulting in a beautifully decorated space. For this post I chose the Doshi/Persimmon but I also have a crush on a blue version, Doshi/Lake. The floral fabric also seen in my image above is Celandine/Sunset.

Some other time I would like to feature the Caledonia design in more detail on the blog. It's the floral fabric with the butterfly in my image above, in the colour Mandarin. This fabric also has a bird motif.

Another Schuyler Samperton design I'm fond of using in my new home is the Cordoba fabric with a paisley motif, seen folded in the colour Spice in my image above, and in detail below (also spotted in Indigo under the ceramic vase). I have yet to decide between the Cordoba/Spice and Cordoba/Dahlia.

I will be featuring more fabrics later. In the meantime you can view the full range of fabrics on the website of Schuyler Samperton Textiles, where you will also find a list of showrooms.

Cordoba/Spice by Schuyler Samperton Textiles

A few years back I featured the work of Schuyler Samperton on the blog. The suzani lovers out there may perhaps remember this particular post where, among others, I shared an image of a West Hollywood bedroom (scroll down), belonging to a residence she designed. She studied art history and decorative arts at Trinity College, NYU and Parsons School of Design, and for four years she worked for American interior designer Michael S. Smith. Her interior design projects are accessible online. Throughout September I will be adding some of my favourite Schuyler Samperton spaces to the Lunch & Latte Tumblr page.

Textile and interior designer Schuyler Samperton. © Schuyler Samperton Textiles/Alexandre Jaras

Coffee table books: Bitten by Witch Fever

Recently I mentioned that I had a few coffee table books in sight. Some of them have already been published; others will soon be or in the spring, like Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave. On the list below is one that I'm currently reading with great interest, Lucinda Hawksley's book Bitten by Witch Fever: Wallpaper & Arsenic in the Victorian Home, a Christmas gift from a friend. It presents 275 facsimile samples of wallpaper designs that have all been tested positively for arsenic content.

For some time I have wanted to see a new art book on my coffee table and I believe I have found the right one, Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave. The book features 300 illustrations of works by the great Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), created during the last thirty years of his life. Its publication (early May) coincides with an exhibition that opens at the British Museum on the 25th of May, and closes in August. How I would love to travel to London to see it and spend a few days in the Bloomsbury area.

Katsushika Hokusai's, Clear day with a southern breeze (Red Fuji), 1831

Let us take a look at the list of the coffee table books I'm interested in, in random order with a comment on each (you may already have spotted some in the blog's sidebar):

· The Japanese House: Architecture and Life: 1945 to 2017  by Pippo Ciorra and Florence Ostende (Marsilio). If architecture is your thing this book is a comprehensive study of Japanese architecture since the Second World War.
· The Long Life of Design in Italy: B&B Italia. 50 Years and Beyond  by Stefano Casciani (Skira). In 1966, Piero Ambrogio Busnelli established the Italian furniture company B&B Italia and now we are able to enjoy its story in a beautiful book (see a short video on their website).
· Blumarine: Anna Molinari by Elena Loewenthal, edited by Maria Luisa Frisa (Rizzoli). The Queen of Roses, designer Anna Molinari of the Italian fashion house Blumarine has many fans. I believe fashion design enthusiasts are waiting for the publication of this one, which contains photographs by the likes of Helmut Newton, Tim Walker, Albert Watson, and Craig McDean. I think I would buy it for the cover alone!
· Adobe Houses: House of Sun and Earth  by Kathryn Masson (Rizzoli). I would really like to get my hands on this book that presents twenty-three Californian homes, showing both interiors and gardens. Adobe houses with whitewashed walls and exposed beams ... yes please.
· Art House: The Collaboration of Chara Schreyer & Gary Hutton by Alisa Carroll (Assouline). A visual feast: five residences designed to house 600 works of art, a collaboration of art collector Schreyer with interior designer Hutton.
· Flourish: Stunning Arrangements with Flowers and Foliage by Willow Crossley (Kyle Books). If you are looking for a new decorative style for your home by using flowers I'm sure Willow Crossley's new book will inspire you, and Emma Mitchell's beautiful photography.
· Around That Time: Horst at Home in Vogue by Valentine Lawford and Ivan Shaw (Abrams Books). I still haven't found this one in a bookshop, I have only seen magazine features (one spotted in my bottom image). It contains, among others, photographs by Horst P. Horst that appeared in Vogue's Book of Houses, Gardens, People from 1968 (his partner Valentine Lawford wrote the text). The foreword is written by Vogue's Hamish Bowles. Here is a sneak peek.
· Bitten by Witch Fever: Wallpaper & Arsenic in the Victorian Home by Lucinda Hawksley (Thames & Hudson, published in association with The National Archives). The aforementioned book that presents 275 facsimile samples of wallpaper designs, including e.g. Corbière, Son & Brindle, Christopher Dresser and Morris & Co. (See more below.)
· Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave by Timothy Clark, Shugo Asano and Roger Keyes (Thames & Hudson). The aforementioned book about the Japanese influential master Katsushika Hokusai that features artworks he created during his last thirty years. It also gives his daughter Eijo (Ōi) a due attention, an artist of the late 19th century Edo period. The publication coincides with a British Museum exhibition opening in May.

