Interior Design

A Frame for Life: The Designs of StudioIlse

The renowned designer and style guru Ilse Crawford showcases her body of influential, holistic work for the first time, articulating her groundbreaking philosophies for design and living. Studioilse, the award-winning design studio founded by Ilse Crawford, bridges the worlds of interior design, architecture, and product design with the philosophy of putting the human being at the center. Fascinated by what drives us and makes us feel alive, Crawford says: "When I look at making spaces, I don’t just look at the visual. I’m much more interested in the sensory thing, in thinking about it from the human context, the primal perspective, the thing that touches you." Featuring Studioilse’s work to date, from private residences to hotels, restaurants, and retail projects, this book illustrates the effectiveness of design grounded in human needs and desires. Layering materials and textures, combined with her understanding of human behavior, Crawford’s designs are sensual and accessible. A forerunner of the holistic design movement a decade ago, her humanistic approach has now become the norm. This volume illustrates why Crawford’s design philosophy is so seminal—her work has influenced not only a generation of Dutch and European designers, but also Americans due to her acclaimed Soho House New York. With new photography and essays by Crawford and design critic Edwin Heatcote, this inspirational volume is sure to be one of the most important design books of the year.

About The Author

Ilse Crawford is a designer and the head of the department of man and well-being at the prestigious Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Edwin Heathcote is the architecture and design correspondent for The Financial Times in London.

  • Publish Date: October 21, 2014
  • Format: Hardcover
  • Category: House & Home - Decorating & Furnishings
  • Publisher: Rizzoli
  • Trim Size: 9 x 11
  • Pages: 272
  • US Price: $55.00
  • CDN Price: $55.00
  • ISBN: 978-0-8478-3857-8

Reviews

"Ilse Crawford is beloved for her Nordic form-and-function sensibility matched with an irreverent eye…Her firm, Studioilse, strongly embraces primary colors, Danish modernism, and a folkloric style that celebrates whimsy and simplicity at once. Her projects, ranging from private homes to esteemed commercial spaces, incorporate her respect for historical integrity and an urgency for livability…” –Vogue

Must-Have Coffee Table Book. Ilse Crawford, founder of the London-based design firm Studioilse, defines her philosophy of warm, "human-centric" interiors in a new book that displays her own home as well as various commercial spaces that she and her team have created. With an emphasis on comfort and practicality, she demonstrates how to foster a more holistic life through well-planned environments.” –Harpers Bazaar
 
“Fall’s must-have coffee-table tome stars British design icon Ilse Crawford. The title of the book puts Crawford’s work in its proper perspective. Unlike most designer editions, the images in this book aren’t always large scale; many have the intimacy of vintage snapshots or personal albums. Her fans, of course, will revel in the requisite visual feast of her portfolio…Given to pronouncements both profound and particular, Crawford is a breed apart: an enigmatic talent and forward-thinking intellectual with humor and heart.” –Lonny Magazine

A Frame for Life showcases her firm’s powerful body of work.” –Architectural Digest

“Renowned designer and style expert Ilse Crawford showcases her body of influential, holistic work for the first time, articulating her groundbreaking philosophies for design and living. This volume illustrates why Crawford’s design philosophy is so seminal...” –Editor at Large

“Ilse Crawford has produced a fascinating, personal and rather contrarian book—that is rich in rewards, challenges, ideas, beliefs and concepts, and her recent work…closer reading of the book offers up ideas about how to create ‘design with the human being in the center’. It’s uplifting and inspiring—and the book shows examples of her international work, for offices, hotels, residences and ateliers…the book has poetic, quirky, quiet, and compelling moments and should be in the library of a design firms for its point of view. A terrific reference, a cause for vivid discussion and colloquium.” –The Style Saloniste