Jamie Drake's New American Glamour

Everything about this volume—from the cover and Waldron's full-color photographs to the language in which it's written—is lush, rich and just a bit over-the-top. This befits the subject matter: the designs and philosophies of award-winning interior-designer-to-the-stars Drake. The entertaining introduction, complete with reproduced color drawings from Drake's childhood, explains the roots of the author's fascination with color and interiors, and describes his version of new American glamour, which derives in part from the motto of MGM's Louis B. Mayer: "Make it big! Do it right! Give it class!" The book then goes on to showcase dozens of splashy and vibrant rooms, and details from those rooms. It highlights themes important to Drake's work, including luster ("glamour at its most active... [it] compels light to dance around a room, which is a bit of wizardry in and of itself"), texture, color ("Everything that I do begins with color"), curves and "the mix" (which is all about "the olio of objects that reflects [clients'] personalities"). Opulent and expensive, the designs pictured and described certainly aren't meant to be prescriptions for do-it-yourself projects, but they do inspire creativity and render the concept of glamour on a bold scale. (Nov.)