Books: Ray Booth’s Evocative Interiors

Ray Booth Evocative Interiors Rizzoli

Interior designer Ray Booth’s work conjures comparisons: He understands the importance of silhouette like John Saladino; the precise tailoring of his rooms call to mind a Jill Sander collection; and his color sensibility inhabits the same etherial realm as a Turner seascape hanging at the Tate.

Quite the combination.

These ideas and more are evident in Ray’s masterful new book Evocative Interiors, released last month by Rizzoli New York.

Ray Booth Evocative Interiors Rizzoli

With a forward by Bobby McAlpine – whose firm Ray Booth is a partner in – Evocative Interiors features images from projects Booth has completely over the course of nearly two decades.

Ray Booth Evocative Interiors Rizzoli

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“Our everyday surroundings are a mark we make to claim our place on earth.  The daily experiences they evoke through the combination of color, material, furnishings, and context profoundly affect our physical and emotional well-being.” – Ray Booth

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Ray Booth Evocative Interiors Rizzoli

Booth creates rooms meant for living – opulent and photogenic to be sure — but with a soul that portends an invitation to sit, relax, converse, and enjoy. These are rooms best categorized as supremely modern; they address our movement toward cleaner eclecticism and restorative spaces.

Evocative Interiors Ray Booth Rizzoli Books

Ray Booth Evocative Interiors Rizzoli

When I put this book down after a careful appraisal, I remembered the outspoken Polly Mellen in that scene from Unzipped where she’s in the back seat of a limousine with Isaac Mizrahi, describing his work as sublime but not fussy; in a wide-eyed moment she exclaims “Fussy — Finished!”

Sublime but not fussy aptly describes Ray Booth’s work as well.

By Ray Booth
Rizzoli New York  2018

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