What's In Their Library: Diane Dorrans Saeks

One of the highlights of my frequent trips to San Francisco are my lunches with author Diane Dorrans Saeks. Diane knows everybody- and I really mean everybody- in the design business. She has been called a doyenne of the West Coast design scene, having chronicled the latest projects and happenings for numerous national publications. (In fact, she is, like me, a contributing editor to House Beautiful.) And she has penned numerous books including Michael S. Smith: Elements of Style and Orlando Diaz-Azcuy, though I have to admit that my personal favorites are San Francisco Interiors and San Francisco Style: Design, Decor, and Architecture. Those two books I simply adore. And what about Diane's blog, The Style Saloniste? Have you read it yet? If not, you're in for a treat. My favorite posts are those in which she recounts recent trips to India, France, or Italy. After reading the posts, you'll feel as though you traveled alongside Diane.



I had an inkling that Diane has quite an extensive library, and indeed she does. Diane's library goes far beyond design books and encompasses titles on art, fashion, and history. I think you'll enjoy her list as well as her comments. So, enjoy!



"Thank you, Jennifer, for asking me to select some of my favorite design and style and art inspiration books. My library is extensive and focused and always growing, so it was challenging and exciting to choose some favorites. I’ve selected classic and excellent books that should be in every designer’s, architect’s or design enthusiast’s library. These timeless books are rich in ideas, and are provocative, essential for research, insightful, and archival. Some offer inspiration in surprising ways.

The divine painters, Cy Twombly and Lucian Freud, for example, were master colorists and experts in improvisation, and their paintings demonstrate classical examples of composition. Twombly, whose work seems entirely abstract, was inspired by classical artists like Poussin as well as Greek philosophy. Food for thought.

Jean-Michel Frank’s interior designs are to be studied and memorized. His sense of harmony, balance, color and tonality, texture and materials, is perfection. Essential to read the text for elucidation. All of these books have richly detailed texts layered with ideas and knowledge. They are much more than pretty pictures.



Happy reading!"











A few shots of Diane's enviable library.









Cy Twombly: A Monograph by Richard Leeman (Rizzoli). "I encourage designers and architects to leap outside the design world and study artists like Twombly—to see the power of ideas, classicism, improvisation and free association, all essential for creative work. Read and be inspired. I also recommend the Heiner Bastian/ Schirmer Mosel first four-volume catalogue raisonne of the paintings. A treasure, hard to find. Place on your wish list."







Lucian Freud by William Feaver (Rizzoli). "Freud was the greatest figurative painter of modern times, perhaps for the ages. I also recently read and recommend "The Man with the Blue Scarf" by Martin Gayford, which portrays his acute insight into Freud’s artistic process from the inside while Gayford's portrait was created. Study Freud for his color sense, interior light, devotion to his craft, his learning, and his classicism."











Potsdam: the Palaces and Gardens of the Hohenzollern by Streidt and Frahm (Konemann). "We all know the finest details of French design--but the exquisite 18th-century classicism of German architecture and interiors now requires our attention."







Classic Swedish Interiors by Lars Sjoberg (Frances Lincoln). "Architect, historian, curator, Lars Sjoberg is a living treasure in Sweden, restoring historic residences and imbuing them with authenticity, poetry, integrity, and a sense of history. He’s the authority on Swedish design history. Beautifully photographed by Ingalill Snitt. Superb."









De Vera Objects and Jewelry (two volumes, privately published.) "Full disclosure, New York antiquarian/gallery founder Federico de Vera is a long-time friend. I wrote an essay on ‘Perception’ for these volumes. These books are published in limited, signed editions—and collectors like the photographer Bruce Weber and other style-creators and trendsetters acquired multiples. Photography by Don Freeman and Anita Calero. Rare and ethereal."















Jean-Michel Frank by Leopold Diego Sanchez (Editions du Regard) and Jean-Michel Frank by Pierre-Emmanuel Martin-Vivier (Rizzoli). "The key to these outstanding books are the texts. Yes, the pictures are compelling, but it’s the writing and erudition that enlighten and enrich the knowledge. Essential. Read, ponder, deduct, discern, and turn the pages, slowly."











The French Country House by Christiane de Nicolay-Mazery and photos by Touillon (Vendome). "This is the real thing—glorious chateaux and dusty manor houses and intimate family boltholes—showing centuries and generations of country style and living. Exquisite inspiration."











Karl Friedrich Schinkel: 1781-1841 an Architect in the Service of Beauty (Taschen Basic Architecture) by Martin Steffens (Taschen). "German architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841) was a classicist through and through. But as the interiors of the Charlottenhof Castle demonstrate he was essentially a romantic. A revelation, especially the Tent Room and his Pink Room. Emulate!"











At Home: The Domestic Interior in Art by Frances Borzello (Thames and Hudson). "Paintings of interiors through recent centuries, by artists such as Sargent, Monet, Manet, Matisse, Vermeer. The key is that they are authentic interiors of the period—with families playing the piano, reading, dining, reposing, gathering, living. Paintings illustrate beautiful natural lighting in rooms, rich lives, well lived. Inspiration for designers and architects."











The Private House by Rose Tarlow (Clarkson Potter). "Rose’s book was a sensation when it was published—and it appears to have vanished from consciousness. It’s compelling, insightful, and quietly correct. The queen of subtle design offers clear principles for elegant, timeless interiors, a beautiful life."











The World in Vogue by various editors (The Viking Press). "Decades of stylish writing, artist profiles, accomplished women, poets, even an essay by the young Jackie Kennedy. A time capsule--literate and frisky, beautifully illustrated. Think of it as the brainy companion to Diana Vreeland’s Allure, which should also be in every library."