Rooms: Creating Luxurious, Livable Spaces (Design)

For award-winning interior designer Mariette Himes Gomez, every project is a voyage of self-discovery

Refined simplicity, thoughtful attention to detail, and a clear architectural design -- these are the hallmarks of Mariette's style. Filled with breathtaking photography, Rooms is a guided tour of the designs that have made Mariette one of the most respected and sought-after tastemasters in the country. Peek behind the scenes as she divulges the secrets of the trade that will help you transform your own home from the everyday to the extraordinary.

Designing a room involves balancing the ideal and the real, discovering a happy medium between what you imagine and what exists. From evaluating the core architectural structure -- or "shell" -- of a room, to selecting colors and arranging furniture, to picking out and placing the final artistic touches, Mariette shares all of the techniques and information you'll need to create Rooms of elegance and distinction.

What colors and patterns will work with a room's architecture? How can you visually turn two Rooms into one -- and vice versa? How is art different from décor? How big a sofa will a room tolerate? Mariette answers these questions and more with sage advice and an easy-to-follow, step-by-step approach. She shares the experience of renovating her own homes -- one, a house in the country, the other, an apartment in the city -- and the many homes around the country that bear her unique signature.

Whether you are decorating a loft apartment, summer cottage, or home in the suburbs, Rooms will help you strike the balance between beautiful and practical, lavish and livable.

Interior designer Mariette Himes Gomez has been at the forefront of her profession for more than twenty-five years. In 1975, she opened her own Manhattan firm, Gomez Associates, which is known for very livable rooms with clean lines and clear architectural definition. She was named one of the House Beautiful Giants of Design in 2004 and honored as a Dean of American Design by Architectural Digest in 2005. Gomez's work has been published in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, the New York Times, and Town & Country. Her line of furniture, the Mariette Himes Gomez Collection for the Hickory Chair Company, is available in stores throughout the country and in her own store, The Shop, in New York City. The author of the bestselling Rooms and Houses, she lives in New York City and on Long Island, New York.