3 Books You Should Own

For our latest coffee table books series, we’d like to introduce you to our favorite books for this month of April.  ‘Upgrade’ explores Architectural and design concepts, ‘Visual Feast’ reveals the world of ‘Instagrammable’ Food photography and set design and ‘Surf Shacks’ illustrates how surfers live both on and off shore.

Upgrade
upgrade interiors_book

Adding. Extending. Transforming. Upgrade breathes new life into forgotten architecture.

Upgrade explores architectural and design concepts that seek to enhance and repurpose our surroundings. From slight changes to complete renovations, the spectrum of possibilities is vast. Extensions upon a rooftop. Factories turned into relaxing retreats. Wood additions contrast with antique brick exteriors. Through engaging anecdotes and inspiring images, Upgrade provides vibrant exemplars and enthusiasm for revamping existing spaces.

Repurposing the unused; a dilapidated barn, a raddled townhome, a historical and fading building fac?ade – these can all be starting points for stunning and inspiring homes. Upgrade displays transformations: be it sheds into playrooms, a garage to a guesthouse, or an alpine hut into a holiday getaway. Hidden in the walls of old structures are possibilities and inspirations that can be realized with any budget; charm and character become the criteria for titivating a residence.

Upgrade offers projects that succeed in finding the balance between the traditional and the modern. Architects share their experiences, motivations, and approaches. Before-and-after photos illustrate the metamorphoses. This is a volume for all who desire a new perspective, for those that prefer to preserve rather than to demolish. What are ruins to some become another’s architectural playground.

Visual Feast
visualfeast_side_book

Visual Feast reveals a world where food is both an art medium and an edible eccentricity.

We eat with our eyes. People love to stage and take photos of their food. Driven by Instagram and the advertising industry, stylists, gourmandizers, and photographers continually invent new ways of presenting food as both delectable and radical. Visual Feast presents work nonpareil from this growing scene.

Sharing photos of food has become entrenched in our daily lives. Visual Feast celebrates the interplay between a myriad of styles: maps created from vegetables, lobsters painted gold to adorn tables, jelly molded into witty dishes. These images can be readily found on social media, in magazine editorials, or transformed into infographics.

Food photographers and stylists create innovative images that make mouths water, eyes widen, and nostrils inhale imagined scents.

Quenching creative curiosities and satisfying even the keenest of artistic palettes, Visual Feast explores food staging and exists as a tome of inspiration for those immersed and intrigued by its yummy and alluring realm.

Surf Shacks
surfshack_book

Surfing is a way of life. A life dominated by the waves and the tide with a cozy place to pause in between. Creative personalities crafting bold homes, Surf Shacks illustrates how surfers live both on and off shore.

Many abodes can fall under the label of surf shack: New York City apartments, cabins nestled next to national parks, or tiny Hawaiian huts. Surfing communities are overflowing with creativity, innovation, and rich personas. Surf Shacks takes a deeper look at surfers’ homes and artistic habits. Glimpses of record collections, strolls through backyard gardens, or a peek into a painter’s studio provide insight into surfers’ lives both on and off shore. From the remote Hawaiian nook of filmmaker Jess Bianchi to the woodsy Japanese paradise that the former CEO of Surfrider Foundation in Japan, Hiromi Masubara, calls home to the converted bus that Ryan Lovelace claims as his domicile and his transport, every space has a unique tale. The moments that these vibrant personalities spend away from the swell and the froth are both captivating and nuanced.

Through anecdotes and photographs, illustrations and conversations, Surf Shacks reveals a more personal side to surfing and its eclectic cast of characters.


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