10 Best Coffee Table Books

Coffee table books are the perfect decorative accent for your living room coffee table.  Books can say so much about your style and can be great conversation pieces.   Here are a few of my go-to favorites…some of them are in my own home! I tend to love books about fashion, art, photography and rock stars. Some of the images on these pages is not for the faint at heart. But the power of photos is something everyone can understand and enjoy!

1. Palm Beach Chic

My good friend and one the most talented photographers I know, Jessica Glynn, just published a book of her work. She is know for capturing Palm Beach interiors reflecting the worldly travels, interests, and whimsies of its inhabitants. This tiny island hires world-class designers to create homes are unique, imaginative and sometimes eccentric. That is The Island we call Palm Beach!

2. Saul Bass

Saul Bass was an amazing graphic designer and he also won an Academy Award for his design of motion picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. This book is filled with tons of iconic and colorful eye candy.

3. Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style

Coco Chanel was a style icon and she created a look that is still relevant today. She inspires me to look better, at all costs! Even if I don’t have time to brush my teeth in the morning, I still looked pulled together.

4. Dior Couture

Christian Dior set the stage for what a Parisian couture house should be.  Dior is known for its exquisite line of Oscar worthy dresses. Patrick Demarchelier is a French fashion photographer whose photographed Dior for this book. He collaborated with Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar for twelve years and is the modern day photographer synonymous with high fashion.

5. Knoll: A Modernist Universe

Modern design begins with Knoll. Husband and wife team, Hans and Florence Knoll formed the company in 1938. They brought European modern design to the U.S., and nurtured the best homegrown talents in mid-century design in America. It is one of the most prestigious high-end furniture companies worldwide.

6. Tom Ford

Tom Ford took over Gucci and made it into one of the sexiest international fashion brands. Sales at Gucci increased tenfold under his tutelage. He built a dying accessory line into the luxury brand it is today.

7. Rock Seen

For 40 years, Bob Gruen’s was the go-to photographer of rock and roll icons. His first photos of Ike and Tina Turner became famous. He’s know for the early capturing of the CBGB/Max’s Kansas City scene to his current work photographing Green Day on tour.  This book shows off Gruen’s favorite photos from his career with personal captions.

8. Avendon: Murals & Portraits

Richard Avedon’s portraits had a huge political and cultural impact during the 1960s when he was fresh to the scene, and still do today. He influenced photography for the decades that followed. Avedon captured the notorious characters of Andy Warhol’s Factory as well as haunting portraits of Vietnam War victims. He explored and revealed the history and spirit of these tumultuous years.

9. Annie Leibovitz: Women

The women in this book include the anonymous, chief justices, strippers, aerospace engineers, athletes, scientists, and the First Lady. It is an anthology of women which culminates in a great portrait of women of all races and religions, at the end of the century. Leibovitz, who in her years working for Rolling Stone, Vogue, and Vanity Fair magazines photographed hundreds of celebrities. (Amazon) She’s one of my favorites!

10.  Vanity Fair 100 Years: From the Jazz Age to Our Age

If you want to see a century of art, power, crisis and culture then Vanity Fair 100 Years is just the book. Vanity Fair published it’s first magazine in 1913, and captured the Jazz Age, the Depression, the Reagan years, and now today’s Information Age. The modern era has unfolded on the pages of this magazine. Cool images throughout!

1.Palm Beach Chic // 2.  Saul Bass // 3. Chanel // 4. Dior Couture // 5. Tom Ford //

6. Knoll // 7. Rock Seen // 8. Avendon // 9. Annie Leibovitz // 10. Vanity Fair //