Robert Couturier: Designing Paradises

Author Robert Couturier and Tim McKeough, Preface by Carolyne Roehm, Afterword by Caroline Weber, Photographs by Tim Street-Porter

A passion for luxury and beauty propels the multifaceted work of acclaimed international architect and interior designer Robert Couturier. Robert Couturier’s aesthetic is a dialogue between Old World elegance and contemporary design. His masterful approach effortlessly brings eras together, for example a Louis XVI commode with a 1960s lamp. Couturier’s name has become synonymous with continental and international style, and he is known for composing adventurous rooms that have a witty flair. All his interiors extol the importance of how a home should stimulate the five senses, from the tactile feel of upholstery to the visual presentation of objects that leads a person through a space. The book opens with a tour of Couturier’s country retreat in bucolic Kent, Connecticut. Composed of neoclassical-style pavilions, early American guesthouses, and beautiful gardens, the house features imaginative rooms that are filled with his collections of European art, furniture, and decorative objects. A selection of the designer’s other projects—from smart contemporary apartments to romantic Mexican villas to a stately English manor—provides further inspiration.

About The Author

French-born designer Robert Couturier opened his New York firm in 1987. His commissions have been featured in publications such as Architectural Digest and Elle Decor. He is included in the annual lists of the best designers. Tim McKeough is a journalist specializing in architecture and design. He is a contributor to the New York Times, Elle Decor, and Architectural Digest. Tastemaker Carolyne Roehm is a contributing editor to Veranda magazine. Caroline Weber is a professor of French culture at Columbia University. Award-winning photographer Tim Street-Porter is the author of numerous architecture and design books and a contributor to many lifestyle magazines.

Publish Date: September 23, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Category: House & Home - Decorating & Furnishings
Publisher: Rizzoli
Trim Size: 10 x 11-1/2
Pages: 224
US Price: $60.00
CDN Price: $60.00
ISBN: 978-0-8478-4368-8

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Reviews

“Many in the design field consider themselves mix masters, but interior decorator and architect Robert Couturier’s adventurous spirit and in-depth knowledge of antiques result in the most astounding combinations. His first monograph, Robert Couturier: Designing Paradises, shows that this Paris-born, Manhattan-based talent can delight and enlighten while breaking all the rules.” –Architectural Digest

“The title says it all: Robert Couturier: Designing Paradises provides an entry to the refined world of this French-born, American-based interiors star. The tome opens with the designer’s own home — a country retreat in Kent, Conn., whose rooms are dressed with a carefully curated mix of antique French furniture and Early American pieces. Also featured: one of Couturier’s most famous projects — a 20,000-acre Mexican resort that he designed for English entrepreneur James Goldsmith — as well as his polished contemporary designs for Manhattan high-rise apartments.” –The New York Post

“Robert Couturier is known for his command of decorative history matched with a deft ability to layer those styles, resulting in sumptuous, elegantly appointed homes that balance complexity with comfort.” –Vogue

“In a time when finesse often takes a backseat to invention, I find his straightforwardness incredibly refreshing. And let’s be honest -- even I need a reminder sometimes! This body of work demonstrates that coloring inside the lines can still be a wonderfully creative pursuit.” –Martha Stewart Living

“…guaranteed to inspire just about every corner of your life. When you have as masterful an understanding of decorative history as Robert Couturier, mixing pieces…results in an explosion of glamour rather than a mixed-up mess...inspiring book.” –One King’s Lane

“Couturier is known for his ability to capture the essence of place and for seamlessly integrating modern elements with period architecture and details. The book is a must-have; it’s a master class, not only in interior design and architecture, but also the art of living well.” –What is James Wearing

“A passion for luxury and beauty propels the multifaceted work of international architect and interior designer Robert Couturier. In his new book, Robert Couturier Designing Paradises, the dialogue between Old World elegance and contemporary design is on display. A selection of the designer’s other projects—from contemporary apartments to Mexican villas to a stately English manor—provide further design inspiration.” –Editor at Large

“It is not surprising that the projects in Robert Couturier Designing Paradises are all beautiful, executed with an eye for exacting elegance. What is surprising, however, is how very personal the book is. But then again, that is a key component to Robert’s work. That, his unerring passion for perfection and, as Caroline Weber quotes in her thoughtful postface, the Baudelairian qualities of “luxe, calme et volupté.” –Quintessence

“This is a beautiful book full of luxury but also little surprises such as bursts of vibrant color and even two whimsical, felted wool sheep in a contemporary Midtown Manhattan apartment." –Indulge Magazine

“More than a quarter century has passed since billionaire financier Jimmy Goldsmith tapped Robert Couturier to design his Mexican estate, Cuixmala. The project solidified the Frenchman’s year-old, New York-based interiors studio and catapulted it into notoriety. Couturier has kept up the high profile since that first splash, resisting colleagues’ insistence that he publish a monograph. “Most of these surveys are pretentious,” he laughs. The designer finally succumbed to pressure with Robert Couturier: Designing Paradises...To create a more humble connection with the reader, the first half of the book explores his residence in Kent, Connecticut, in intimate detail. The latter spans Couturier’s professional portfolio, whose multiple interpretations of luxury further reflects his grounded attitude." -Cultured

“Robert Couturier: Designing Paradises, is a lively, personal affair, with a large section dedicated to his own home in Kent, Connecticut. The rest of the 224-page tome showcases just a few of Couturier’s most emblematic projects over 30 years, many done in his signature classical French style roughed up with a sense of humor. From a sprawling Mexican hacienda to a modern Manhattan apartment, the pages pay testament to Couturier’s aesthetic versatility—it ends up being anything but an epitaph.” –Departures

“Robert Couturier is known for his command of decorative history matched with a deft ability to layer those styles, resulting in sumptuous, elegantly appointed homes that balance complexity with comfort. While the book presents a lush range of his project styles—modernism and even mid-century included—it is his Kent, Connecticut estate where his antiquarian tastes shine.” –Vogue

“One of the best interior design books of the season has me fantasizing about who I would have design rooms for me, and Robert Couturier is one of those few I imagine creating my ideal room. The book's cover showcases what makes Robert Couturier such a favorite of mine. His genius is in melding quite distinctly different design periods, reimagining them together in paradisaical harmony. He does so impeccably.” –Little Augury

“Grand yet comfortable, posh but playful, the homes this celebrated designer creates for himself and his high-flying clients—prove that spaces need not be fussy to be fabulous.” –1st Dibs

“Feast your eyes on gorgeous images by touring Couturier’s country retreat in bucolic Kent, Connecticut that reflects his passion for luxury and beauty.” –Society Diaries

“Robert Couturier Designing Paradises is a luxurious world vacation in a smooth hardbound cover. Robert is just so incredibly likable and dripping with style that he can't help but radiate through the pages of the book via his imagery and stories…this book exploring the famed designer's work... it's delicious. The book patiently covers one sprawling escape from reality at a time. This book will inspire you to reach beyond your present idea of how you spend your leisure time. Grab a copy of Robert Couturier Designing Paradises and curl up with your tea, your sketchbook and expect to find yourself mapping out a far more thrilling plan for your future.” –Life in a Venti Cup

“Couturier has an imaginative way of working with art, and art with an international flavor. Add in his collection of beautiful furniture and decorative objects and the effect is stunning. If you are wanting to learn to educate your eye, this book is an eye-opener. You may never have clients such as this, but there is something to be taken away on many levels.” –Examinar.com