GIVE AWAY: The World of Muriel Brandolini

Photo by Eric Boman

Muriel Brandolini is an adventurer. Her life reads like an epic novel, and her aesthetic illustrates her story with bold bright gestures capturing the romance and joie de vivre that any story worth reading would encompass.

I have been glued to my advance copy, gratis of the very kind folks at Rizzoli, ever since turning the first page. I am an admitted design addict....with the added addiction of bibliophilism vying for my attention daily. I am in no way seeking rehabilitation for my addictions, and it is books like this one that feed my cravings.

Photo by Eric Boman

The World of Muriel Brandolini is my perfect read. It is filled with Brandolini's brilliantly exotic interiors which are so magical, telling a story all on their own. There are many design books which are filled with beautiful photos of beautiful interiors.....all unique and beguiling in their own way. The thing that sets this book apart is Muriel's personal story. She talks about her life from the beginning, starting off with her birth in Montpellier, France to a French-Venezuelan mother and a Vietnamese father. She takes us to Vietnam where her family moved when she was just a baby and then to Martinique when she was twelve, and then off to Paris where her education begins in earnest.

Photo by Oberto Gili

Muriel travels the world thereafter meeting fascinating people, adding to her global aesthetic along the way. She takes us with her when she falls, accidentally, into a decorating career in New York, when the home she creates for her young family becomes famous after being published eleven times in one year.

We get to see her house in its many incarnations over the years, as well as her beach house on Long Island's Peconic Bay. All of her magical thinking is laid bare for us in Part I, the first third of the book.

Photo by Michael Mundy

In Part II, we are taken on a tour of client residences that take your breath away. Every piece in each room looks like a collected work, and worthy of attention. Many would say that this is not the formula for success in design.....that perhaps it is too much...and this is where Muriel proves them wrong. Muriel Brandolini and her style have been described as everything from unconventional, exotic, bold, and magical, to "that newly minted American arbiter of haute bohemian chic"( New York Times). I would say she is all of those things, and more so if you consider America a melting pot of influences from around the world.

A single block of rock crystal....the side table by Martin Szekely. Photo by Pieter Estersohn

Brandolini's sophistication comes from her experiences, yes, but perhaps more so from her fearlessness. I think it is this quality that drives the creativity in the truly talented. She is unafraid of what the neighbors think. She teaches us that there are no rules in design.

In the introduction by Wendy Goodman, design director of New York Magazine, says in the early days, she used to think Muriel's clients were "very brave and very lucky"....and now she thinks they are "just very lucky".

Photo by Pieter Estersohn

And oh how much I would agree.

Photo by Pieter Estersohn

Rizzoli has again been very kind in offering you, my fearless readers, a chance to win this stunning book for your very own!

To enter this GIVE AWAY,

Follow these easy steps:

1) Hop on over to the Rizzoli and take a moment to look around. See the facebook link? Go ahead and "friend" them.

2) Become a follower on the katiedid blog by clicking the google friend connect button on the right.

3) Click on the "comment" link at the bottom of this post and leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts about Muriel Brandolini and her exotic style!

4) Make sure I can contact you by including an email address, or make sure your username has a link to a contact email.
5) The Cut Off date to enter is October 9nd, this Sunday at 5:00PM PST. I will announce the winner the next day, October 10th!

AND.....as promised,

the winner of the Michael S. Smith Kitchen and Bath book is...........