Books like Top drawer by Mary Cable

Richard Sennett explores how the pursuit of craftsmanship – the dedication to skillful, purposeful work – shapes human motivation, identity and society, arguing that true mastery arises from practice, materials and a cohesive cultural sense of work rather than pure competition.

In four distinct sections: principles of design, a room-by-room guide, material sample book, and furniture and furnishings guide, here's all the information you need to make every possible decorating decision yourself. 750 color photos and illustrations.

This nonfiction book explores the history, social life, and cultural traditions of the Black elite in America, offering an insider perspective on their customs, networks, and achievements.

The Regency aristocracy lived through one of the most romantic and turbulent ages in British history, an era that spanned the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, that witnessed unprecedented industrial progress, artistic accomplishment, and violent social unrest and -- paradoxically -- the most sparkling social scene English high society has ever enjoyed. Under the influence of the excessively fat, loose-moraled Prince of Wales, the Regency became the very apex of British decadence, an era of lavish parties, ferocious gossip, relentless bed hopping, and notorious gambling that set a standard for elegance and vulgarity. - Jacket flap.

"Charlotte Perriand (1903-1999) was one of the most innovative furniture and interior designers of the twentieth century. Although her work has long been recognized by furniture historians and Le Corbusier specialists, Perriand's pioneering role has only recently become more widely appreciated. Her long career embraced much of the history of modern design in France, including Art Deco, machine-age modernism, the organic rusticity of the 1930s and 1940s, serially produced metal and wood furniture of the 1950s and 1960s, and plastic and prefabricated bathroom and kitchen units of the 1970s. Perriand collaborated with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret on the creation of their famous "LC" furniture and was responsible for the design of many of their major interiors. After 1938, she also worked frequently with Jean Prouve, developing a series of innovative modular storage units and low-cost residential furnishings. Apart from these collaborations, Perriand had her own practice, which encompassed a wide range of projects and countries, from a chaise lounge to a ski resort, from France to Japan, Vietnam, Congo, and Brazil." "Many of Perriand's pieces are now seen as classics of modern furniture. However, she saw her designs not merely as elegant objects but as part of a larger social program to extend the pleasures of modern life (what she called "l'art de vivre") to working-and middle-class people. Perriand sought to create a vibrant, accessible art that rejected bourgeois conventions while humanizing everyday environments. Her designs and her career also exemplify a radical rethinking of gender roles." "Charlotte Perriand: An Art of Living is the first book in English on this important figure in the history of twentieth-century design. Mary McLeod has assembled a collection of essays that elucidate Perriand's rich, diverse career and the ways in which it intersects with contemporary cultural currents, political movements, and changing social and economic conditions."--Jacket.

Discover how you can run the practical side of your practice more profitably. This comprehensive guide to managing an interior design business gives you an arsenal of proven procedures and practical tools and techniques perfected over the course of some thirty years. New to this edition are sections on establishing an electronic office, the pros and cons of working alone and creating partnerships, hiring and working with off-site employees, and more. It also includes more than fifty sample forms and letters, such as an existing conditions survey and a letter of transmittal, that can easily be adapted to your own uses.

In Interior Design and Beyond, Ms. Knackstedt provides a comprehensive framework and a set of powerful business tools to help design firms survive and thrive in today's business-driven globalized marketplace. She offers clear, easy-to-follow guidelines, tips, and strategies for everything from business process reengineering, organizational redesign, the learning process, and the use of information technology, to creating client/designer partnerships, tracking trends, promoting teamwork and cooperation, and much more.