Air, Earth, Water, Fire

April 8, 2016

The newest tome from a favorite designer explores classical building blocks of great design

We can’t all live in Vicente Wolf houses. But we can, happily, partake of the designer’s distinctive ideas and vision in his own publications, which showcase his work using his own photographs. We can’t wait to delve into his latest volume, The Four Elements of Design, which reaches booksellers April 12.

The book, the designer’s fourth, explores more than a dozen of his projects in detail, including Long Island beach houses, Manhattan apartments, a chalet in the Swiss alps, and sumptuous homes on the East and West Coasts of the US. Vicente believes that the classical elements–earth, water, air and fire–form the basic building blocks of great interior design. The result is an inspirational guide to designing unforgettable spaces based on the four natural elements.

Air showcases projects that contain a lightness of spirit, open in feeling, with a palette that creates an atmosphere without the conventional inside-outside boundaries. Earth features interiors grounded in stone, wood, and natural textures. Water shows restorative spaces swimming in serene shades of blues and aqua, while enlivening rich colors, and dramatic qualities are showcased in Fire.

“It makes perfect sense that Vicente Wolf would write a book focused on interiors inspired by the four classical elements—they are the very essence of his personal character and point of view,” Architectural Digest editor-in-chief Margaret Russell writes in the introduction. “In our twenty-five years of friendship, I’ve always known him to have a remarkably grounded sensibility, like earth; he is as passionate and vital as fire, as clear and fluid as water, and as imaginative and carefree as air. Spiritual yet pragmatic, he has always been able to find that perfect balance between an intellectual and emotional connection to his clients and their spaces and the practical imperative to create interiors that will work for them and their families.”

Vicente will be autographing copies at personal appearances in major US cities, starting April 12 in Houston and continuing in New York, Dallas, Chicago and elsewhere. Follow his blog for details. Or if you’re like us and can’t wait, order the book now from Amazon or your own favorite bookseller.