Jeffrey Bilhuber: Defining Luxury: The Qualities of Life at Home

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Written by: Jeffrey Bilhuber

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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 729
ISBN: 0847830543
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2008-10-07
Publisher: Rizzoli
Release Date: 2008-10-07
DteCode: j01

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Editorial Reviews:

Jeffrey Bilhuber returns with a second book after Design Basics, his successful debut volume. In a lavish new format, the media-savvy designer for tastemakers and celebrities presents his most recent projects from coast to coast. Bilhuber views luxury as essential to every life well-lived, a way of appreciating and sharing our joy in existence, not the exclusive purview of the few. The designer encourages the reader to seek, aspire, and revel in luxury at home, however simple or adorned: from the embrace of the perfectly tufted reading chair to an heirloom vase cradling freshly cut garden roses to a dazzling chandelier that makes light dance. In seven chapters filled with charming anecdotes and lovely observations, the designer—whom Hamish Bowles has likened to a twenty-first century Billy Baldwin—explores the idea of luxury as life’s abundance reflected in a home’s varied elements: Discovery, Passion, History, Ornament, Grace, Comfort, and Delight. Each project discussed evokes the many qualities of a distinctively American luxury practically expressed and fully enjoyed at home: beauty, family, refinement, and hospitality. Within these, the reader gleans insight from Bilhuber’s inimitable style and learns that luxury is about cultivating a state of mind as much as it is about the objects with which we surround ourselves.

User Comments about the Jeffrey Bilhuber: Defining Luxury: The Qualities of Life at Home

Although I'm a HUGE fan of Jeffrey Bilhuber, the rooms in this book lack the cohesion of his earlier work. I can't quite get onboard. Granted, the first book was predominately beige and black but the colors and choices made in this later work do not seem as well-considered, stylish and consistent as those in the first book. The jarring cover design reflects these peculiar choices accurately.

I bought this book for myself and for Christmas presents. So many design books today are filled with houses that only an elite few can come close to approximating--the "Architectural Digest" type. Jeffrey Bilhuber's book is compiled of beautiful vignettes that contain wonderful ideas for placement and juxtaposition of objects and fabrics. I think he truly has exciting taste. He combines the classic with the contemporary in interesting and evocative ways.

So many people want to pick up a book and figure out how to do it themselves. The book has beautiful full page pictures that aren't tiny vignettes of spaces. This is a very nice book. I read the last review, and couldn't disagree more. There are many beautiful color combinations that are unusual but still work beautifully and should inspire people to be more creative in choosing colors and patterns.

This is a picture book, and not a study guide. This is a beautiful book which shows Mr. Bilhubers style very well. I never understand people who base their review on their personal style and not on the quality of the work no matter the style.

Another issue is the book will have several pages no text, and then you find the references grouped together a couple pages before or after. This book is very different. Jeffrey Bilhuber's Design Basics is one of my favorite "go to" design references for its well laid out approach to thinking through design and decoration while incorporating the reader's personal history into a room, and valuing strategy over spending $$. The rooms are heavily decorated with items, patterns and colors to the point of being over the top, especially when compared to the design approach presented in his first book. It's aggravating to have to flip back and forth to reference the design comments. To get value of this book, focus in on one or at most two items in a room.