Francois Catroux is an innovator and explorer in interior design, who has always been a master of contemporary style. From his early days as a design prodigy, creating space-age boutiques for a house of couture and apartments that drew from Art Deco and modern design, to chic, mirror-studded interiors rich with glamour and elegant refinement in residences in Hong Kong, New York, and London, Catroux is at home in the vast world of design.
His spaces may surprise with the introduction of irregular elements a chandelier of elk horn or pink florescent lighting in a hallway but Catroux s hallmark sensibility combines the majesty and grandeur of high ceilings, elegant moldings, and gossamer draperies with elements that suggest comfort and tasteful, restrained opulence. Go-to accoutrements include sumptuous sofas, rich carpeting, gentle lighting, rooms lined with books, and ship staterooms in warm wood panelling with brass lamps, all measured according to a modern eye.
This book looks at Catroux s career chronologically, featuring his first projects in 1968 through his latest, completed only this year, and includes the interiors of houses and apartments around the globe, from Paris to New York, Hong Kong to Los Angeles. Luxuriously photographed, this volume is more than just a design monograph on one of the great, and so far relatively untold, careers in the history of design it is also a lively and intimate read about a life lived in great style.
About the Author
David Netto, an author and designer of interiors and furniture, is contributing design editor for the Wall Street Journal. His articles have appeared widely, in such publications as the Classicist, Domino, and WSJ Magazine.
Diane von Furstenberg is a celebrated fashion designer. In 2015, Time magazine named her to the Time 100, as an Icon.
Industry Reviews
"David Netto’s book on A-list interior designer Francois Catroux was also years in the making, requiring two years alone to convince his subject to agree to the book. Though Catroux’s work has been published in magazines and books, this is the first time that his body of work is laid out in a much-awaited tome."
–Forbes.com
"The images in the book are remarkable and author, David Netto, narrates an engaging tale. . . . I am older, wiser and perhaps a bit less prone to gush, but do buy this book. It will show you a thing or two about style and courage and balance."
–MrsBlandings.com
"In the visual biography François Catroux (Rizzoli), the legendary interior designer looks back chronologically at his incredibly chic body of work, offering new insight into projects like the first Paris apartment he shared with his wife, the Yves Saint Laurent muse Betty Catroux, and the mega-yacht he decorated for Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg."
–W Magazine
"Now here's a book dripping in sexy spaces I can't get enough of. What is it with these French designers? A must for the luxe-loving design enthusiast."
–FrankieDurbin.com
"Despite disperate locations, they all share the Catroux DNA of unexpected elements combined with classic sumptuous foundations."
–Pretty Page Turner
"Fall must haves."
–La Dolce Vita
"...digs deep into Catroux's jet-set personal life and celebrated career."
—New Orleans Times-Picayune/Nola.Com
"Catroux’s many fans have been waiting for decades for an overview of his glamorous, highly detailed, and art-filled interiors."
—StyleSaloniste.com
"Having created rarefied spaces for decades, the legendary French designer has finally agreed to document his impressive body of work in a new book"
—1stDibs.com
"Fall Books Favorite"
—Peak of Chic
"...traced the road to primacy of the Paris-based designer, fomr edgy early Paris apartments to an haute luxe French train in the 1980s and an astonishing yacht for Barry Diller and Dia ne von Furstenberg"
—Elle Decor
