In this month’s roundup of design books, EAL previews a few books you may have missed that made their debut at the end of last year, and a couple that should certainly be added to your pre-order list for the coming months. Take a trip to Cuba with Hermes Mallea, explore English design with Ros Byam Shaw, and more in these standout selections.

Authentic Design by Lauren Rottet and Rottet Studio
Interior architect Lauren Rottet and her firm Rottet Studio are known for designing spaces that put focus on transparency and light. In her tome, she features both her residential and commercial work from the last 15 years, which showcase her varied design styles, from modernism to Mediterranean. In her selection of projects, photography and narrative, Rottet’s love for historic architecture and well-edited design are evident. (Rizzoli, October 2017)

Havana Living Today: Cuban Home Style Now by Hermes Mallea
Mallea’s latest book celebrates the design and beauty of Havana’s historic homes. Despite the political upheavals in Cuba, there are homes that still exist that epitomize Havana Style and the people’s hope for the future of the country. In writing the book, he visited the homes of art collectors, lawyers, fashion designers, schoolteachers and more to experience how the country’s top 1 percent live. Mallea, who is of Cuban descent, was able to reflect on the loss of his family’s colonial residence in the book. (Rizzoli, September 2017)

Allied Works Architecture: Dwelling by Brad Cloepfil
Allied Works Architecture might be more well-known for its commercial projects—Seattle Art Museum, Clyfford Still Museum in Denver and Museum of Arts and Design in New York, to name a few—but the new book from founder Brad Cloepfil focuses on the firm’s residential projects. It displays the company’s contemporary sensibilities and modern design aesthetic, with projects ranging from rustic to urban settings. (Rizzoli, Oct 2017)

Creating Beauty: Interiors by Kathryn Scott
Kathryn Scott, a Brooklyn-based interior designer, explores 10 projects from her body of work in her first tome. Among the projects are a Central Park West penthouse and her own Brooklyn townhouse and country house. Throughout the book, Scott discusses the importance of architectural details, the rules of proportion and the integration of beautiful materials as they relate to her projects. (Rizzoli, March 2017)

Perfect English Townhouse by Ros Byam Shaw
Georgian, Victorian and contemporary townhouses of England are detailed in Shaw’s latest tome. The design journalist visited 14 residences in England to showcase typical living spaces that have been expertly designed and decorated. To capture English living, she chose urban residences in London as well as country abodes. (Ryland Peters & Small, February 2018)