Charm, Layered Like Lacquer
The designer’s first monograph, written in his own voice — an interiors book that reads like a memoir of texture, warmth, and hard-won charm.
I knew nothing about Peter Dunham, interior designer, but after sitting down with this book, you truly sink into every home, every room, every place he composes, page by page. You sit within every page; you can sense the evocative intentions of Mr. Dunham. Everything is a composition of texture, layers, and temperatures, invoking different emotions from every different angle. It all comes off so effortlessly.
You’re looking through the eyes and words of a master, and delightfully, Mr. Dunham wrote everything himself, giving us a perspective from the inside. It transforms the book from a picture book to a memoir, carrying you through the journey of his own life and aspirations, and the people and influences that became the layers of his style. He likes the word lacquer, and it’s most fitting for how his inspirations and craft have built up layer by layer over the years.
“What kind of record are we playing here?” A quote from the book perfectly encapsulates how he looks at a space and shapes how people live in it. You get a little jealous — you want to laze in these rooms with your friends, you want to spend a carefree week with your family.
“I plug in to all my senses to really understand: What kind of record are we playing here? Is it jazz or is it country-western?”
While his commentary threaded throughout opens you up to how he made his choices, the book also provides a more categorical discipline to his work, how he makes choices. It becomes almost instructional, a great help for anyone looking to nurture their own spaces. What a joy this book was to flip through.
“Charm is the sex appeal in decorating. It’s an elusive quality that is hard to encapsulate, but once a house has it, almost nothing matters.”
