If you’ve ever been enchanted by the sight of a coffee table book, then our writer of coffee table literature Melissa Randhawa has tips on curating a stylish collection for your home.
I’ve made an unusual side career of setting up tasteful home libraries, not just for eyes that enjoy reading, but for those that adore coffee table books. For a HNW clientele of homeowners, not houses, but homes, one has to make it fashionably homely and intellectually appealing. My formula – use furniture to provide the setting and pick trendy coffee table books to dictate the mood. After all, what is home?
A home kisses you softly.
I was convinced of this after a series of show homes I had designed for two luxury towers had sold out within 48 hours. The buyers walked to the sofas and sat down to open these prodigious, kingsized slabs, turning each page as if the pictures were about to emerge from them. I smiled every time this happened, which was about 300 times on the first night. Why? Because the marriage between furnishings and lighting gave comfort with sophistication while the books allowed them to escape.
Mantra in the decor
Coffee table books are visually splendorous, fascinating and educational. Printed by reputable publishing houses, they can weigh anything from a kilogram to four. The Racing Style Book is as big as a driver’s seat, over 4-inches thick and comes with a dense tyre tread sleeve that is crafted in charcoal grey fabric. Just as when rubber hits the road, it gleamed with intrigue on a pewter, muted grey mat laid upon a black lacquered table. Beside it, a dynamic Ferrari Book. The overall vibe – I’m ready to go!
Travel in a jiffy
Aim to curate a mix of CTBs. If you love cars, then don’t just stock the atmosphere with car books. No. Add a picturesque book with gorgeous landscapes and architecture, and a compelling book on signature recipes engineered by the world’s foremost Michelin Star chefs. Give the reader a chance to explore, get online and jet to these places, or, make the reader feel as though they’ve been there and are reliving a memory. Go for a trio — the trip into a lifestyle, the element of curiosity and of course, the lure of an escape. Enchant the imagination!
Stories about us
Apart from the allure of charismatic paper products, CTBs have an understated element of sexiness. Take the book on Paris Hotel Stories. Ringing with anecdotal notes in calligraphic swirls and folded into a sense of secretiveness emanating from its photographs, the book is an owners deluge into a forbidden romance that never ends. The visuals are not at all moulin rouge, yet allude to the sense that the walls and hallways of luxury hotels have rapturous stories. From the Burton-Taylor era, to Proust, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and members of ministry and of royal dynasties from over a century ago who relied upon utmost privacy to celebrate their priceless friendships among like-minded souls. You too, have a soul, and with this book it is welcomed at The Crillon, The Ritz, or Four Seasons George V on Avenue des Champs-Élysées where I celebrated my honeymoon. Le Cinq brunches for coffee and croissants. Indeed, the soul travels, so one may charm the imagination with coffee table books.
Personalise your collection
For a bit of variety, the Chairman of the Ritz, London – Andrew Love used the inside page of Ritz’s commemorative book to inscribe for me a heartwarming message after we met for a News interview. Accept such a gift for own your collection.
For a bit of variety, the Chairman of the Ritz, London – Andrew Love used the inside page of Ritz’s commemorative book to inscribe for me a heartwarming message after we met for a News interview. Accept such a gift for own your collection.
Paintings off the wall
One cannot exit from a party on CTBs without a final dance with books on Art. They are increasingly sought out by people who must wash away the dust from everyday life – a quote by Oscar Wilde who also wrote that to become a work of art is the object of living. To illustrate, I’ll cite a scene from the 2008 film Elegy. Ben Kingsley’s character David is smitten by his student muse played by Penelope Cruz. At a party hosted in his NY home, he leads Cruz’s character Consuella to a CTB on paintings by Goya to show her The Clothed Maja (La Maja vestida). He shows her how much their eyes resemble one another. Like art, coffee table books are often guilty by suspicion for being the manifestation of what they may contain. My homegrown advice, therefore, is to curate them carefully.
The Good
Coffee Table Books are an indulgent world of their own and truly great CTBs inspire the dolce vita. Choose CTBs that encourages the reader to slip into one another’s world with one opening swoop of the page. A single glance, and you’ll feel connected.
The Bad
From the popular American comedy series Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer had the idea to design a coffee table book about coffee table books with foldout legs that turn the contraption into a mini table upon which to put a coffee cup. Nooooo! The purpose is to preserve these exquisite beacons of worded visuals, not risk hot or chilled fluids upon them. They’re heavy, and hence should ideally rest flat upon a coffee table.
The Trendy
Paraphernalia of scented candle, bulbous paperweights, magnifying glass, reading light, perhaps a lounging cat, coffee cup or mug to hold a home brew, and a sturdy coffee table to secure the sizes and weights of at least three open coffee table books – because rarely does one desire to close them.
Editor’s Note
In March 2008, a leading property developer known as Mada’in Properties commissioned me to design show houses for 200 wealthy buyers from all over the Middle East. Mada’in Properties sold posh apartments in two towers at an exhibition and exclusive dinner event held on 2nd & 3rd of April 2008 at Madinat Jumeirah. The pre dinner hall was designed into separate living rooms with furnishings and lighting sourced from ID Design, The One, Home Centre, Marina Home, Harvey Nichols, Ralph Lauren and Assouline Publishing. The grand event provided hostesses in conservative themed Arabian dresses, followed by live entertainment and a five course dinner. Guest giveaways and raffle draws were included.
Many of the guests were hosted at two of Dubai’s most prestigious beach front hotels – the Madinat Jumeirah and the adjoining Al Qasr Hotel and Resort. The two-day event was a roaring success and secured 95% sale of apartments on the opening night. So, what charmed the Arabian contemporary show homes that I had designed? The furnishings and lighting were a combination of comfort and sophistication. What is home?
Home is what kisses you softly. – Melissa Randhawa