Escape to Far Corners of the World With These Design Books

As with every year, the month of January is a time to hit the reset button. Whether it’s a new set of resolutions or fitness regime, the general urge is to refurbish, refresh, and revamp. For those hoping to update their home decor, a trip around the world—from the pages of a book, that is—might be just what’s needed to help get the design wheels turning. Read on for eight beautiful works that present inspired style from all over the globe and share authentic tips on how to bring bits and pieces of faraway lands into your own home.

Cabins by Philip Jodidio
Let this nearly 500-page work take you on a grand tour of cabins, from England’s Suffolk Coast to the Western Ghats in India. Conceived around Thoreau’s writings on getting back to nature in his 1854 essay Life in the Woods, the book pulls together a series of images, architectural plans, and drawings for a selection of cabins that have been exquisitely built into their surrounding landscapes. Don’t be surprised if, by the end, you find yourself wondering whether to ditch your current setup for one of remote tranquility in the middle of nowhere.

The Scandinavian Home: Interiors Inspired by Light by Niki Brantmark
For minimalists and millennial fashion editors alike, Scandinavian design has long been a source of inspiration—where would our Instagram feeds be without the occasional image of an all-white-everything room? It’s undeniably soothing to rest your eyes on the clean simplicity. The Scandinavian Home goes a step further, exclusively featuring spaces decorated to enhance their natural light. This is the perfect read for those who get excited about grayscale.

Sar: The Essence of Indian Design by Swapnaa Tamhane and Rashmi Varma
India is home to an amalgamation of different cultures, religions, and traditions. This book from Phaidon weaves them together beautifully, through a presentation of both cityscapes and objets d’art found in homes around the country, and the rich histories behind them.

Vogue Living: Country, City, Coast by Hamish Bowles and Chloe Malle
The latest edition of Vogue Living is the fashion lover’s bible—a collection of lavish homes and sumptuous style from icons like Cindy Crawford, Dries Van Noten, and Stella McCartney, photographed by industry icons and narrated by Vogue’s own Hamish Bowles and Chloe Malle. In addition to beautiful images, the work provides personal accounts about how each of these properties came together.

Haute Bohemians by Miguel Flores-Vianna
In Haute Bohemians, photographer Miguel Flores-Vianna pulls together a colorful work of complex interiors that possess equal parts sophisticated design and lived-in, casual elegance. Between four continents, the book redefines “bohemian” and is a totally unexpected experience. From saturated, jewel tone rooms to outrageous decoration, each home offers a lesson in individual style.

Aspen Style by Aerin Lauder
While Aspen, Colorado has come to be America’s premiere locale for hitting the slopes, few know its history as a small mining camp during the Colorado Silver Boom of the 19th century. Enter expert Aerin Lauder, who takes readers on an intimate journey through one of her favorite snowy towns. “I’ve been coming to Aspen since I was a child and now my family has a home there,” she tells Vogue. “It is very special to me, and the town has many different dimensions and personalities, so when Assouline approached me, I immediately accepted.” In addition to the gorgeous imagery of Aspen past and present, the book also includes Lauder’s tips on local haunts that are not to be missed.

Homes in Japan by Francesca Chiorino
Homes in Japan isn’t your typical venture into the beautiful country’s rock gardens or minka (traditional houses). Rather, it is a comprehensive study on contemporary homes and the architects, both established and on-the-rise, behind their creation. While the interiors imagery offers readers the distinct stillness we often seek from Japanese design, the book’s narrative also offers floor plans, blueprints, and technical descriptions for how that signature effect is achieved. It’s a rare inside look into how Japanese homes come together.

Francis Picabia: Littérature by Francis Picabia, Published by Small Press
There are many books on Parisian style, but this one is a little different, contextualizing design and artworks by artist, design icon, and poet Francis Picabia within a selection of his written works. An inspiration to French avant-garde creators across artistic fields, Picabia was a radical in many ways, known for blending together the written and visual arts. In this charming book of never-before-seen drawings and illustrations created originally for surrealist André Breton’s Littérature magazine, readers get lost down a rabbit hole of intimate design that captured the life and spirit of Paris in its creative heyday.