Sudpsuez Retrouvius: Contemporary Salvage: Designing Homes from a Philosophy of Re-Use

Words by Emile de Bruijn

Chinese wallpaper has been an important element of western interior decoration for three hundred years. As trade between Europe and China flourished in the seventeenth century, Europeans developed a strong taste for Chinese art and design. The stunningly beautiful wall coverings now known as 'Chinese wallpaper' were developed by Chinese painting workshops in response to western demand. A sophisticated synthesis of eastern and western art, Chinese wallpapers were an early-modern global product and they are still popular and influential today.

In spite of their spectacular beauty, Chinese wallpapers have not been studied in any depth until relatively recently. This book provides an overview of some of the most significant Chinese wallpapers surviving in the British Isles. Sumptuously illustrated, it shows how these wallpapers became a staple ingredient of high-end interiors while always retaining a touch of the exotic.

The book charts the stylistic development of Chinese wallpaper, allowing individual wallpapers to be more securely dated. It also touches on the China trade, the crucial role of the paper-hangers and the social significance of Chinese-style decoration in Britain.

This is a ground-breaking resource for both scholars and designers, as well as for anyone interested in historic interior design.

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing

Words by Aimee Farrell

Photographs by Antonio Monfreda

Introduction by Martina Mondadori

Foreword by Caterina de Renzis Sonnino and Dora Loewenstein

An exclusive look into Tuscan interiors that have the hallmarks of magazine’s coverage of remarkable, eclectic, and dramatic spaces.

Tuscany’s historical residences tell stories that no mere guidebook can capture. The houses that dot the landscape—from the stately Medici villas to the more humble yet charming farmhouses—are not just structures but also symbols of a way of life, a lasting testament to the fusion of an agrarian lifestyle, picturesque towns, notable architecture, fine craft, and art.

In the book’s foreword, Cabana founder Mondadori writes, “Tuscany is not merely a region; it is a living canvas, a dreamscape that has cradled the imagination of artists, poets, and thinkers for centuries.” The interiors presented in this book are a celebration of the talents of the diverse contemporary homeowners, who are keeping the region’s creative spirit alive. Houses brim with the output of skilled craftsmen, exquisite tapestries, brocades and damasks, objects arranged as if painterly still lifes, fantastical murals, rare books, furniture from a range of periods, and fine porcelain.

The houses, many published here for the first time, include a gentle hilltop in  Maremma where late interior designer Manfredi della Gherardesca filled his family’s castle with superb collections of decorative and fine arts; a rustic coastal retreat where the boundaries between indoor and outdoor are blurred; the Pucci family palace, where a kaleidoscopic twentieth-century fashion phenomenon was born in a Renaissance setting; and a country hideaway where local decorative arts are astutely paired with more worldly objects, a colorful patchwork of Argentinian and Moroccan carpets and African figurines. Tuscany is the birthplace of Renaissance art and thought, a creative explosion that still resonates today. The interiors in this book are a testament to the ongoing legacy of creative rebirth in a most glorious setting.

Published by

Rizzoli