October Book Club: This Time, It's Personal

In this month's edition of our coffee table book club, we have three titles that speak to how our inner selves reflect the spaces we inhabit, and vice versa.  

The Home Within Us: Romantic Houses, Evocative Rooms by Bobby McAlpine

“What we crave in this life is an outer beauty that reflects the gorgeous world inside us. I am speaking about the house within us ... One of the strongest ingredients in keeping you who you are, your physical environment also keeps you in full awareness of where you are. If you can find your way to live in the house without you, then you not only create an enormous, broad, and lovely offering to yourself, but also to your "pack" – your family and friends. You will also inspire anyone who has not yet been able to make this connection. Such is the power of rooms.”

The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent & Pierre Bergé 

Pierre Bergé passed away last month. The true end of an era. While he has long since sold off his and Yves Saint Laurent's (his former business partner and lover) incredible collection of homes, art and furniture, it's still sad to think how their dazzling world has been scattered to the wind. At least we have the photos. Their homes, villas, and apartments in France and Morocco reflect the many interests, passions and fantasies of these complicated and influential men. 

A Mondrian hangs in their famous Right Bank Apartment

Their seaside Deauville estate in Normandy

Yves' "Bachelor" apartment in Paris where he went to, um, have fun. 

American Writers at Home by J.D. McClatchy 

There is nothing more private and more sacred than the writer’s room. From Victorian mansions to rustic stone cottages, this book is a fascinating historical look into the rooms where America’s greatest literary works were created. 

Louisa May Alcott's writing desk