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Book: Total Design
Stanley Abercrombie -- Interior Design, 10/8/2001 3:43:00 PM
reviewed by Stanley Abercrombie
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Total Design |
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New York: Clarkson Potter by Clodagh 224 pages, many color illustrations; $45.00 Buy at Amazon.com for $45.00. |
| Clodagh is a member of this magazine's Hall of Fame, an interior designer of international stature, a champion of interior craftspeople and decorative artists, and a woman of uncommon charisma: warm, communicative, honest, direct, and sensuous. In short, I'm crazy about her. I'm also delighted that at last her work, much of which has been seen in this magazine's pages, is the subject of a book. I'm slightly less fond, however, of the way that work is presented in the book, which is under the rubric of what we might call Clodagh's catchwords: "Contemplate, Cleanse, Clarify, and Create." Encountered alone or in some other context, these might seem cute, corny, contrived, or even cloying. Happily, they are met here in the context of Clodagh's own design and, because that design is so often brilliant, all is forgiven. The professional reader may regret that there are no plans provided and seldom any sense of whole installations; instead we see single rooms, vignettes, and photomontages of uncaptioned objects, textures, patterns, and colors. These partial views and montages, however, are effective and evocative, full of personality. It might also be regretted that, aside from a trade fair pavilion for a textile manufacturer and an office corridor, none of Clodagh's fine nonresidential work is seen. But the professional is not the intended audience for this book, which speaks directly to the homeowner, whether a potential client or a do-it-yourself type. As in Clodagh's design, there is both poetry and pragmatism here, and the book ends with a no-nonsense "Workbook" section of intelligent questions, checklists, and even legal advice. In summary, the design shown is excellent; the illustrations (mostly by Daniel Aubry and Keith Scott Morton) are excellent; the book design is excellent; and most parts of the text are excellent. It may not be the perfect Clodagh book, and it certainly won't be the last, but it's a very welcome beginning. | |
Interior Design Magazine, August, 2001
Classification: Style
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