Photography courtesy of Rizzoli
Bunny Williams and Elizabeth Lawrence prove the best rooms are equal parts scale, story, and patience.
For Bunny Williams and Elizabeth Lawrence, partners behind the legendary design firm Williams Lawrence, beautifully designed rooms should not only reflect a sense of scale, proportion, and spontaneity, they should also tell the stories of the people who live in them. “The beauty of a room should be subtle enough that you never tire of it,” says Williams, a philosophy that runs through the whole of their new book, Decoration. In it, Williams and Lawrence bring their combined decades of design wisdom to the fore and offer readers a unique look at their partnership and their approach to creating memorable, unexpected interiors.
Decoration opens with personal reflections from Williams and Lawrence about their early design inspirations and the philosophies that now animate their work, creating homes and interiors meant to last. They encourage readers to approach the rooms and stories collected in Decoration as a scrapbook of inspiration, meant to ignite the imagination and encourage experimentation in their own spaces.
From there, the book showcases a variety of new Williams Lawrence interiors, all richly photographed, including a home for a growing family with deeply personal touches; a sleek modern apartment that plays with sculptural furnishings and contrasts wood, marble, and other unexpected materials; and a new modern international building featuring a jungle-like garden terrace and an incredible art collection.
Woven throughout the photos are personal anecdotes, intimate essays, and practical design advice written by Williams and Lawrence, making the book not only a luscious visual tome, but a master class from the best in the business. They walk readers through how to train one’s eye to recognize proportion, authenticity, and potential; how to cultivate design inspiration through travel, flea markets, and gallery visits; and how fantasy and color can bring a sense of play and storytelling to the design process. They explore texture, layering, and detail, along with their approach to sourcing pieces slowly and deliberately, favoring patience and discovery over instant, “one-and-done” decorating.
Ultimately, Decoration is a celebration of interiors that are livable yet sophisticated, personal yet polished, and designed not simply for the moment, but to evolve beautifully over time. It is both a visual feast and a generous lesson from two of the industry’s most accomplished talents.