A detail of Hokusai's, The poet Rihaku lost in wonder at the majesty of the great waterfall

I had to include these two Hokusai's woodblock pieces in this blog entry. His career spanned over seven decades but most people are familiar with his later work. The blue colour, or the Prussian blue, as it has been called, has always fascinated me and drawn me to his art.

For those interested in viewing more pieces by Hokusai (or any other artist) there is a wonderful selection of his artworks on Artsy and an editorial piece containing some fun facts. Artsy is a website I only recently added to my bookmarks and which instantly became a favourite (they also have a podcast). Artsy's mission is to make all the world’s art accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.

'Blue Bird Amongst the Strawberries', a pattern by Charles F. A. Voysey, recalls William Morris's
well-known 'Strawberry Thief' of 1883. From the book Bitten by Witch Fever, p. 131

By reading Bitten by Witch Fever: Wallpaper & Arsenic in the Victorian Home, which I haven't finished, I have realised that I was blissfully unaware that poisonous pigments were used in wallpaper design without being considered dangerous (it was Carl Wilhelm Scheele who in 1775 used arsenic to create a green pigment, Scheele's Green, that became popular and was used e.g. to create a vibrant colour for wallpapers):

Many dismissed as ludicrous the doctors who held that the wallpapers were poisonous, including English wallpaper designer William Morris, who stated that they 'were bitten as people were bitten by the witch fever'. (p. 7)

I had to leaf through the final chapter to learn that the first arsenic-free wallpapers weren't produced in Britain until 1859, with 'little public recognition'. By the 1870s, Morris & Co. finally 'bent to public pressure' and then it became 'big news' (p. 226). This book is indeed interesting, not to mention beautifully designed: There are seven short chapters - they look like brochures - in between pages of colour coded plates that show the wallpapers tested for arsenic content.

Pale green. Corbière, Son & Brindle, London, UK, 1879. From the book
Bitten by Witch Fever, Plates V, p. 141

images by me | Katsushika Hokusai art via: 1. The British Museum, 2. Thames & Hudson Spring 2017 Catalogue

New coffee table books

The west coast of Scotland doesn't look autumnal, yet, but I'm already in the mood for autumn. I have started to light candles in the morning and occasionally I let fire burn in the fireplace, just for a short moment. Soon I will give the summer shirts a rest and start wearing sweaters and shawls in darker shades. What I find exciting about the autumn is that it always sees the publication of new coffee table books. I would like to share with you a list of the ones I have in sight this year.

· Nomad Deluxe: Wandering with a Purpose by Herbert Ypma. Actually, this one was published earlier this year but it only recently caught my attention. Ypma's photographs available for preview on the Assouline website look stunning.
· Neisha Crosland: Life of a Pattern by Neisha Crosland. A book by a textile designer full of patterns ... no words needed!
· Map Stories: The Art of Discovery by Francisca Mattéoli. I believe this one is a gem for lovers of vintage maps, published in French last year and now soon available in English. If you are unfamiliar with Mattéoli's work you may want to take a look at her blog, which she writes in both French and English.
· Cecil Beaton at Home: An Interior Life by Andrew Ginger. I cannot wait to browse through this one. I think it will find its way to my coffee table one day.
· François Catroux by David Netto. I believe this is a book many have been waiting for. Remember the Paris home of Lauren Santo Domingo that I posted on the blog designed by Catroux? One of my favourite house tours is his Paris apartment.
· Urban Jungle: Living and Styling with Plants by Igor Josifovic + Judith de Graaff. Igor is a dear blog friend and I'm so excited to see his book published. Head over to his Happy Interior Blog to take a look at what was going on behind the scenes during the work on the book.
· Wanderlust: Interiors That Bring the World Home by Michelle Nussbaumer. My textile heart is already beating faster. See more below.
· Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi + Sami Tamimi. This is a new edition of the one published in 2008. Not a coffee table book per se, but their cookbook Jerusalem is one of those that regularly ends up on mine because it's more than just a cookbook.

It is not my intention to let any one book on the list shine brighter than others but when I saw the textiles and colour palette in the Swiss bedroom of designer Michelle Nussbaumer I simply had to share it on the blog. (I think this photo appears in the book, which features, among others, her homes in Swiss and Texas.) Not everyone has the knack for arranging mismatched textiles stylishly, however, Nussbaumer seems to do so effortlessly. The images I have seen of her design have a few things in common; they are rich of antiques, patterned textiles and global finds. She runs a very popular design shop in Dallas, Ceylon et Cie.

Bedroom textiles in designer Michelle Nussbaumer's Swiss chalet

1: image by me | 2: bedroom photo · Melanie Acevedo via WSJ