Phaidon ‘Defining Style’ Book Offers Singular Look Into An Array Of Interior Possibilities

Pop art, street art, recurring curious characters and motifs, and a blend of traditional Japanese art and contemporary pop culture and anime, co-exist in a colorful array of hundreds of collectible figures. The playful cast — created by artists such as Kenny Scharf, Ron English, Matt Gondek, KAWS, and Takashi Murakami — is carefully curated and displayed on shelves or mischievously placed on an eclectic selection of sofas, chairs, and rugs, that delight our inner art-loving child.

Mixed-media artist Móyòsóré “Moyo” Martins invites us into his 3,000-plus-square-foot studio in Mott Haven, Bronx, replete with framed prints and his own inimitable large-scale paintings that convey complex narratives that look to his family’s legacy in his native Lagos, Nigeria, his ongoing artistic journey which has taken him to world-leading auction houses and European galleries, and the future of art and humanity.

“The figures are representations of childhood and evoke nostalgic memories,” says Martins.

Martins’ inimitable inside peek is among 150 residential interiors from leading designers and artists around the world featured in Defining Style: The Book of Interior Design, a tour through 25 design styles. The 296-page hardback book with 260 illustrations published by Phaidon is available for $69.95. For design geeks and folks who enjoy creative interiors and seek to learn more, this book chronicles a wide range of styles from modernist and minimalist to biophilic (which strives to bring the outdoors into homes, creating a sense of harmony between the built environment and the natural world) and textured (utilizing various textures to evoke different moods).

Organized alphabetically by style, Defining Style showcases rooms from designers such as Pamela Shamshiri, Lorenzo Castillo, Laura Gonzalez, and Vincenzo De Cotiis, and welcomes us into the homes of musicians Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats, artist Mariko Mori, and writer Umberto Pasti, revealing how personality and tastes can influence personal space.

Author Joan Barzilay Freund opens each chapter with introductory text describing characteristics of each style, empowering readers to identify and implement featured design elements in their homes.

“Wow, it’s just so amazing to be in a room with all of you. I’ve been writing about you, and you’ve sprung to life right here. So it’s really exciting. I want to start by thanking Alex and Michael Schuman. I can’t think of a more beautiful place to celebrate design and style and art and beauty and these lovely rooms. So we are here to talk about defining style. The room above us is featured in the book. … and it really does encapsulate the kind of magic that happens when a designer, in this case, Jeffrey Bilhuber, meets the public clients, Alex and Michael, who are the most discerning people, and just something beautiful happens,” Freund said at a March 5 launch event at the Moroccan-flared New York townhouse of Alexandra and Michael Shuman, co-sponsored by Phaidon, online luxury marketplace 1stDibs, and fine art management services company UOVO. “So thank you to all the designers and photographers and artists who are here tonight. Thank you for contributing your work. This is about you. This is your book. This is very much your moment.”

“This book offers an antidote to that more passive way of looking and offers an opportunity for context,” Asad Skyrett, former editor-in-chief of Elle Decor writes in the introduction. “Under the direction of a gifted designer, a room’s decor speaks its intention clearly.”

The book’s textural paper cover, replete with a debossed foil type and a color wheel referencing a particular color assigned to each style within the book, underscores the goal of informing and engaging and informing readers.

Take a dose of maximalism on 1980s steroids with architect and designer Sig Bergamin, whose brazen Brazilian style is true to his mantra, “mix, mix, mix,” color, pattern, and provenance.

Or indulge in the dreamy elegance of London-based multidisciplinary artist Faye Toogood’s collector’s flat, engaging with her with exploration of materiality and experimentation.

Whether it’s inspired by one design spread, or an amalgam of many, you’ll find your style with Phaidon.

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