Maison--Christian Liaigre

From Publishers Weekly
Arguably one of the most influential designers alive today, Christian Liaigre pioneered the use of leather sofas, dark woods and gray walls at a time when pine furniture and white plaster were considered the epitome of style—thousands of restaurants, hotels and homeowners around the world followed his lead. In this study of Liaigre’s most recent "domestic projects," Ypma presents eight houses that demonstrate "the way that Liaigre’s modern and uncomplicated signature is subtly adjusted and adapted to each specific property and location." A large family getaway in Galicia, Spain, for example, contains sliding screens made out of the same kind of woven willow that local fisherman use to make their nets. And in Soho, New York, an apartment’s master bathroom is constructed under a historic rainwater tank. Most surprising to Liaigre fans, however, may be the designer’s new affection for vivid color. Two of the houses depicted here are Liaigre’s own: both incorporate large swathes of deep red or mustard yellow into the otherwise restrained décor. Ypma’s explanatory texts are exceptionally well written: forceful, amusing and loaded with a wealth of art historical knowledge. (The introduction, for one, includes a concise summary of Louis XIV’s "hugely successful campaign to make France the dominant nation in luxury consumer goods.") "Luxe, calme and moderne," Ympa writes, are the hallmarks of Liaigre’s works; the same could be said of his book. 500 color photographs.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Financial Times
Possibly the most important—certainly the most copied—designer of our time.

Book Description
Christian Liaigre's epoch-defining interiors include the Mercer Hotel in New York, offices for Valentino Couture in Paris, and Selfridges department store in London, as well as private residences for Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld, and Kenzo. His luxurious dark-wood minimalism and masculine palette of creams, browns, and grays have redefined modernism, supplanting the Scandinavian blond timbers on white that just a few years ago were the sine qua non of the modern interior. Working in close collaboration with Liaigre, Herbert Ypma set out to capture and document eight recent and previously unpublished residential projects. They are incredibly diverse: a modernist retreat on the Galician coast belonging to the family of Spanish fashion designer Adolfo Dominguez; a former artist's atelier in Montparnasse; Rupert Murdoch's capacious SoHo loft; an eighteenth-century Bavarian timber farmhouse owned by the proprietor and designer of Germany's fashion label Strenesse; and Liaigre's own fisherman's cottage retreat on the Ile de Ré. The integrity and pervasive calm of Liaigre's spaces reflect an instinctive aversion to the clamor of modern life. His materials are luxuriously authentic—exotic African timbers such as ebony; linen, silk, and wool; marble and natural stone; and his signature bronze hardware. And, as every project demonstrates, he makes deep connections with the tradition of each location, whether it be the industrial heritage of downtown Manhattan or the wild coastal landscape of Corsica. 500 color illustrations.

About the Author
Photographer and writer Herbert Ypma is the style visionary behind the Hip Hotels series.


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Working in close collaboration with Liaigre, Herbert Ypma set out to document a number of his recent and previously unpublished residential projects. They are incredibly diverse: Rupert Murdoch's capacious SoHo loft; a modernist retreat on the Galician coast belonging to the family of Spanish fashion designer Aldolfo Dominquez; a former artist's atelier on Montparnasse; an eighteenth-century Bavarian timber farmhouse owned by the proprietor and designer of Germany's fashion label Strenesse; and Liaigre's own fisherman's cottage retreat on the Ile de Re.


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